Home improvement has become my area of expertise over the last 6 months. We’re in the process of getting our house ready for sale and (truthfully) it’s been a fun experience putting the finishing touches on things around the house that we’ve been wanting to do for years. We started with the interior this past winter. We re-painted our bedroom, living room, kitchen, hallways (up and down) and our basement. We re-did the flooring in our kitchen and re-surfaced some of our cabinets. And we (finally) re-did our downstairs bathroom.

The inside of the house right now is rocking and rolling. I’m extremely happy with the progress and most of all, I’m proud of it because it’s been DIY. My husband and I have taken great pride in working on everything ourselves, really making our mark and saving ourselves some money.

But now… with spring in full bloom and summer almost here, it’s time to concentrate on the outside!

First up on our list?

Our deck.

When we first looked at our house to buy 10 years ago, a selling point for me right off the bat was the deck at the back of the house. I loved that it attached to the living space in the house and was easily accessible for outdoor entertaining. I grew up with a deck off my house, so for me it was very appealing. I used to love eating outside on my deck as a kid with my family. It was the perfect outdoor living space and my parents took full advantage during the spring, summer and into the fall.

I wanted this for our family, too. Throughout the last 10 years, we’ve used and loved our deck. My husband’s beloved grill is in our deck, which he uses around the clock during the summer. We eat dinner on our deck almost every night during the summer. We entertain regularly on our deck – birthday parties, anniversary parties and “school is out” parties! We have thoroughly enjoyed our deck as living space.

There’s just been one little snag.

Our deck desperately needs some tender love and care after a decade+ of use. It’s (there’s no other way to say it) kind of an eye sore. After long New England winters, it needs some help. The stain is chipping. There are nails beginning to poke. There’s some mildew and mold that needs to be thoroughly washed. This space is a space we love and I want to create a gorgeous and beautiful deck that I’m proud of and will look beautiful when we put our house on the market.

I’m excited to share that I’ve partnered with Thompson’s WaterSealto make my dream deck a reality! I mentioned how important it is for us to do as much work as we can ourselves, so we’re very excited about this DIY project!

As you can see, we really want the outside to come together for us and since we’re going to be painting the exterior, it only makes sense to make sure we update the look of our deck, too. What I love about Thompson’s WaterSeal is that their deck stains and sealersprevent water damage, while the coating resists mildew and UV damage. This is very important to us since our deck is open to all elements – snow, rain, sun, etc., not to mention the wear and tear of a family of 7!

As we began to get everything ready the beginning of our project, we discovered that there were some wooden boards that we needed to replace. My husband has been very proactive in wanting to make sure these were replaced quickly and that everything on our deck was safe for our family. We also needed to clean our deck to remove dirt, stains, mildew and the old peeling coating. This is a very important step and ensures long-lasting, beautiful results. I always like to say when I do DIY projects, you have to expect the unexpected. Our deck has been through another long, harsh New England winter. Our deck needs a good solid run-through and clean. I love getting everything prepped, this is my favorite part about DIY projects, we’re able to see what we’re in store for before we begin!

It’s been a blast prepping everything! Just like you prep for painting your house and picking colors, it’s fun to do the same for our deck.

We went back and forth on what color stain to go with, we loved them all – but we opted for Thompson’s WaterSeal Signature Series- Transparent Stain & Sealer in Autumn Brown. I loved the transparent opacity because it adds color to the surface while allowing the texture of the wood grain to show. This product is also available in other deck stain colors, including Natural Cedar, Honey Gold and Timber Brown.

I’m so excited to see this stain against the new color of our house. It’s going to look so beautiful and classic! I can’t wait!

So this is the beginning for us!

I’m so excited to share this journey with you and I’m going to bring you through the entire process!

Thank you so much, Thompson’s WaterSeal!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with Thompson’s WaterSeal. All opinions are 100% my own.