The Cultivating Cozy Project: Deck Edition

Our First Home

We moved into our first house one year ago this week! It felt like a miracle that we got the house given that the pandemic had just started and we had pretty stringent parameters in our house hunting requirements. Aside from fitting the bill for what we needed, I was drawn to the aesthetics of the home. It had just been flipped and nearly everything inside is white, gray, or marble with dark hardwood floors and sleek gray tile. I loved it from the moment I saw it, perhaps particularly so because I appreciated the challenge of warming up such a sterile and neutral space. That is, warming it up with the simple, serene neutral decor I’m naturally drawn to. Lush, patterned ivory rugs, beige and gray furniture, black and bronze accents here and there, and lots and lots of greenery and natural wood. I’ve dedicated so much time to curating the inside of the house since we’ve moved in, and now that it’s getting warmer, my focus is shifting to our outdoor space.

The Great Outdoors

… and by that, I mean our backyard. The last owners of the home allowed the yard to grow wildly. Our neighbors have shared that they have never been able to see the back of our house before let alone the ground in our backyard. Last year, we removed over 80 trees (and still have at least 80 to go) and cleared all of the ground cover in the backyard. This year, we are leveling out the backyard, planting grass, and dreaming of building a fire pit.

I also have big dreams for our deck, which include redesigning the stairs and adding simple, sturdy landscaping, but above all, I want our outdoor space to feel cozy and welcoming, especially come autumn when those cool, crisp nights return (oh, I can’t wait!).

Inspiration

One way I’ve learned to add warmth and coziness to a space is with lighting. I visited a friend’s apartment last fall where she had a string of globe lights wrapping around the railing of her little patio, giving off just enough light to add a warm ambiance to our conversation on a cool October evening. I loved the coziness the globe lights brought to her outdoor space and knew I wanted to add globe lights to our deck, but I wanted them hanging above us.

Research

I researched globe lights and their average length, deciding that two strands would be suitable to get my project started at least. I’m such a visual, experiential person- I knew I needed those glove lights in my hands to get the rest of the project rolling. I purchased these from Amazon and set to work.

Once I had the lights, I needed to find a way to hang them. I had some ideas about attaching them to the siding on the house or wrapping them around the trunk of a big tree we have, but neither idea really fit my vision. I then began researching stakes or poles to hold up string lights, and found them to be quite expensive (2 poles for nearly $100). I was still conceptualizing the number of poles I would need to hang the lights, but I knew I would need at least four and spending $200 for poles that live outside was out of my budget.

As I was brainstorming ideas for how to hang the lights, I thought of PVC pipe. It was an affordable material, easily accessible from Home Depot, and should be easy to attach hooks to, theoretically speaking. I began measuring and decided on eight 7.5 feet tall PVC pipe with caps, one for each post of the deck (minus the one I intend to replace when we redesign the deck stairs).

Gathering Materials

My husband graciously went to pick up the eight 2 inch PVC pipes, each cut to 7.5 feet tall, and eight caps from Home Depot while I stayed with our injured puppy who was recovering from a medical procedure. I also ordered some heavy duty zipties from Amazon to attach the PVC pipe to the posts, and outdoor string light hooks that are rather weather resistant.

Taking Action

On one fine spring afternoon, I popped the caps onto each of the PVC pipes and then secured each pipe to each deck post with two zipties. It was quite easy to do, even without an extra set of hands.

After that, I mapped out where I wanted to hang the hooks, holding in mind the location of the outlet for the string lights. Then, I cleaned the pipes and wooden lattice on our deck with a little bit of rubbing alcohol in the spots where I was going to attach the outdoor light hooks. Once it dried, I attached the hooks and waited the recommended hour. After that, I plugged the lights in and started hanging them up, adjusting them bit by bit as needed to stretch around the parameter of the deck.