Our deck....ready for the new year!

Yes, here in sunny Southern California it's a gorgeous 75 degrees here in January...and we use our deck nearly year round.  It always has to be ready for the new season...

Little vignettes here and there throughout the deck....sofa area and eating area, too

So, here is a look at the progression of our deck.  My hubby worked on it for three years with various friends - off and on when he had time.  

Hubby hand dug all these trenches for the gas line and plumbing...

This is what the back area looked like when we bought the house.  It was uneven grass area along the driveway.  We had to rip up the sidewalk in order to get new plumbing to the back of the house....so, we decided since we had to do that, we may as well put in a deck!

 With the help of a friend he got started.  My hubby bought his grill online at Ebay!  Got a killer deal on it (it was local, so he picked it up) since it had a scratch on it and was new but sold for almost half of the cost of a new one (we still can't find the scratch anywhere on it).  You can see the foundation for the deck.

 Weekends, after work, and holidays...those were spent in the heat drilling, hammering, planning this deck!

Once the beams were all laid out and done, we invited lots of men from church who came with their drills and helped lay the decking down.

My husband's small group showing off their drills!  It took almost a dozen men all day to lay down the decking.  It's a BIG deck -nearly 700 square feet.

Next, he installed the railings and steps.  I added a couple of plants to spruce it up - but have since realized that it needed a lot more than two!

No chimney and no smoke to bother neighbors and lights with a remote control!!

 The outdoor fireplace was next on the plans.  It is a vent-less, gas log and so there is only warmth and no smoke to bother our neighbors - which in Southern California are right up against us!

You can see the neighbor's house and our SUPER low 3 foot high fences. We live on a hill so the houses are slightly staggered down.  This counter area has helped provide some more privacy for us, too! Although we like our neighbors.

 The outdoor kitchen probably took the longest.  You can see here the beginning...

 Putting on the scratch coat for the outdoor kitchen and then followed by the stone veneer.  It's so beautiful!

 It's shiny and pretty!  We bought the sink on Ebay - yep!  Also got a deal on the side burners on Ebay, but had to buy the cabinets for regular price!  The granite tile was a killer deal at The Great Indoors, so it was super cheap!

 Yep, that's better!  We have a temporary canopy on the deck during the hot summer months. Someday we'll do "phase 3" and put a roof on the deck, but it's not on our priority list right now...

Here's a look at it at Christmas time! 

Since we live in Southern California {and no longer have a dining room, see here} this deck is our outdoor dining room!  It gets used about 11 months out of the year, and we have outdoor heaters to keep us warm in the colder times. It will be used this weekend for our monthly family fellowship group on Friday night, my daughter's birthday party on Saturday, and we often spontaneously invite friends over for lunch on Sunday afternoons.  In the summer we use our yard for Backyard Thursdays...oh, you have to read about that!  It's so fun! And see our other, little house, too!

Some of my pretty succulents blooming out on the deck!

 
I'm very thankful for a handy hubby!  He is a blessing to me and our family - and our church! Do you have an outdoor area?  Have you thought about how you can use it to invite friends over?  I know it's January...but, now is still a great time to start thinking about it!

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Thrifty Decor Chick

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