Dreaming Of Spring

Just when I thought that Spring was here, Mother Nature decided to pull a fast one and dump 19 inches of snow in my area. It was the craziest thing, the other evening when I was cooking dinner I heard thunder. That in and of itself isn't so strange for late March in ND but I knew we were in a blizzard warning. Then I heard more thunder and saw lightning...and then it started to snow. Weird! Here is what it looked like just a few hours after the thunder and lightning:

This is what I woke up to the next morning:

(not my pictures, I took them from my local newspaper's website here)

Anyway, after this little recurrence of winter, I'm especially yearning for spring and summer and the projects I've got planned.

Being that last summer was the first in our newly-built house, my husband built a deck. I've been itching to work on that this summer and make it an awesome place to hang out and relax. Here are my plans:

The deck is big - 12x27. We have sliding doors out from the dining area inside that will go straight to the dining area outside. We are planning on building a bar under which we can slide our grill and a big barrel cooler (you know, the type you see in convenience stores?) and also use as storage for cushions and stuff when they're not in use. Over the bar and dining area (12x12) I'm going to put some sort of shade - maybe lattice or a pergola or something canvas. The other part of the deck will be a little conversation area (directly across from the living room window). The things shaded green above are planters.

Here are some inspiration pictures I've been collecting. I have to apologize in advance for not giving proper credit for these pics. I started collecting them long before I planned on blogging. If any of the pictures below belong to you, please email me and I will be happy to credit you.

I love the canvas shades on this pergola and the lights make me super happy.

This pergola is so beautiful but sadly, not really in my budget :(

Because my deck faces west it gets really, really hot. I'm thinking of adding some outdoor curtains to help keep it cool. (I think this picture came from Pottery Barn)

More outdoor curtains - I love how it softens the area and makes it more cozy!

I'll be sharing more ideas as I come across them and I will be sure to keep you up to date on any progress we make as we do. However, considering that this is what my deck looks like now, it is going to be a little while!

So, what are your big plans for spring/summer? Does anyone have any ideas for me for the pergola/covered area?