Backyard Deck Tour

We got together with a few talented Canadian home bloggers to share our backyards and patios for some summer inspiration. While our back deck/yard project got cut a bit short due to our year long trip to Vancouver, we managed to finished off the deck before we left. It's still missing a few things, like lighting (can't forget about that) and some landscaping, but we need some sort of project to do when we return next summer, right?

We decided to make our deck two levels, running the boards in different ways to separate the "spaces". The lower deck is the eating/bbq area, and the upper deck is for lounging. 
The backyard gets quite a bit of wind and full sun all day so we built up one high privacy wall with reclaimed wood, courtesy of my dad's old fence. The wood is about 15 years old and already had a natural light grey colour but the tone was a little too close to the deck colour. I picked up some semi-transparent Sico stain in Architectural Grey and applied one coat with a brush.We had intentions of building a glass railing on the outer edge of the deck, but decided on building a planter encased in reclaimed wood instead. You can see how we built it here.

I planted four Boxwood shrubs in the planter; these guys should grow to be about 3 feet wide and tall and should fill out the planter nicely in a few years.We installed a slat wall on the other side to give the bbq something to back on to. We used some left over reclaimed wood to build a bar top for entertaining. Ignore our ugly siding and lack of window trim; that is next summer's project.I threw a coat of Olympic Maximum clear waterproof sealant on the new pressure treated wood (the deck surface and slat wall). This brought out the grain and added a bit of richness/depth to the wood. The decking went down last summer, so it was a little greyer than the slat wall I installed a few weeks ago. The sealer brought back the colour and you can't see much of a difference between them.When we return, our white shed will get a coat of paint to match the new siding. Right now we are thinking dark grey, but we still have a year to decide.We plan on adding some crushed stone detail between the deck and the house, fixing up the back corner lounge area (not pictured because it looks like poopski right now). We also need to add lighting (you knows we gots to), and fix up the grass. There's a big to-do list, but luckily I REALLY enjoy working outside.Have a click through the rest of the bloggers' amazing outdoor spaces.

There's a number of different styles, all stunningly beautiful!

Come for a drink on Ariel's patio - PMQ for two Check out Laurie's simple patio upgrades - Vin'yet Etc. Get a peek into Tara's backyard - Suburble Andrea shows us how to love our suburban backyards - Personally Andrea Tour Dannyelle's patio updates - Life is a Party View Becki's summer deck - The Uncommon Law View Meredith's balcony patio - Coral & Mint Relax on Joann's funky chairs - Woman in Real Life