New & Improved Roof Deck: Teak Deck Tiles

This year we made a major change to our outdoor space.  Major!  As I previously mentioned, we purchased and installed Teak Deck Tiles on our roof deck.  It went from looking all sad and dirty to beautiful and live-able.  The addition of the tiles has absolutely transformed the space.  And we love it!

Below are a few photos of the deck before.  The original surface is basically just a waterproof membrane surface.  It collects every spec of dirt  and is impossible to clean.  I mean seriously, we could hose down the entire deck and it would still look just as dirty as it did before.  The other huge downside is that the surface gets incredibly hot.  So hot in fact, that you can't even walk on it in bare feet.  So the combination of the heat and the dirt made it almost useless.   

Dirty, Dirty, Dirty!

Pockets of collected dirt.....time to go bye bye.

And now on to the tiles.  We did quite an extensive search on the Internet looking for the best product at the best price.  We ended up going with a Canadian company called Build Direct.  They had the best prices we could find, and after ordering a few samples we were convinced that the product was durable and would wear well.  They offer multiple sizes and tile designs, but in the end we ended up going with a simple design.  We liked the straight plank look because it reminded us more of traditional decking.  It also minimized the seams between the tiles which makes it more look cohesive.   

The particular tile we purchased is 16" x 16" x 1" thickness.   The backing (shown below), is made up of a plastic grid with allows for drainage to flow underneath the tile.  The edges have interlocking male and female pieces which allow them to snap into place rather easily.  

Now, I can't take credit for installing this project.  This was all Marc's doing.  He was super excited to make use of his manly tools and cut stuff up.  But, I have to give it to him - he truly did an amazing job.  

Here are a few close ups:

And some overalls:

We couldn't be happier with the results of this project.  We're are so excited for summer this year!  In fact, we hosted a gathering at our house yesterday and I think everyone enjoyed themselves a bit more than usual.  I'm sure it had everything to do with the decking (and not the bar stocked with beer!)

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Choosing Interior Shutters

As promised, I have photos of one of our latest projects.  I have been drooling over my neighbors houses with shutters for so long, so finally we decided to pull the trigger and get some of our very own.  I just love how they dress up a window.  The simplicity and elegance was something I felt would be a good addition to our house.  

So, we got a couple of quotes, and ended up going with Next Day Blinds.  There were a few decisions to make - wood vs vinyl, the opening style and the slat size.  Before we talk about the options, let me show you the before photos:

BEFORE:
*Disclaimer:  I know, these photos are horrific.  But its really hard to take photos of windows.  I suppose I could have tried harder, but I don't have hours to spare taking photos.  Ok, done explaining my sloppy blogging. 

So here are all the things we considered before making our purchase:

Wood vs. Vinyl:

Well, wood is more expensive, so if you're trying to go the cost effective route (like us), then go with vinyl.  They look practically the same.  From the outside you can't tell the difference.  The vinyl will also likely hold up better, less dents and scrapes from dogs, kids, etc.  But the wood is obviously a nicer quality and the touch and feel is more natural.  The wood version also offers more color selections than the vinyl.  We ended up choosing the vinyl.  And we're happy we did, because it also seems to bear some acoustic properties which is a huge added bonus.

Opening Style:

There are tons of options with the opening style.  My husband and I debated about what we should choose for a while, but in the end we decided to go with the 4 panel, center open option.  [All the styles are shown in the picture below.]  Since our windows are so wide, I really wanted to be able to completely open the shutters if we wanted to.  The center open option was the only one that would allow us to do that, all the others would still be held in the middle.  They operate similarly to bi-folding closet doors.  

Slat Size:

The last decision was choosing the size of the slat.  They range between 1-7/8" - 4-1/2".  We wanted a larger size slat, so we ended up going with the 3-1/2".  The wider slats are best for big windows and for letting in more light.  When they're in the open position you have a better view to the exterior, which allows for more light to penetrate into your space. 

AFTER:
And now for the finished product.  I heart them!

2nd Floor {Kitchen & Powder Room}:

3rd Floor {Master Bedroom}:

The end result turned out better than we had hoped.  We love the look, the light filtering, the privacy and most of all we love how dark we can make our bedroom.  Sleeping in on a Saturday just got 10 times easier!

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5 Years of Happiness

Yesterday, my amazing husband and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.  I don't know where these last five years have gone, it feels like only yesterday that we were planning our wedding.  We've made so many great memories in the last five years and have grown so much as a couple.  I really never imagined I'd fall in love with such a great person.  Some days I feel like I'm living a fairytale, with my own happily ever after.  (And some days I don't.)  But even in our darkest hours, I've never doubted him.  Life is good.  So here's to us baby!  To many, many, many more.

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Winners and Discounts and Projects, Oh My!

TGIF everybody!  I have a few tidbits of news to share with you today.

• ONE:  The WINNER of the Moroccan Pillow Giveaway is entry #149, Sheila Foley!  Please send me an email to claim your prize.  Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

• TWO:  The Moroccan Room was so thrilled with all of your feed back that they have decided to offer a 30% discount off any item in there current inventory.  To receive the discount, email them at:  info@themoroccanroom.com and use discount code:  DiSabella Design.  This is a great deal people - don't miss out!!

• THREE:  I've got some new projects that I can't wait to share with you.  You can expect full posts about all of these topics, but here is a little preview of what is to come:  

• We just installed interior plantation shutters on the windows in front of our house.  We're in love with them.  They look a bit like this:

• Yesterday, we got a huge palette of deck tiles delivered to our house.  I can't wait to get these installed so we can enjoy our roof deck this summer.

• FOUR:  Happy early Mother's Day to all the amazing ladies out there who go by the name of Mom!  You ladies make the world a better place.  Here is a photo of me and my beautiful mom taken on a family vacation to Santa Barbara.  Love her so much!

 Have a good weekend everyone!