Six tips will help you get your porch or deck ready to enjoy all summer long.
Cecilia of My Thrift Store Addiction invited me to share what has been going on at my house this spring as part of a Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop. Spring nesting is still taking place at my home this year, maybe even more so since we are sheltering-in-place.
A special welcome to readers coming from Kathleen at Our Hopeful Home. If you have not read her Copycat Lemon and Eucalyptus Candle, be sure you hop over for a great idea to give your home fresh scents for spring. Our Hopeful Home is a relatively new blog to me, but Kathleen grabbed my attention with her recent living room refresh done in French Farmhouse Style!
You will find the entire list of nine creative spring posts with links at the end.
Like most of us, my spring days are filled with cleaning, decluttering, and sprucing up my home, inside and out. And, I am always looking for tips about how to best do all of these three things. If you are like I am, you may also enjoy getting tips from others.
Yes?
To make your deck and porch comfortable, add cushions to deck chairs and chaise lounges.
Look around your home, and use existing cushions. New pillows made as large outdoor pillows can be expensive, but by repurposing existing large pillows, you can create comfort outdoors on a shoe-string budget.
The bottom cushion shown in the Adirondack chair is a throw pillow that came with the original living room sofa. When the sofa was recovered, I saved the throw pillows to use other places. The pillow is large enough to cover the entire chair seat, but is not too thick to enjoy the comfort of the curved wooden seat.
The back cushion is a standard bed pillow covered with a pillow sham. Bed pillows turned vertically fit the back of an Adirondack chair. The pillow cover is easy to remove and to launder. New pillow covers are easy to find since the pillow is a standard size.
Create an area for outdoor dining.
A dining table and chairs are perfect for impromptu summer picnics in your backyard. Chairs and tables do not have to match.
A quick sandwich at lunch or a planned barbecue with all the fixings in the evening taste better outside. And, create family memories.
✔ Clean, top to bottom
Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop
A special welcome to readers coming from Kathleen at Our Hopeful Home. If you have not read her Copycat Lemon and Eucalyptus Candle, be sure you hop over for a great idea to give your home fresh scents for spring. Our Hopeful Home is a relatively new blog to me, but Kathleen grabbed my attention with her recent living room refresh done in French Farmhouse Style!
You will find the entire list of nine creative spring posts with links at the end.
Like most of us, my spring days are filled with cleaning, decluttering, and sprucing up my home, inside and out. And, I am always looking for tips about how to best do all of these three things. If you are like I am, you may also enjoy getting tips from others.
Yes?
Keep reading for my tips about
How To Get
Y O U R P O R C H & D E C K
Ready For Summer
C L E A N
Start the cleaning process by removing everything from the porch or deck. A blank slate makes it easier to thoroughly clean with no hard-to-reach spots under furniture. A bare area also makes it easy to reach lights, windows, and walls when there is nothing in front of them.
Power wash the floor first before cleaning other parts of the porch or deck. Power washers spray water, dirt, and grime EVERYWHERE! By cleaning with a power washer first, you will not have to re-clean areas from power washer backsplashes.
Another post is coming with step-by-step directions on how to power wash a deck or porch.
Clean top to bottom. Wash ceiling fans and ceiling lights after the floor is clean, but before cleaning other areas. By starting at the top of the area, the dirt will fall down.
If you clean the ceiling fans and lights after cleaning items below them, you will drop dirt and dirty water onto lower clean items. Yes, you will have to sweep or blow off the freshly cleaned deck, but nothing else.
Remember to clean both sides of the fan blades and the fan motor outside housing. Dirt and dust build-up can clog the motor otherwise.
Wash light fixtures. Dust, spider webs, and rain spatters make glass light covers dark and impede the light from the light bulbs.
Clean all porch and deck furniture.
Clean windows inside and out.
R E P A I R & P A I N T
After cleaning outdoor furniture, check it for damages that need repairs. Freezing and thawing winter precipitation causes rust, loose connections, and rotted wood. Repair any damages to make outdoor furniture look better and to prevent injuries.
After completing repairs, paint outdoor furniture to prevent new damage. Warm spring days with low humidity and gentle to no breezes are perfect days to spray paint outside.
Later this summer the temperatures will be too hot for outdoor painting. Paint should be applied during a specified temperature range. Check the label for the optimum paint temperatures.
Not only will summer temperatures be too hot for the paint, the temperatures will also be too hot for the PAINTER!
L I G H T S
There are three sources of lighting visible in this photo.
Wall fixture. String perimeter lights. Table candelabra.
Include a variety of lighting on your outdoor porch or deck. Open porches and deck areas have few surfaces to reflect ceiling and/or wall lights. Even with powerful light fixtures, the light just fades away to blackness all around at night.
Supplement existing light fixtures with exterior string lights and candles. Add string lights to a porch ceiling perimeter to give light at the edge of darkness. Check to make sure any fairy lights or string lights you use are rated for exterior use.
Add candles to table top surfaces to light lower areas such as seating areas or dining tables. Flickering light on warm summer nights invites hushed whispers at the end of the day.
C U S H I O N S
Look around your home, and use existing cushions. New pillows made as large outdoor pillows can be expensive, but by repurposing existing large pillows, you can create comfort outdoors on a shoe-string budget.
The bottom cushion shown in the Adirondack chair is a throw pillow that came with the original living room sofa. When the sofa was recovered, I saved the throw pillows to use other places. The pillow is large enough to cover the entire chair seat, but is not too thick to enjoy the comfort of the curved wooden seat.
The back cushion is a standard bed pillow covered with a pillow sham. Bed pillows turned vertically fit the back of an Adirondack chair. The pillow cover is easy to remove and to launder. New pillow covers are easy to find since the pillow is a standard size.
D I N I N G A R E A
Create an area for outdoor dining.
A dining table and chairs are perfect for impromptu summer picnics in your backyard. Chairs and tables do not have to match.
A quick sandwich at lunch or a planned barbecue with all the fixings in the evening taste better outside. And, create family memories.
P L A N T S
Prune and shape existing greenery on the porch and decks. Add fresh potting soil and fertilizer.
Place pots on bricks or risers to allow water to drain without pooling on wood decks beneath the pot.
Check the cleaned wood decks for water damage. Add large clay saucers under large pots to prevent future damage.
Potted plants can be displayed on outdoor tables to prevent water damage to wood decks.
Potted plants can be moved around the porch and decks to find the best location for sun and shade plant requirements. These hosta plants love the partly shady areas and continue to grow larger each year.
Dividing existing plants is a perfect way to increase the number of plants you have and to keep the original parent plant healthy by not overcrowding the plant.
Add aluminum sulfate to potted hydrangea plants so the flowers will be blue. See Tips to Get Hydrangeas to Bloom for detailed information about what affects the color of hydrangeas.
Ivy plants in pots are good plants for shaded porches. They are hardy, easy to grow, and tolerate our hot Texas summers.
The checklist is complete, and our porch and decks are ready for summer!
Checklist for how to get your porch and deck ready for summer ...
✔ Clean, top to bottom
✔ Repair & paint
✔ Lights
✔ Cushions
✔ Dining Area
✔ Plants
~~~~❦~~~~
Thank you, Cecilia, for organizing a collection of inspiring posts for spring.
I am last on the list of bloggers who are part of the Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop. You don't want to miss our hostess Cecilia's post, Feathered Friends Tablescape Spring, first in the list below.
For more inspiration, visit all my blogging friends who are part of the Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop.
