Getting the Deck Summer-Ready

Now that the warm weather looks like it's here to stay (although I probably just jinxed it), we thought it would be a good time to drag out our deck furniture. Here's what the deck looked like all winter:

Pretty sad and lonely.

We got our deck furniture at the end of summer last year. This is a great time to buy since prices are seriously reduced as fall approaches. After a lot of research and debate we got a loveseat, chair, and table from the Target Threshold Belvedere Wicker set, seen here.

Source

 
Because we have a Target Red debit card we got 5% off our order, plus free shipping. The free shipping alone saved us over $75! (Side note- best card ever. I love that it's a debit card, instead of a credit card.  There's also no minimum purchase to get free shipping).

After buying those furniture pieces we found two side chairs at Lowes, also on clearance at the end of the season. They are such a close match to the Belvedere design that we had to add them. I didn't see them on the Lowes website, but they are the Allen + Roth 'Connelly'. They came as a set of two that retailed for $100 and we got them for $50.

Drum roll please... Here is our deck after getting out the furniture.   

Not bad for mid-April, right?  The two pillows are from Lowes. The lantern is from Homegoods. The flower pots are a mixture of Target, IKEA, and Homegoods.  I'd like to get some more bright plants and flowers to add some color.  I'm also considering an outdoor rug. Does anyone have any suggestions? Finally, our big project for later this month will be to stain the deck.  We're currently leaning towards a dark espresso brown to contrast against the green house.  Just checking things off that summer to-do list.

Now all we need are some burgers and pitcher of sangria!