Our editor Nick has a sweet deck that he’s been putting off decorating, and one day we thought why not decorate it for him? And thus, the surprise makeover idea commenced, where we roped in his girlfriend Ala to distract him with a half day at the park and then redid his entire deck in less than an hour. Here’s what his deck looked like before:

BEFORE

Our plan for this space is to use every inch of the deck in a purposeful way, meaning we need seating, a table, and lots of plants! We chose outdoor furniture that would withstand the tough Canadian weather, including a couch, cute bistro table and small bench that also acts as a table. We also added a super affordable and durable outdoor rug that turned out to be the perfect size!

For plants, we added some on the table and bench, and made sure to use bee-friendly plants to help out our pollinator friends! We also used the existing window box to plant some lavender and biden flowers. This makeover wouldn’t be complete without a DIY though! We made a bee home that is great for creating your very own honey bee hive that encourages pollination in your garden and also helps to save the bees. To make your own, check out this blog post.

Finally as some finishing touches we hung some string lights using a method we’ve done in a previous patio makeover. To do this, paint some large dowels in the colour of your choice, add 2 nails on a 90 degree angle on one end, and then zip tie the poles to your deck railing or anywhere that will hold them straight up. Simply hang your string lights using the nails on the poles, and now you have beautiful patio vibes without putting holes in your house! After we hung the lights the makeover was complete! Check out this complete small space makeover: