When Elizabeth and her husband bought their house six years ago, the inspector told them the deck stairs should be replaced within the year. Every year they would add the deck stairs to their to-do list, and every year they somehow failed to get to that project. Until this year that is- after watching the deck stairs shudder when the family pet ran down them, Elizabeth decided the time had come to reclaim their outside space.

What started as just a project to replace the stairs turned into so much more. After pulling up a couple of boards on the deck to replace, they of course discovered more wood that needed to go. The stairs were all framed in when Elizabeth got the inspirational idea to widen them to make the deck feel more open. When all the structural work was done, Elizabeth and Luke used Restore Deck Liquid Armor to stain and protect the deck. They painted the railings white to play off the new dark grey finish. Finally, they repainted their french doors black (the house itself had been repainted years ago to remove the original flesh tone) and hung some lanterns to mimic sconces. The end result is an updated outdoor space finished just in time to take advantage of those long summer evenings.
Read More: The Little Black Door: I Wear My Sunglasses at Night
(Images: Elizabeth/The Little Black Door)


White Enamel Flatwa...
Very nice. The black french doors look amazing!
I really like this idea. Did you also use the Restore on the railings as well?
fab. speaking as someone with a pathetic deck, this is ESPECIALLY FAB. you have my vote for president.
yeah my flesh-tone is caramel macchiato...
Widening the stairs made such a difference.
Removed the hand rails on the stairs? That won't fly when you sell the property. Any buyer's inspector will make you replace them, so you may as well do it now and benefit from not having to worry about guests shooting off the side of what appears to be 4 or 5 foot drop.
The new paint job and the candle sconces are nice, but not sure I'd consider it an overall renovation. You're moving in the right direction... keep going!
I just got done reading the blog post, and the hand rails were acknowledged.
The drop appears to me to be less than that, at or under 3 ft.
Their blog post is worth checking out.. shows they did indeed renovate.
Nice work!
Even Pantone's in on it:
1) "Chartpak AD Pale Flesh = Pantone 162. Chartpak AD Flesh = Pantone 1625."
2) http://blog.maybooks.com/color-love-pantone-nudes/
3) RA #122: 5553 PANTONEĀ® 169 Flesh Pink
The "Flesh Pink" is an embroidery floss color that resembles "pale business man after 20 minutes at the beach in trunks."
The maturity level (or lack thereof) here is absolutely astounding.
Nice job on the deck. It looks lovely.
Fabulous makeover. Definitely check out the whole post, lots to admire and lots to take away for inspiration on getting a big budget look without spending loads! Wonderful job!
I like it. the color scheme, lanterns, and the wider stairs look more elegant. good job.
Folks, please, about no railings. Is everyone that will ever walk down those stairs 1. young? 2. not physically challenged with bad knees, being older, etc? I am 61 and for years before I had two knee replacements 4 years ago, I could not have done those stairs. Just saying. Plus it probably is code to have a railing.