Staining the deck (or the most boring post you'll ever read)

It was time for the deck to be stained, according to how long the wood sat to dry out after construction. They say to wait at least two months before staining and sealing new wood. Here you can see the railing vs. the floor where I put stain.  For the HOA guidelines we had to choose a natural or clear stain.  

I chose Olympic's Elite Wood Stain and Sealer in a natural finish.  To coat the railing, I used a staining sponge, made sure to wear gloves and an apron. I stirred my stain constantly per the instructions while coating and made sure the temperature was between 50-90 degrees.  You can see here that I've already coated all the railing.

Here's the floor BEFORE I got to it. To apply this coat, I used a large polyester brush and simply dipped my brushed and painted it on.

Here's the 24 hours AFTER photo. 

It has a definite "honey" hue to it, a nice deep golden yellow.  

Here are some pics of the porch with our current furniture set-up..still looking for a sofa and a patio table so we can use the picnic table down below. For now the set-up works for meals on the porch and some lounging.

The white chairs are from Target, the Navy Blue and White patio chair cushions are Tommy Bahama and the round split table was a Habitat for Humanity Restore find. The rug is from Overstock.

Our little turquoise metal "arrow" holds the kids summer toys and our sleeping kitty rock.

I found the cute table cloth at Home Goods and is an indoor/outdoor fabric. The red citronella candle is from Lowes.  Joe made a plethora of the bird houses for each one of our son's Cub Scout den's members. The boys assembled the pieces and our son painted his with acrylic paint and I sealed it for him with clear lacquer spray paint.

Ready for some meals on the porch!  I'm looking forward to summer picnics outside and sipping cold drinks while the kids play.

xoxo
Cathleen