How much floor space will you have once the grill is in place?

What will you be using the deck for the most? Eating? Just sitting and soaking up the sun? How many people do you need to seat on a daily basis?

I'm thinking that you should chose furniture based on what you will do most often out on the deck. So if you will be eating there daily, get comfy chairs and a table. If sitting and relaxing is the main goal, get comfy sitting and relaxing chairs.

You can get an umbrella that attaches to the railing or the side of the house, to save space. Or an awning for the whole deck.

What about a bench along one side of the deck, a folding table that can pull up to it and two chairs? Then you have a variety of options.

Glad you came on over! : )
Check the link below for a recent discussion of a finished porch.

And here are some other threads, with pics, of decorated porches/patio/decks.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=porch&forum=decor&forum_name=Home+Decorating+%26+Design

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished porch

Can you post a picture?

What is your primary intent - to sit and relax out there or use it primarily for outdoor cooking and dining? I feel like bistro sets are not comfortable to sit in for more than 200-30 minutes, so not great for relaxing.

For our small patio, we went with comfy all weather wicker furniture. We like to relax out there (and so do the cats). Ours is about 10x14' so a bit bigger but you could have one less piece of furniture to allow for the door whereas we just clustered the furniture towards one side.

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by tinan on Sun, Jul 21, 13 at 22:54

Nancita, like camlan, I wish we had more info. what do you want to do on your deck? Eat meals? Or have a place to sit with a drink or just to relax? Obviously you want to grill, but what else do you want to do on your deck? We could probably offer more suggestions if we knew how many people would use the area and for what purposes.

We will have a 3 tiered deck, the top tier is a covered screened deck and huge... But the middle sun deck is cozy and about 10*12. We have the grill there and it's only about 6 steps down. I don't mind navigating the stairs at all with the food. But then our stairs arent too steep. You mentioned your guests would use the patio so it may be something to consider for your grill if you want to gain more real estate on your deck.

Sounds like the little deck will be for just the two of you, and the larger
patio for guests? Then I would get a small table and four chairs.
We have outdoor wicker with outdoor cushions, it's very comfortable.

We have a small table on our deck that we just keep two chairs at all the time, this is where the two of us use all the time, it nestled against the house.
If we need to sit four people then I move the table out and put four chairs around. You could do this, and keep the other two chairs in the area
with a small table in between. Or keep the table out further so that you
can use an umbrella and keep the extra two chairs by the house.
You can make a small area cozy, as demonstrated by titan
j

This post was edited by cliff_and_joann on Mon, Jul 22, 13 at 9:52

Hi all,
Sorry, I was sidetracked by yet another project which will be the subject of another decorating post.
Well, after surveying the situation, the sad and bad news is that my 8 X 10 deck has shrunk to basically an 8 X 5 one! I know, right? Because the honking grill is 5' long and the door off the kitchen in line with the grill is opposite it, that essentially cuts down the deck size.
Currently we have a folding table and two basic plastic chairs set up along the far end on the 8' edge with the umbrella next to the grill. If we upgraded the furniture, it might work. I don't think there's a whole lot of options.
I love sitting out there for breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner. After reading that Boston has allowed something like 300+ square feet to qualify as living space, I think my teeny deck would be roomy if done creatively. Can it also be comfortable?
Thank you.

You should definitely relocate your grill to the patio. It will weather there much better under the deck than on it. And the worst thing you can do is buy uncomfortable chairs.. That is not a "trade off," but rather a guarantee you will not use the space.

Do you BBQ a lot for the two of you? If the patio is going to be five steps down would you consider moving the BBQ down to the patio?

Take some pics maybe there are other options.

Also, there are small BBQ's ...if you move the big one down, you could
just buy a small BBQ for the deck.