A composite deck is a great idea. The material is a little more expensive than wood but well worth the investment as it lasts at least three times as long as wood. You could leave the concrete pad under the deck. The railings that come with composite decks are not very attractive, however. It would be better to do without a railing and instead install a raised planting area next to the decking to eliminate the danger of anyone falling off the deck. The raised planting area can be retained with boulders, concrete blocks, steel or even more composite timbers. With the slope in your yard, you could have one seating or dining area lower than the main deck. Make sure the deck is large enough to handle a 12 x 12 dining area, along with other seating areas, with room to walk around the furniture. If furniture is too crowded it looks tacky.

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Because space is specifically limited, and/or it may be the nature of the expo to have everyone begin with the same look as a frame to focus attention on the content of the space, you may not have the option to use your own walls made of plywood or some other material or color: however, that doesn't mean you cannot recreate your space. If you must use the black curtains as walls, consider pinning other fabric to them -- at least to the back ones. The easiest way you might consider is to add a couple pair of sheer curtains for this purpose, leaving black on each side as a frame, perhaps choosing a white on white design or a color that compliments what you're displaying in your booth. If you can find a local seamstress to sew your logo on a banner the way names and school emblems are sewn on, consider doing that and then pinning your logo to the center of your back black wall, perhaps opening your pair of curtains and holding them apart with tie backs and putting the banner between them -- the idea is to create the curtains of a stage for your logo. Alternately, your time and sewing skills permitting, you might could create something more interesting -- include a faux window for the logo banner. Since your business is a painting business, you likely have some leftover paint stored away -- now is the time to make good use of it. Consider using smooth finish sanded plywood and hinges to create a pair of corner cabinets -- or just two boards forming a corner (two walls meeting), painted, of course -- for the two back corners of your booth. Preferably something you could use in your home or garage later. You could add shelves to your faux wall corners: http://cdn.homedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/wall-shelves.jpg You could build painted boxes from shelving boards and stack them for shelving between the corner cabinets -- maybe build toy sized boxes and/or shelves and affix them to a board. You could either paint only the inside back wall of the boxes or leave the back open and paint the "wall" to which they're affixed. http://cdn.homedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/simple-living-room-design-with-boxed-wall-storage.jpg You've heard of a bottle tree? You could create a wooden paint sample tree, painting the stick limbs instead of adding bottles or perhaps even hanging paint cans to the limbs of it. You could use 2"x2"x8' boards and cut 2"x2"x2" blocks and then stack colors together that would be used together to paint a room or the exterior of a building. Paint some birdhouses or bird feeders for display, painting them commonly used color combinations. They'll draw attention to your booth, as would painted spice racks or other small painted items. Locate your nearest Habitat for Humanity Restore Store and see if they have some narrow used bi-fold closet doors that you could paint and put together with hinges (if they don't already have hinges) to create a pair of brightly colored privacy screens for each side of your booth next to the corner cabinets, not only showcasing your painting skill but drawing attention to your booth. Someone asked: " Can you display actual samples of crown molding, baseboards, panel moldings, chair wainscoting, etc. and window trim and door accents". Yes, use both of the back corners and the privacy screens as display walls. You don't actually want full walls on the sides all the way to the front of the booth next to the aisle -- you want people walking down the aisle to see your booth from a distance and notice your booth. The larger Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores that sell donated building supplies can be a great place to find lots of inexpensive treasures to paint to showcase your talent and colors and draw the attention you need. I like the idea of a small square stark black table (with or without overhanging top) -- or, better yet, a pair of them (one for each of you), enabling two potential customers to interact with y'all at the same time (far better than the usual bland folding table). You could paint a pair of bar stools y'all might sit on during the expo and use later. Get some business cards printed if you're low or out of them -- you'll need them (hopefully a lot of them). Good luck.

This is a very charming kitchen but I can see how it is not a cook's dream:) Before you do anything you should assess your finances to determine if a home improvement loan is a possibility. Redone with a nod to the history and style of the rest of the house, it would probably pay for itself in increase home value. I love to try to work with original cabinets, but I see two things which would concern me: no vent for the range with cabinets (wood?) low enough maybe for a fire hazard (are they 30 inches from the range?), a small sink, and not a big enough space for the fridge. It may be possible to correct some of these without changing out the cabinets. A custom cabinetmaker might be able to work out some ideas. For flooring, it would be great if you could match and run the hardwood into the kitchen. You might not be able to match the narrow strips, but you should be able to match the wood species and color. New counters and backsplash would be very pretty - but they do not address the problems noted above and will be a waste of money if you decide that the floor plan needs adjustment. I probably would not light every top cabinet because it may be busy and is not really in keeping with the period of the kitchen. I might consider a few glass front doors for cabinets. One great thing about remodeling a period kitchen is that it will be more timeless and less subject to trends - so avoid trendy materials. I think if you could rearrange the dishwasher sink area a bit and put a farmhouse sink in - that would be great. Here is a good article: http://www.oldhouseonline.com/timeless-tips-for-remodeling-a-kitchen/ I too have a closed kitchen and like it. We do use the adjoining dining room for eating. My kitchen is about the same size, but it is L shaped and there is room for a small island since two walls do not have cabinets.