My new favorite space in the house isn’t actually inside the house at all. Instead it’s up in the trees on the outside of our dining and kitchen. The deck isn’t done in the sense that I envision it to be completed forever, but it is done for today and it is just perfect for right now.
Do you have any spaces like that?
Eventually we plan to tear down and completely re-do this area into a large scale outside dining area to increase the footprint of the entertaining area, but that is 1-2 years down the road. So instead of just living with a sad looking deck in the meantime we decided to paint it, add in a few favorite plants, new furniture and a gorgeous Pella door that instantly turned this forsaken spot to store things into a place we love to sit everyday. Coffee, wine and a view of the mountains from that fun love seat is exactly where you’ll find me.
The biggest change to the space was replacing our very old (and not working!) sliding door with this gorgeously large and beautiful Pella door. Although shopping for doors and windows is not as fun as shopping for pink skirts and confetti – having the right doors for the space matters just as much as all the decorations in the world to our entertaining vibe.
We switched from a 6 foot door that didn’t lock or open properly to a 10 foot wood door that lets substantially more light into the kitchen and dining and sets the stage for an outdoor space we will love and use often. I especially adore that the door opens in the center. Once our outside dining area is built out we will be able to open the door full from the center and have our dining flow between the inside and outside spaces, making for parties that can instantly fit more guests as they arrive.
I also spent a couple days painting the deck for a fresh feel that will hold us over until the larger renovation on the space. Since we knew it would be a temporary fix, I didn’t stress too much that I couldn’t have the deck professionally sprayed. The grey floor paint and updating the railings to a bright white bring the deck into style with the kitchen and dining on the other side of the door. They also work to frame out our trees in a fresh style.
I need to stop a minute and talk about this door. Oh gosh – I love this door! Pella sent it to us. We had to handle the instillation which meant putting in a new header, opening the wall for the day, paint, trim… it was not a little job. But I am so glad we did it, the gorgeous pine wood on the inside connects our wood flooring to this dining area and the door instantly makes the room feel brighter and more pulled together.
It’s like when you find the perfect shrug for that dress and it completely changes the entire outfit. This is our dining shrug! Now that it is in the room looked a little naked without it.
The Pella team came out and talked with us about our goals for the space, measured and had great opinions about which door would serve our family the best. It was customized service that I’ve never seen before! Such a great way decide on a big investment for the house.
If you need me I’ll be out here all summer long.
Product list: Outdoor Sofa, Bead Hanging, Pella Sliding Door, Pineapple Pillow, Floral Pillow, Hanging planter
(Photography ©A Subtle Revelry by Ali Denney).
