What happens when you take a weird structure in the corner of a deck and tear out the deck around it? Make it into a gazebo!
Which is exactly what we did when we tore out a huge, rotting deck... a year and a half ago. Well, we might (ok, often) take extra time for do-it-yourself projects, but they eventually do get done.
We decided to create a series of outdoor "rooms" - an entry deck, an herb garden, a gravel patio for dining, and a gazebo for relaxing - all in the footprint of the original deck.
Did I mention that it was huge?
How about a few "before and after" shots to see how far we've come:
We started with a dirty, white, shed-roofed structure with a couple of rotting posts, but with a surprisingly in-tact floor. We now have an actual gazebo after adding rails and steps on two sides. We chose to paint it the color of wood to try and minimize the upkeep.
I have learned that white-painted things in Oregon look dirty and mossy after the very first winter. Which I know first hand from the white-picket fence, white pergola, and white arbor we had in our city bungalow. Two words: never again.
A bonus is the way it blends into the landscape - since it's not a beautiful structure, it's nice that it's simply part of the backyard as a whole.
We tried to work with what we already had for simplicity's sake, so we kept the shed-roof, but we trimmed the lovely wiggle-board roofing and removed a facia board so that we could angle the 2x6's to help it look more like a pergola.
Two things took it from just a roof on posts to an actual gazebo: railings and entry stairs. We salvaged as much wood as possible from the deck and reused the good pieces to finish off the sides and flooring.
My gazebo inspiration photos usually showed curtains, which are fun, but they are also useful on this western wall of the gazebo to shield it and the dining area from the setting sun. We've been waiting awhile for these curtains - and it's been SO nice to be able to pull them when we need the shade.
I had heaps of curtain lining left over from when I made curtains for people years ago, so I simply sewed hems in the fabric. I still need to get chain to put in the hems to keep them from fluttering in the wind - I was happy to learn about this, as we get a lot of afternoon wind. Did you know this trick?
I had been saving things for quite awhile to decorate the gazebo with. The rug came from Ballards outdoor clearance sale last year and spent the winter in our garage. And these chairs have had many lives in our homes - they got a makeover in order to take their place in the gazebo.
Our friends were getting rid of the rusted coffee table because the glass had broken from the center a few years ago, but I loved the shape and rust, so I took it.
A few months ago our neighbor gave us a few pieces of old mahogany boards that had been stored in a barn. Brian cut them to fit the table and I LOVE how it turned out!
Who knows? It might even find it's way into the house in the future...
We sat in it the other night with friends and it made me sort of giddy after all the time I've spent thinking about it.
The best part of the gazebo makeover, though, has to be this view. This is what we look at everyday as we stand at our kitchen sink.
It's SO much nicer.
This is linked to Funky Junk Interiors, and Tatertots and Jello.
brenda from ar says
What good work you do. It's just beautiful, and I'm totally into the coffee table.
Athena at Minerva's Garden says
Your gazebo turned out so nice, Jami--I love that you were able to recycled some of the old wood and other building materials and reuse it--very cool! And what a gorgeous coffee table--I love the mahogany wood top--beautiful.
Ann @ The Scrapbooking Housewife says
That looks absolutely lovely!! It must feel so good to have that project done! It seems to take us forever to get any projects done as well! Love the chain in the hem trick, but unfortunately we have steel railings, so the noise would likely drive me crazy! LOL! We use nice fabric shower curtains outside to shield our balcony from the hot afternoon sun. 🙂
Nancy Davis says
Oooops! That is http://cozythymecottage.blogspot.com/ Nancy
Nancy Davis says
Hi! I came across your blog and that is a very nice garden gazebo. We get terrible winds sometimes and I like curtains on my pergola so would appreciate the info. Thanks so much! Nancy
Jami says
You just leave the ends of the curtain hems open, thread a chain through the length of it and then slip-stitch the ends closed. The weight of the chain holds the curtains {mostly} in place. Of course, not against gale winds. 😉 Home stores sell chain by the foot - we just picked one we thought would be heavy enough, but not too heavy. Hope that helps!
[email protected] says
ps. goes to show how out of touch I've been... not sure when you re-styled your blog, but it looks terrific!
[email protected] says
Hi Jami, the gazebo looks wonderful! Thankfully our weather is still letting us enjoy spending time outside in such a lovely place.
Thanks for stopping by the other day. I am working on a few things with the blog and hope to be posting regularly soon:)
Jami says
Oooh, thank you, Heather! I'm so excited you will be posting again and am really look forward to reading and seeing what you're up to. 🙂
Mindy says
It looks AMAZING! Nice work.
Lee says
What a lovely makeover, I wish I had some room in my garden for a Gazebo, I have a tiny rabbit patch of a garden. I used to have a gorgeous garden with over 200 old roses but now only a deck and a small patch of grass surrounded by a privacy hedge. I really miss my old garden and when I see posts like this I want to move again. I am still dreaming of some land in the country.
Lee 🙂
Karen says
wow !!
That is gorgeous !!
I truly love an indoor-outdoor room !!
xoxo
HA says
Hi Jami, i did try to send you an email on the olive oil conversation we were having,,,,until i realized it was a no reply return thing. So before i go on, would you like for me to use this blog to explain your question on the tomato OO....? if so, you have my EM...plz let me know.
By the way, nice post. HA 🙂
debra says
oh my goodness this is wonderful / so lovely! 🙂 Reminds me of what my brother-in-law did recently. They used to have a pool and we were always out there swimming when my kids were little. Finally the pool came out and he then built a room ( sunroom sort of room ) onto the back of the house and they had a deck of sorts where they kept putting up those dining pavillions that would blow away in a good wind. So this year he spent from May through August making what I'd call a Gazebo / Pavillion add-on of sorts and my sister found curtains on Amazon and it's just lovely...like yours! 🙂
Tami says
Very, very nice. I love it! I can't make out the chandelier very well....is it candles or ??
Jami says
Ah, Tami...I've got a whole post planned on the chandelier. 🙂 There are tea lights in it right now - one day I may wrap it with little white lights.
[email protected] says
It turned out fabulous! Absolutely gorgeous!!
JanF says
What a wonderful job you have done! It is spectacular and needs to be in a magazine!
daisy says
Brilliant!
Diana says
That turned out so nice! What a wonderful view to have from your kitchen sink -- that will give you all 4 seasons of pleasure!
Anne says
Lovely job Jami! It looks beautiful now!!