Total Basset Case: House Update: Outside!

Jun 7, 2012

House Update: Outside!

One of the projects on our house to do list since we moved in 
has been to re-stain our deck.

We Mister tackled this project a few weeks ago.
(I did help paint/stain quite a bit but he definitely did the majority of the work)
This was not the quickest project but it also did not 
end up costing us a fortune. 
Score!

Our neighbors told us they had recently been given a quote to have the 
exact same thing and it was going to be $2,400.
We spent about 10% of that. 

I strongly encouraged Mister to let me pick out the stain color 
and a after a lengthy discussion at Lowes,
I we decided on a mushroom brown color that contrasted nicely with the house.
Hubs, choosing color is what I do in life, remember?

 I won't bore you with details of the actual staining process 
but it included things like:
pressure washing
deck cleaner
paint sprayer
and a teeny tiny brush to pain the spindles
oh and the occasional freak out that I was going to be stung by a carpenter bee

all while trying to keep Floyd out of the wet stain.
However, we were not successful at that because he definitely 
ended up with stain streaks on this ears by the end of the process.

Here is the awesome (not) red color it was before:
and now the final product!
(please pardon the muddy paw prints)
Much better! 

And in other news,
Floyd is clearly utilizing his pool to it's fullest potential...
as a water bowl.
During the summer his ears are constantly sopping wet.
For Mother's Day my mama brought me this beautiful planter for our brand new deck!
AND! my lilies are finallllly blooming! 
We were fortunate that these were already here when we moved in.
I think they might be stargazer lilies?
Can anyone confirm that for me?

So there is a quick update on how things are looking around (the outside) of our house!

Have you done any home improvement projects lately?


25 comments:

Joy said...

Awesome! I love the new color. Much better than that red. LOL Sweet Floyd... I can't believe he isn't jumping in that pool to stay cool!! At least his ears won't be hot. ;) Happy Thursday!

Virginia said...

The deck looks great! Those lillies are beautiful!

Michelle said...

Looks nice! And I've been wanting to add a little pool for my dogs. Would that make me a crazy dog person? Haha they would just look so cute!

katelyn w said...

Looks great and of course he is drinking it. That would be Sophie's dream!

Caitlin said...

On the home improvement front, I added a planter to our front door (on the blog today!), but I have also been working nonstop in our gardens. We need to restain our deck too, but I think it can wait until next summer.

Those lilies are GORGEOUS...we can't have any lilies because there are so many deer in my yard at night and they'll eat them!

Katrin said...

It looks awesome! Congratulations!

Jodi said...

I love your dog so much! Great name too. I can't wait to have another Basset. They are the best.

The porch looks great.

Darby Hawley said...

Looks awesome girl!

Stephanie said...

Love the new porch! Looks so good, and so do your lilies

BeckyJo606 said...

Our deck is red too--don't ask me who picked out that color!! We have been talking about tackling that project at the end of the summer...but with me picking out the colors this time! I think those lillies are tiger lillies? They're so beautiful!! :)

erica said...

Wow your flowers are gorgeous! Mine are barely even coming to life lol. xo

Erin said...

Haha I always seem to comment on the opposite of what everyone else does. For instance Floyd's ear being sopping wet all summer. Love that haha

Brittany @ Brittany's Joy Blog said...

The deck at my parents house used to be red too, and I didn't realize how bad it was until we changed it up! (we lived in a redwood forest, so it wasn't really out of place). They now have a gray color, and it's absolutely fantastic. great choice on yours; the mushroom color was nice!

Unknown said...

Woah hello night and day. That new color looks pretty fantastic. And I want to give your doggie kisses!

Cortney said...

We recently built and stained a deck...never-ever-ever again! I broke gloves staining my back hurt I had stain all over myself. I was so not good at it. Yours looks beautiful though! Love the flowers!

henning love said...

your deck looks fantastic sarah!! i love the color you selected and doing it yourself totally saves money. good for you two for doing it yourself. i love the flowers you have on your deck

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

I don't know what lilies those are but they sure are beautiful!

And I love your little guy!! He makes me want to get home to my pup and play with her ears and squeeze her! Clearly I'm like Elmyra from Looney Toons haha :)

Stephanie said...

Your deck looks SO good!! Must be a good feeling to get that over with!

Can we talk about the pics of the lilies!!?? Holy crap-those are GORGEOUS!!

Ashley said...

it looks AWESOME!! so inviting now!!

Kelly { MessyDirtyHair } said...

Wow! What a change! Looks great!!! I love your dog. So cute!

Because Shanna Said So said...

High five on spending 10% of the neighbors estimate...and you will appreciate so much more because you out your own sweat and tears into it!! Looking mighty fine!
xo,
Shanna

Savannah said...

Your deck gand those flower!) look fantastic. Great work!

miss b said...

Your outdoor space looks lovely and as for the lilies - stunning colours!
http://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk/

Heather said...

OMG! FRED USES HIS AS A WATER BOWL TOO! HE JUST STANDS IN IT AND DRINKS OUT OF IT. LOL. THE OTHER DAY WE EMPTIED IT. AND I CAUGHT HIM SLEEPING IN IT!

Katie said...

It looks great lady! I know how hard staining a deck can be so good job!! :) and the planter looks gorg!