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Forest Deck and Backyard (with before & afters)

Today I’m sharing our forest facing deck and pool area in our backyard including some before and after pictures of the changes we’ve made in our outdoor space.  

If I could write a Haiku poem about summer right now, it would go something like this….

Beautiful summer
How I crave your sunny days
Please come to us soon

We’ve had the worst June-uary that I can remember – it’s been cool and cloudy and rainy and, overall, just not the early summer weather we all expect and want. I remember June days in school as a kid being so warm and sunny…. we waited with baited breath to be released into the heat and freedom that was summer vacation.  This year, not so much.  In addition to the weird COVID version of life and schooling that has been our reality of late, the weather has also not cooperated.  But we have hope… and today I’m excited to share the updates we’ve made to our back yard to prepare it for some serious outdoor enjoyment this year.

Summer Outdoor Decor Ideas graphic.

Because if we can’t really travel, we might as well enjoy our own deck and backyard in the forest…

A backyard deck with the forest all around.

Below is how the deck looked when we viewed the house.  You can see the house was still painted yellow (you can read the details about how we painted it uber-quickly in this post).  We also power-washed and gave the deck boards two new coats of stain, re-stained all the railings, and painted all of the concrete around the pool deck (see below).

There is a patio table, an umbrella, patio chairs on the back deck.

The patio area revamped with cozy deck couches and an outdoor rug.

On the outdoor table there is a tray of lemonade and glasses.

Our deck furniture is all from our local Canadian Tire store – they carry Canvas Brand and this is the Jensen line. The dining chairs are also from the Canvas collection (Playa, Cabo) and we picked up the dining table (which was originally a white-ish finish) on clearance at Home Depot and I painted it black with spray paint.

A bright blue pillow is on the chair.

I always pickup several of these pretty summer ferns when they first come out in the garden centre each spring – they are pretty easy and low maintenance (and I love how they feel like they are all you need, for only $16 each).

There are potted plants on the table and on the balcony.

The outdoor deck with a table and chairs.

One big thing that sold us on this house was the forest all behind us – I know I’ve shared before about how much we love the walking trails that are developed in the forest area.  We also love that it gives us such a big, beautiful green and treed backdrop.  It will never be developed because it’s a combination of parkland and pond areas.

A metal tray containing lemonade is on the outdoor table on the patio.

There are blueberries and strawberries in a bowl on the table.

Blue rimmed glasses are on the tray.

An aerial view of the tray on the table.

Re-staining the deck and railings made such a big difference – it feels like a brand new space.

A view of the wooden patio.

A small table and four chairs.

There is a barbeque on the patio.

We love that our deck feels so private, and the privacy screen (that was already here) is a big part of that.  We shared how to build your own simple DIY cedar privacy screen in this post.

A small hat wall is on the patio.

I also shared my DIY dollar store hat wall in this post...

By the hat wall is a small chair and potted plants.

The undercover area actually used to have an exterior door to it that we removed when we renovated the kitchen.  When we opened up the wall between the kitchen and dining area, we realized that we could eliminate the other door leading to the deck which allowed us to create a much better layout in the kitchen. It also gave us this cozy little area for an undercover seating area.

A grey outdoor couch.

An outdoor armchair with a palm pillow.

The pool deck area was the other big transformation this year.  Here it is before, with a terracotta orange concrete paint (we also replaced the too-short fence with a full 6′ black metal fence, and added landscaping with river rock and ornamental grasses).

There is an in ground backyard pool.

And now, after a couple of coats of Armor Coat porch paint…

A view of the outdoor pool.

The pool surrounded by forest.

How ready for summer area you? This week, some of my blogging friends and I are sharing our summer outdoor spaces – I know you will love all this summery inspiration!

 

Just click on the links below the images to be taken to see their full posts.

The Happy Housie // My 100 Year Old Home // Modern Glam // Cassie Bustamante

Craftberry Bush // Joanna Anastasia // Life is Better at Home // Inspiration for Moms

Clean & Scentsible // Finding Silver Pennies // Grace in My Space // Maison de Cinq

Life is a Party // House by Hoff // Zevy Joy // Two Twenty One

Taryn Whiteaker // Maison de Pax // Amber Tysl // This is Our Bliss

She Gave it a Go // My Sweet Savannah 

Want to remember this? Just PIN it!

22 Inspiring Outdoor Spaces poster.

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7 Comments

  1. Everything looks amazing Krista! Love your outdoor furniture and how you updated your pool deck (might be asking more details on that!) Thanks for having me along for this fun tour! Xx

  2. Wow, it looks great! We moved into a new home last summer, and our outdoor space has a TON of potential, but needs so. much. help. This is great inspiration. Thanks for sharing!

  3. Wow Krista, your outdoor space is amazing!! I didn’t know you literally have a forest in your backyard – you’re so lucky!! And the space looks so good. Love the hats on the wall! 🙂

    Happy Summer!
    Sheila
    xo

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