My Great Outdoors: Laura's Living Room on the Deck

Name: Laura
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Type of space: Front deck
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: We finally put in some comfy furniture and some lovely plants on our front deck above the garage (we live on a hill). We truly use it as an extension of our home. We hang out with our kids and read, my husband invites friends over to play guitar out here and we eat and drink with friends or just by ourselves. We don't venture much out into the backyard anymore since this space is so inviting and easy to get to.

How did you create it? The deck was already here when we moved in, but after replacing the redwood twice in 10 years, we finally swapped it out for Trex, which has been fantastic and no maintenance. We put in planters with horsetail and asparagus ferns as well as a couple of dwarf meyer lemon trees and installed a drip system for irrigation. Add the furniture and steal the umbrella from the backyard, and Voila! Instant outdoor living space.

Recommended store, site, product or resource? We splurged on the furniture from Berks (Harmony by Lloyd Flanders.) Meyer Lemon trees from Sperling Nursery out in Calabasas (worth the schlep!). Trex from Home Depot.

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Comments (9)

This is nicer than my indoor living room!

posted by dearmisha on June 17th 2009 at 10:16pm
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This is wonderful! I love the asparagus fern too. We had big plans to transform our patio into a beautiful outdoor living space (until we were transferred for my husband's job).

posted by TheToddMan on June 17th 2009 at 11:12pm
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I love this space! So perfect for hanging out. Do you mind telling me where you found the small lighter green pillows? I've been searching for some exactly like them. Thanks!

posted by therote on June 18th 2009 at 1:06am
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Well done! I love the color palette!!!

posted by jeffnyc on June 18th 2009 at 8:13am
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I like the color palette also, I love when people do various shades of green in an outdoor space.

posted by paperchaseuk on June 18th 2009 at 8:54am
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Looks fantastic!! question; when you switched over to trex did you have to replace EVERYTHING? Or did you keep the bottom part like the boards underneath that you screw the top boards into??
Thanks!

posted by labchick on June 18th 2009 at 8:55am
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Fantastic! I'd add more color though.

posted by STYLeyes on June 18th 2009 at 1:07pm
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Thanks for the many compliments! The pillows were made from Sunbrella Parrot fabric at Berks, but you can find the fabric at any well stocked fabric store and have them made. When we pulled up the redwood, we didn't have to do any further prep work besides the same framing underneath. And I think this room is nicer than my living room, also (and easier to keep clean, somehow!)

posted by laurawin on June 18th 2009 at 6:53pm
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Very serene.

posted by Cindy@Dirtdujour.com on June 27th 2009 at 12:45pm
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