Deck, Deck, Goose
My life right now consists of four things: keeping the kids alive, working around the clock, designing and planning a major deck/yard remodel, and somehow maintaining a relationship with my (very understanding and supportive) husband. Since I doubt you want to hear me gush about date night last week, or my 4-year-old's success with probiotics, I'll just go ahead and fill you in on the backyard oasis project, as I'm calling it. Those of you who know me well, know that when I get an idea, I see that idea through to reality. And that's where the deck comes in.
A little backstory: my husband and I purchased our forever home in May of last year and immediately spent a month and a half fixing it up, projects ranging from full interior and exterior paint, to new hardwood flooring, to installing a farmhouse sink, to complete bathroom redesigns. We made it just livable enough and moved in July 1st. We had quite a bit more work to do but needed to get moved out of our starter home so we could spend another month and a half doing a major remodel on it! Needless to say we had a long and productive summer, but by fall we were absolutely remodel-ed out, especially my husband. I'd convinced him to help me with a few projects around the house here and there since then, installing a barn door, new light fixtures, building a storage bench, etc. but all quick, easy updates. So when it came to me broaching the subject of wanting to completely rebuild the deck and a portion of the fence and get a hot tub and figure out where a pergola would work best, you can imagine it would take quite a bit of finesse to convince him it wouldn't take over our entire summer and lives. We always planned on doing the things to the yard described above, but my husband definitely thought it was 3-5 years out, that we'd take a break from construction for a while, and just be. Well, I'm rarely happy just being, I'm more of an evolver, a doer, and luckily my husband likes that about me, because I definitely wasn't waiting 3-5 years for my backyard oasis.
Enter deck project.
It all started April 21st when my husband and I were out to drinks with friends. They asked what our summer plans were and I, being quick on my toes and seeing this as my one and only chance to irreversibly introduce the outdoor remodel to my better half, answered with, "We're building a new deck and having a big 2nd birthday party for Owen June 10th. Pencil it in." My sweet, kind husband just smiled at me and conversation continued and the night went on without a hitch. The next morning my husband said, "Well, we better get on that deck if it's going to be done by June 10th." So that weekend I arranged for three different companies to come give us bids the following Monday through Wednesday. I found an awesome deck designing app on Better Homes and Gardens website and designed a couple different deck layouts. We spent a few hours at SBS and Lowe's and decided what finishes we wanted and picked out new french doors. By Tuesday the 2nd we had purchased a new hot tub at Arctic Home Living, hired a contractor, coordinated stump removal with Carlos Tree Service, and were well on our way towards the new backyard oasis! We currently have a big, green dumpster parked in our driveway containing the remains of the old deck and Monday morning rebuilding begins! Stay tuned, I'll update you next week as the project progresses!
