Turning an Awkward Alley into a Functional Outdoor Dining Deck

We call it the “alley” — the narrow strip of space left between the original part of our house on the left and a later addition on the right. The gap preserved a lot of windows, so we appreciate that the builders didn’t completely join the structures, but that skinny void has always felt awkward and underused. It currently holds a tiny, weathered balcony that looks down on liriope, our AC unit, the oil tank, and the neighbor’s house—hardly inviting.

At the moment the space is essentially useless unless you’re into the adrenaline rush of wondering if the decking will give out. The current porch is short and worn, so we started brainstorming ways to turn this sliver of real estate into something we’d actually use on a regular basis.

One early idea was to create a walk-out path with steps down to a pavered planting area. It would be pretty, but it wouldn’t add much real function — it would mostly be an odd walkway for bikes and in-and-out trips, and we already have a patio on the other side of the house that serves those needs. What we eventually landed on was a simple, practical solution: build a deck for alfresco dining right off the hallway adjacent to our kitchen. That short distance from kitchen to table solves the biggest practical barrier to eating outside more often: lugging plates and glasses across steps to the patio.

We love our patio for relaxing and reading, and we use it almost daily for casual downtime. But we’ve only shared dinner there a couple of times because it’s less convenient for meals. A dedicated dining deck here would change that — imagine a medium-sized table, a pergola overhead one day, and soft, swagged string lights for evening ambiance. Who wouldn’t want an outdoor dining space steps from the kitchen?

The alley is wider than it looks: nearly 8 feet across, and between 17 and 21 feet long, which makes it longer than many interior rooms. That gives us plenty of room for a comfortable dining set without turning the deck into a party-sized platform. To help visualize, we mocked up a simple drawing that shows how much dining space the deck will provide relative to our house.

One practical concern was the sightline from the sliding door: right now you see the oil tank and the AC unit. Moving those utilities would be a major hassle — especially relocating an oil tank, which involves county regulations. We realized an elevated deck that matches the existing deck height would block that view entirely. Before even adding a railing, the deck floor will screen the unpleasant bits, and a railing or built-in planter box filled with greenery would further soften the view and create privacy from the neighbor’s house visible through the trees.

Beyond improving the view, filling this sliver with a deck helps make our home’s footprint feel more intentional. The house currently looks a bit like a squat, sideways “T” with odd negative spaces. Last year we filled one of those gaps with a fenced patio; this new deck will tidy up the other side and make the exterior shape feel more balanced.

The next steps are practical ones: we’ll clear out the liriope, weeds, and overgrown shrubbery while we finalize material choices and drawings to apply for a county permit. We’ve already contacted Miss Utility to confirm there are no underground lines where we’ll dig. Because this is our first deck project, we expect a learning curve: the permit process requires inspections at multiple stages, and that may slow us down compared to our usual timeline. Still, we’re excited to learn and plan to document the entire process: permit steps, materials and costs, hours spent, and any lessons learned along the way.

Have you ever added an outdoor deck, patio, or other outdoor living space? We’d love to hear any tips about small deck design, building considerations, or general decking wisdom. If you’ve built a deck before, especially in a tight space, your practical advice would be really helpful.