I’m so excited to share our mini-deck makeover! Or, I guess I should really say it’s our deck’s mini-makeover. Because we don’t have a mini-deck. It’s not a huge deck, but it’s certainly not mini.

I digress.

We have been living in our new house almost two months and things are FINALLY starting to come together piece by piece. I realize that Rome was not built in a day and I just have to accept that it’s going to be awhile before we really get the whole house in order the way we like it, decorated the way we like it, rooms painted, etc. etc. etc. You know? It’s a process, y’all.

Anyway, John and I made a list of all the things we wanted to do to the house at some point and prioritized them from most important to least important, least expensive to most expensive, etc.

Well, because the weather is warm and because we LOVE to entertain and grill out (burger Sundays, for the win!), I knew that I wanted to make furnishing our deck a priority! At our old house, we didn’t really have the space in our backyard to really entertain or have outdoor seating, but this deck at our new house is just perfect for it.

We have been saving our pennies and gave ourselves a budget of $500 to do the whole thing (furnishings, decor, rug, umbrella, etc!) and I knew that I could make it work.

And here’s what she looks like… I am OBSESSED!!

This is the only photo I could really find of what the deck looked like before (this picture was actually taken when we came to look at the house before we bought it… sorry that’s all I really have):

And voila! Isn’t it SO fun and pretty and welcoming?

Because of the size of our deck, we opted to do open seating rather than a deck dining table and chairs. An outdoor dining table and chairs really would have felt too big for the space and closed it off.

Almost EVERYTHING is from World Market! My happy place! The yellow pillows, citronella candles, and candle holder are from Pier 1.

Here are the details:

• 4-piece Belize Occasional Furniture Set
• 9′ Venice Paisley Umbrella Canopy
• 9′ Brown Umbrella Frame
• Umbrella Stand
• Toucan Cadiz Mosaic Accent Table (on sale!!)
• Green and Gray Gate Outdoor Lumbar Pillows (on sale!!)
• Cabana Geometric Pillow in Lemon
• Maria Paisley Rio Outdoor Floor Mat (6’x9′)
• Citronella Tealights
• Outdoor Bombay Hanging Lantern Set (on sale!!)

I’m in love with this umbrella. And the pillows. And the rug. Okay, fine. I love it all.

The red adirondack chairs are from Harris Teeter like five years ago – haha!

Tater wanted to be in the pictures…

We’ve already hosted TWO get togethers in our backyard and on our back deck and John and I have already gotten so much use out of the setup. We really, really love it!

And, to top it all off, we came in $75 UNDER budget! We only spent $425 on the WHOLE thing. Furniture, umbrella, stand, frame, accent table, rug, pillows, candles, and all! I shopped around a TON…

I went to Home Goods, Target, Big Lots, the thrift store, Craigslist, etc. and couldn’t find anything I liked. I knew everything that I really liked and wanted was at World Market and the weekend of Memorial Day, World Market had an INSANE sale on outdoor stuff. Almost EVERYTHING I got was at least 30%-40% off. A few things were even 50% off. AND, to top it all off, because I am a frequent World Market shopper and World Market explorer, I had an additional 15% off coupon. And then I got some rewards to spend on a future trip. HUZZAH!

So, needless to say, it was an AWESOME deal and I was so pumped about it all and it really came out so cute and simple… in my humble opinion. 🙂 And, so far, the reception from our guests has been positive, too! Everyone has loved just hanging out on our deck eating and talking and having fun!

I can’t wait to share more mini-makeovers and home projects as we complete them! Which one would you like to see next?

So what do you think? Have you been doing any home mini-makeover projects lately? Do you love to entertain, too?