When we first looked at this house as potential buyers, it was the deck that sold us. Don’t get me wrong: we loved (almost) everything else about this house, and what we don’t love is pretty much just cosmetic.

But oh the deck… it was spacious, well-built, smack-dab in the middle of an already-landscaped yard… Perfection!

I know what you’re thinking: “How stupid do you have to be to buy a house in Canada based on a room you can only use for 4-5 months of the year?!” Didn’t matter. To two people who had be living on one of the busiest street corners in Montreal (and one of the two had lived his whole life in Mexico City), that deck was the icing on the cake!

Now, I’m not kidding myself that there isn’t pretty hefty work to be done. The paint is peeling in some fairly obvious areas, the lattice on the far part of the roof needs replacing… But we’re still really looking forward to our first meal out there.

So here are the “before” shots, along with a list of projects that I intend to tackle during the spring and summer months.

On the whole, I’m not thrilled with the rust-red/cream colour scheme of the exterior of our house… But it could be A LOT worse.

ALL of our deck furniture consists of hand-me-downs or second-hand gifts from family and friends. Thank you, magical deck furnishing fairies!

The table is a dumpster-dive score. In fact, it graced our apartment hallway for over a year (a period during which I threatened its disposal daily), before Erick won out and it moved to L’Ile Perrot with us. Imagine my delight when we finally put it together, only to discover its gorgeous mid-century Swedish lines! What can I say? The man has foresight. You can read more about those chairs and their in-progress makeover here.

Those Ikea planters were actually part of our wedding decor (funny stories about them abound – but I’ll save those for a later date). I can’t wait to see them all filled up with pretty plants!

The To-Do List

*UPDATED*

– Swab wash the deck

– Finish the chair(s) makeover

– Sew a matching tablecloth (maybe a pattern like this?)

– Sew a matching cover for the lounge chair

– Re-paint and reinforce the little bentwood and cane side table (stool?)

– Fill the two three-pot planters with cheerful plants

– Spray paint a variety of (freebie) containers to unify them visually (or maybe something like this?)

– Create a container garden for herbs and other flowers

– Hang some baskets of flowers

– Replace lattice roof

– Buy an outdoor rug (something like this)

– Buy a BBQ (suggestions, anyone?)

– Hang some twinkle lights to create ambiance like this

Hm. That is a long list. It may be that my lounge chair, a book, and a glass of wine are the only projects that I actually tackle out there. But at least I have well-intentioned goals.