The final piece of the whole deck restoration puzzle is the reading deck. This space is located just outside of the dining room windows/door and it is a favorite spot to sit in the cool of the early mornings with a steaming mug of tea, facing east to watch the rising sun.  In spring and fall, you can also see the glistening blue lake through the trees.  As this part of the deck gets full sun from morning to mid-afternoon, it is the perfect spot to curl up with a good book (one of my favorite activities) during the cooler months. It is also a covered deck so Lucy and I sit out here during storms to enjoy the thunder and rain.

Here is a ‘before’ shot from inside of the cabin, taken last winter.

And here is the staining in progress. What a difference the darker stain makes, adding a crisp contrast to the rest of the cabin.
I also scrubbed and sealed the deck floor and stained all of the window frames with the same dark stain.

The fun part was setting up the reading space. I did not buy anything new here but do plan on adding more pots of flowers for next year. This is a great time to buy pots as they are usually on sale this time of year.

Here is another ‘after’ shot of the reading deck taken from inside the cabin.

I also stained the entire front stairs. Here is a peek at the ‘before’ shot:

And ‘after’, looking so much cleaner and well-cared for.

Here is a ‘before’ shot of the entire front of the cabin: before staining the rails, stairs and window frames; before scrubbing and sealing the deck floor; before building the trellis on the patio (left) and covering up the open space with more trellis; before fixing the railing at the Zen deck and rearranging the stones near the patio. It doesn’t look too bad but the deck rails and stairs were very faded and didn’t stand out very much.
Here are a few shots of how the cabin looks today. I am so pleased at how much better it looks!

My second summer has passed spent lovingly and patiently restoring the cabin. I thought this project would take a week at the most but with the spontaneous additions, repairs and rainy weather it ended up taking the entire summer! I am so grateful to B for his help and expertise!

Next year, I plan on sealing the concrete with a warm color, adding many more pots of flowers and planting a few more trees and shrubs in the front yard. I would also like to paint the green door and metal window frame a deep cranberry red.

Until then, this deck looks a whole lot better now. Not only does it adds some curb appeal and makes the cabin looked well-cared for, but the deck is now better protected from the weather. I look forward to many more projects and spending the days ahead here at cabinorganic!