The Great Outdoors

With the kitchen in full swing, HandyMan and I have started to turn our attention to the next room on the renovation list - the back deck. After we finish putting down the kitchen tile, we'll have a very long six-week wait until the custom kitchen cabinets arrive. What better way to spend that time that tackle another home reno project.

As I blogged about before, we want the back deck to have a breezy laidback vibe... think billowing striped curtains, a built-in banquette, beadboard ceiling, nice railing details, and everything swathed in white paint. Here's what we're working with:

It seems we may have to make more structural changes than originally planned. Part of this is driven by our neighbours (with whom we share a driveway lane) who plan on building their own deck this year. With two decks encroaching into the backyard space, we're a little worried that we won't have enough room to manoeuvre our car out of the laneway and into our garage. We had already planned to remove part of our gate and narrow the deck steps to make way for the new jumbo recycling and garbage bins that the City is issuing to all homeowners. The neighbours' deck plans just present another wrinkle. After HandyMan and I host our Pecha Kucha on Friday, our calendar will be clear to start drawing up some plans. In the meantime, here's a few more inspirational photos I'll be tucking into my notebook.

From L to R: This Old House; Southern Living; Southern Living; House Beautiful; Domino; Domino