ORC Spring 2020 – Week 2 – Blessings and Slow Progress

Week 2 is here and we have barely done anything, which is a little stressful, but I feel like this is one of those projects where everything is going to come together at the last minute. The delays aren’t completely our fault though. The City was supposed to come to mark the power lines before we could start digging and like everyone else right now they are short-staffed so it was about a week late.

The extra time gave a few more days to solidify our deck plans though. We had originally just planned to do a small side deck, just based on our budget restrictions. While talking with some family and friends about our plans, some offered their time, money, and wood supplies without asking for anything in return. We feel so blessed to be able to add this addition to our yard. I know renovations are a sensitive subject right now especially with so many families hurting right now, so I just want to acknowledge and say A HUGE THANK YOU to our family and friends that are making this possible for us! My heart is so full!

With that said, you may have guessed we are extending the deck a bit. We are going to add a 12’x12′ square section off the back. This will make it so much more functional and give us the space to entertain and have both our families over for gatherings.

Here are the renderings I made in SketchUp when we were trying to visualize this in our backyard.

In other updates this week I ordered new exterior lights for our house. I know a lot of places have delayed shipping so I wanted to order early and make sure they arrive in time. I found these outdoor wall sconces on Amazon for only $22!

I also ordered some patio string lights for the pergola section of the deck. It will be a simple design but will add just the right amount of privacy and a bit of shade too.

Here are some inspirational images for the style we are going for. I was really inspired by this slatted pergola by Mandi Johnson. She has a great tutorial for how they built it here. Ours will be a smaller version but I want it to have a similar modern vibe.