Deck Party at Derinda's

Last April, my friend Derinda told me she was planning to host

a wedding shower for her friend's daughter. She asked my 

opinion on what to do to jazz up her deck a bit. 

I was flattered that she asked! And I also got excited, since 

Derinda has an AMAZING space to work with. She lives

in a lovely Town House on a golf course. AND it has this amazing large

deck with a pergola - overlooking the golf course. 

This is a great place for a party! And she already had some lovely

things to work with, so we talked about her vision and I had some ideas

of things we might do to tweak it a bit. So I perused Pinterest and

sent her to a board I pinned with some ideas I thought might work.

Keeping her existing items in mind, and looking at ways

to cover up those necessary but unattractive things all homes have,

We decides some doors were a good place to begin.

She gave me a couple of hundred dollars, and off I went thrift store shopping!

Anything for a friend, right? (YAY! Shopping with someone else's money...)

One feature we wanted to work with is this drum set Derinda had 

envisioned as a planter. A few years back, she got this idea for a fun

planter, and found a drum set. (Derinda is one of the few women 

owners of an Auto Body Shop, so she has RESOURCES and SKILLS!)

She had the drum set painted with auto paint - so they will never fade or chip.

Then she flew in another creative friend, Cathy, to paint the animal prints on them.

Cathy is an amazing artist - and a perfectionist. JUST the kind of person

you want to do a project like this. So the story goes - Cathy was still tweaking 

right up until guests were expected to arrive for a get-together!

Derinda was a tad stressed, but Cathy wanted them just right. 

Aren't they fun? They get plenty of attention from the golfers, too.

Though it was not part of our original plan, we all know how one update

leads to A TON of updates. So Derinda gave her railing a new coat of shiny black paint.

And some of her iron work got a new coat as well.

The doors I found on several trips to thrift stores and garage sales

were used to hide utility boxes and wiring - and they look great!

Derinda painted them, and stenciled a wrought iron

design on one. The other is a perfect place for a

piece of artwork she had in her front courtyard!

I love how it works with the hardware on the other door.

She also bought glass bricks and

used pipe cleaners attached to battery-operated white lights

to go inside the bricks for a little twinkle at night.

The chartreuse sweet potato vine looks great with her new cushions on her

freshly-painted patio furniture! (Yes, another unplanned project.)

But if you think that's a big project, I should tell you that this amazing woman

PAINTED THE DECK BY HERSELF - IN ONE DAY!

And the party for around 60 friends and friends of friends was a lovely success.

With help from hostesses and family, there was a tasty buffet.

Just outside the back doors, tables were set up for food and drinks.

Meanwhile, Derinda's front courtyard was hopping with guys grilling meat...

while the future bride and groom (left) supervised, with help from friends.

Here's the hostess in front of one of my faves - do you LOVE that door?

Derinda painted it with a spray gun using thinned-down acrylic paints.

Besides being a beautiful focal point as you come out the front door,

it hides a very necessary pump that removes water from the courtyard

in the event of flooding. (Gotta have it, but it's not pretty.)

This HEAVY solid wood door has all the colors found in 

her mosaic table, which you can't see, because

it was covered with grilling materials and un-cute things. Sorry.

(You can see a tiny bit of it in the grilling guy photo.)

In addition to the photos here, Derinda had her courtyard planted with

xeriscape flowering plants. Another feature not photographed, due to the 

abundance of traffic, is the area just beyond the deck on the golf course side,

she created a flagstone path, which surrounds a bed of more xeriscape plants.

It was fun to overhear the guests talking about 

what a beautiful place to have a wedding shower. 

Word for the Day:

Song of Solomon 2:4

He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.

Possibly Linking With
Sunday
http://my1929charmerblog.com/	Sunday’s Best
http://stylishonceagain.blogspot.com/	Restyled Sundays
http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/	Sister Sunday
http://www.thegirlcreative.com/	Just something I whipped up
http://www.thesoutherninstitute.com/	Creative Me Link Up
Monday
http://betweennapsontheporch.net/	Metamorphosis Monday
http://makingtheworldcuter.com/	Making the World Cuter Monday
http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/	Show Off Your Cottage Monday
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/	Masterpiece Monday
Tuesday
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/	Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/	Cowgirl Up!
http://www.elizabethandco.blogspot.com/	Be Inspired
Wednesday
http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com	Share the Love Wednesday
http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/	Primp Your Stuff Wed
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/	Wow Us Wednesday
Thursday
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/	Transformation Thursday
http://www.the36thavenue.com/	Share Awesomeness Thursday
http://katherinescorner.com/	Thursday Favorite Things
http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com	Home and Garden Thursday
http://www.jannolson.blogspot.com/	Share Your Cup Thursday
http://livelaughrowe.blogspot.com	Live Laugh Linky
Friday
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/	Feathered Nest Friday
http://redoux.blogspot.com/	Friday Redoux Link Party
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/	Frugal Friday
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/	Flaunt it Friday
http://sassysites.blogspot.com/	Free For All Friday
http://www.lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com	Spread the Love
http://homespunhappenings-tammy.blogspot.com	Rustic Restorations Weekend
Saturday
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/	Saturday Nite Special
http://too-much-time.com	Get Schooled Saturday
http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/	Show and Tell Saturday