Lighting the deck: making it glow!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Lighting the deck: making it glow!

I LOVE our deck...my husband is truly amazing and worked so hard to make a beautiful deck {along with several friends who came over from time to time}. But, I have really enjoyed decorating our deck, especially at night!

Daytime on the deck

Evening is so dramatic on the deck

Every year I seem to do more to make it prettier - truly like an outdoor room. My husband has not had enough time to do phase 3 of the deck - Phase 1 was the actual deck, Phase 2 was the outdoor kitchen. Phase 3 is to build a roof - along with sprayers and outdoor ceiling fans {well, that's what I want} and built-in heater!

So, we use a 10 x 20 pop-up tent for about 6-9 months of the year. Remember, we live in Southern California {no snow} so we can do that - plus that deck gets HOT in the summer as it is west-facing. I absolutely can NOT grow any flowery, frilly plants on the deck either. So, I grow succulents.

I have decorated this pop-up tent with beautiful string lights and, recently, I've found using Ikea solar lanterns are also a great way to add a little more evening romance!

At night they light up beautifully!

Any outdoor space will look beautiful at night with just a few pretty lights! I even got these really cool RESIN candles. The deck gets too hot to leave a wax candle out there, plus lighting them with the wind can be a hassle. So, I found resin candles that feel like wax. You can even put them on a timer to go off at the same time everyday and stay on for five hours.