I’ve convinced the hubs (and my mom and dad!) to tear down our current deck and build a new one. Our fifth anniversary is coming up and the traditional gift is wood, so I thought a new deck would be the perfect gift. We have a ginormous backyard with lots of tree cover, so even though it’s hard to get grass to grow, it’s still a great spot to hang out and I love to throw parties back there. I also want to work on our landscaping, to create a natural area along the back fence to eat up some of the unused space and provide something pretty to look at. I mean, our neighbor’s cars and a chain-link fence are pretty and all, but I thought some shrubs (hydrangeas maybe?) and some pine needles and flowering perennials would be nicer.

So I did what I always do when I get an idea: I perused the internet to find others who have done the same thing. And I can definitely tell it is warming up outside beside there is no lack of inspiration in blogland for outdoor living spaces!

So without further ado, check out the eye candy I found this week. And be sure to check back…I’ll post before and {eventually} after pics of our backyard!

Kate over at Centsational Girl is ready for dinners on the patio with her DIY, affordable new table cloth and terra cotta pots inspired by pricier versions. I love her use of spray paint and that blue is beautiful!

And then Ashley and her hubs from The Handmade Home are working on utilizing their backyard space to its utmost potential and sprucing up the view on and from their patio. They started the project by extending/building a new fence to enclose their side yard and include it as part of the backyard. Major DIY work going on over there and I can’t wait to see what they do next!

Then Beverly told me that World Market had a yellow and gray outdoor line this year, and you know how much I love that color combo! Our pillows and umbrella are a natural color, so it would be fun to liven it up a bit with fun color scheme. The wheels started turning and I realized I could paint the adirondack chairs yellow!

I also love turquoise and orange, or blue and lime green, or crisp black and white {and I already have a few black and white damask outdoor pillows that I “borrowed” from my mom and never returned!}. We have great basics – 2 comfy adirondack chairs, a Chesapeake table and chairs from Pottery Barn {a major score from the outlet years ago!}, and lots of space. Jim even strung lights from the trees for at my request, so there’s always a party atmosphere. There are a zillion ideas flowing and I can’t wait to get started. I just hope it’s ready to show off {I mean, enjoy} before Molly’s birthday in August!