All decked out. Part deux.

This past weekend, we (collectively speaking for the residents of Winnipeg) finally saw some spring like weather. All I can say is it’s about time! I was this close (imagine my fingers almost touching) to digging through my winter clothes this past week to find a pair of gloves.....it was that cold.

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks wandering around online and in store to see if I could hunt down a bistro set that would work with my deck space. I’ve seen a few that have caught my eye, but nothing that had really wowed me; both in terms of style and also retail. I wasn’t ready to blow the bank on a set, but at the same time I didn’t want to be bringing home the same $69.00 three piece bistro set as everyone else in Winnipeg.

As luck would have it I was wandering around JYSK (poor man’s Ikea for those of you not in the know) this afternoon and stumbled across the three piece teak set that I’d previously written about. I’d checked the set out briefly about a month ago when it had first arrived but hadn’t really decided whether or not I liked it enough to invest in it. Flash forward to this afternoon, it was on sale for $159.00, they had it in stock, and I loved it from the get-go!

http://www.jysk.ca

Not one to just settle for the set itself, I hit-up my local Real Canadian Superstore where I picked up two PC Home indoor / outdoor cushions in vivid yellow and white for the princely sum of just over $11.00 each. I love the look of these cushions –they’re very fashion forward without the scary price tag of similar pieces. I’ve raved about the PC Home line before, but seriously folks, if you haven’t checked it out, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Cheap chic, trendy housewares at killer retails. Seriously, every time I head to Superstore for groceries I end-up coming home with another piece of serving ware or some sort of gadget or bath towels....

Anyways, back to my story. The bistro set assembled very quickly and easily. The chairs came two to a box, and were pre-assembled; the table took all of three minutes to piece together. I love that the table has some snazzy levellers. My deck has a concrete base, and though fairly smooth, the levellers did come in handy to prevent it from rocking.

I haven’t figured out the final layout for the space yet, but I gave the dining set a test run this evening when I made the best (I’m not lying) burgers ever for dinner. And I’m not going to lie; I did jump around my deck with excitement when I realized just how good it looked.

I’m a ways off from completing my deckscaping project. There’s still the small matter of hunting down plants, accessories and lighting for this space. I did wander around Rona’s greenhouses this afternoon and was intrigued by a number of displays that I saw, but it is still pretty early. I’m thinking that I might make the journey back over there later this week to see what they have for ferns. I love the idea of adding a lot of green and also introducing some shape and privacy. While checking out Michael Penney’s blog, I noticed that he’d purchased a number of huge ferns for his own home and I love the idea.....they love heat, can take the rain and get really big, really quickly.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com

I’m thinking that the cedars might be a no go. For some bizarre reason I had the assumption that there were smaller cedars that you could pot, without having to worry about them getting huge.....and that’s apparently not the case. I talked to a few greenhouse workers who said that at best, I’d be okay for two seasons before having to worry about them getting too big for their pots. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be here (hopefully less than two years), and it kind of seems like an expensive adventure...I’m thinking at least $100. I’m going to wander around some evening  this week after work to see if I can find some annuals or perennials that do well in pots that also achieve some sense of height.

Paper lanterns are also on my mind! I found some really nice white ones at Michael’s that I’m thinking about going back to pickup. They were under $1.50 each and will really add to the space. I’m thinking that they’d look great hunt as a large grouping above my bistro set....say 9 to 12 of them?

Regardless of how much work is left to complete the space I’m excited that it’s finally warm enough outside to be using it. No seriously, you have no idea....after what seemed like seven months of snow it’s nice to be finally able to enjoy an evening out on the deck with shorts, bare feet a burger or three and a good bottle of wine. That my friends, is what a Sunday evening during the summer should be all about...

D-