Rustoleum Deck Reveal

Where are my exclamation marks and my heart-eyed emojis?!  I need every.single.one for this post.  Seriously.  I don’t know if it’s the hormones talking but I have never been so proud of a space before and I am so excited that today is the day that I get to share this with you.

SOooo….as you know, we worked with Rust-Oleum to bring you this amazing transformation.  We took on this GIANT challenge of filming a commercial for their Rust-Oleum Restore deck product and we did this entire makeover in ONE WEEK.  Yup.  And I was 39 weeks pregnant.  That’s right.  We actually filmed the final reveal the day after I was due with Max.  It was crazy.  I know one thing for sure…we couldn’t have pulled it off without the massive amounts of help we received from the homeowners, family and friends.  It truly was a group effort and we are so proud to say that we got to organize a successful makeover for a reader-turned-friend that gets to enjoy this space!

Speaking of which….here are our gracious hosts for this makeover.  That’s Karen and Brian and their little daughter Maddie who is Sesame Street’s biggest fan  They are such a sweet family and they gave us creative license when it came to their outdoor space.  We took over their home on three different days for filming and invaded their space pretty much every day in between so that we could get this thing done.  At the beginning of our deck-journey, Karen told me that the deck might kill me (she obviously didn’t know that I eat decks like that for breakfast) and that they were saving up to tear the entire thing down and rebuild.  We told them to let us do a makeover first!  They said yes and the rest is history!

So the deck that we started with was in pretty rough shape.  It was warped and worn and weathered.  It had wobbly stair railings and they had never enjoyed the outdoor area because they didn’t have a proper spot to sit down.  The landscaping was non-existent.  The furniture was unusable.  The boards would assault little feet and fingers and had never even been cleaned in the eleven years that Karen and Brian lived here.  This thing DEFINITELY needed a makeover.

And now the space is fresh and clean and is safe for the whole family to enjoy….

The first and top priority was obviously the deck itself.  The boards are very old and stain wasn’t the answer.  Plus with regular deck stain, you have to reapply every two years.  Talk about maintenance!  Rust-Oleum Restore is supposed to last MUCH longer than that if it is applied correctly!  Not only is it low-maintenance and all-weather, the Restore product created a more uniform surface that is much friendlier than splinters and wood shards!

After we did the process of prepping and applying the Restore product, we got to stage the space for the family to enjoy!  Doesn’t it look so much better?!

First let’s talk about the dining area.  Every deck needs a place to relax and if it’s big enough, having a dining set is a great way to entertain.  We got this Home Depot set at a great price (more on that soon) and the red plays so nicely with the slate colored flooring.

Since the finish is darker, it will hide dirt well too!  I have a love/hate relationship with outdoor dining sets that have glass tops (they always seem to get broken!) so this one is nice in that the metal top will last for many many years!

In the corner I added some inexpensive ‘art’.  It’s a first-aid cross made of twigs and tacked to some fence pickets.  It’s a nod to Karen who is a nurse at a dialysis center  It’s always a good idea to put in something personalized and I figured that this was the best way to pop in a bit of interest in the corner!

I love how the dark set also sets off the light gray wash colored railings.

I staged the table for a simple salad lunch and I grabbed a bunch of dishware randoms from my stash to create a more inviting scene.

Can you even imagine not being able to utilize this view?  This is why people live in the country!  For backyards like this!

Beyond the dining area, we also created a sitting area.  I imagine this area is great for play dates and morning coffee.

Do you even remember this before?  Messier than a three year old at an ice cream buffet.

The sitting zone…aka the chill zone…was created with inexpensive Home Depot Adirondack chairs (they are seasonal finds and each year they come out with different colors and are under $20 each) and a planter that I turned upside down to make a mini side table.  I think the planter was also under $20 and at Home Depot.

We made the planter sleeve for the tall corner plant.  It’s super simple and just slips over the regular pot (it has no bottom) and we made it for fence pickets.  I think it cost us $8 and we stained it Rust-Oleums Kona.

The light fixture now looks a million times better….even though it didn’t have a light bulb for this photo

Pretty amazing makeover right?  We are so happy that this family gets a space to enjoy and with a little hard work and the right products, they added value to their home.  That’s the ultimate goal right?  Enjoying where you live and making smart investments is what Bower Power is all about and I would say that this makeover is really exactly what makes us proud to be DIYers.

A couple more before and afters just so you can fully ooh and aww with us

So on Monday I have a very special post to share with you….the behind the scenes of the filming, shopping, and the Rust-Oleum commercial where my main squeeze kills it.  Yup!  Jeremy is the star of the video and I couldn’t be more proud of my bearded wonder