Sit and Relax
If you’re going to relax on the patio you’ve got to have something to relax on, right? Yes. And what you sit on to relax on your patio will depend on your taste, budget, and creativity. So let’s talk patio furniture.
What’s Your Criteria?
Bear in mind, this blog post is about creating a comfortable outdoor living space that you are happy with and proud of, so you might be the person who prefers everything to match. Nothing wrong with that. There was a time in my life, as a professional graphic designer, that continuity of elements was very important in creating an attractive design. So furnishing the patio to match or meld well is OK — if you have the budget to buy a line of outdoor furniture that meets with your design sense. One main focus of this blog, however, is creating a cool outdoor living space without breaking the bank. For me, as a retired professional graphic designer, I have to expand my design sense to match my budget. And I have to get involved in a little DIY.
What’s Eclectic?
Now, a certain eclectic look can work well for your outdoor space, generate a lot of fun, and net some interesting stories along the way. What’s eclectic, you might ask? Here’s a definition: deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources. So let me tell you about our furnishing the patio adventure . . . to-date — how we came about what we have, why we think it works, and how you can do the same with your patio.
When Should You Start Furnishing the Patio?
If you are in the position to buy all new patio furniture, the winter months will offer you the best deals. Yes, you’ll have to wait until Spring/Summer to enjoy what you’ve bought (unless you are somewhere close to the equator), but the winter months make it a buyer’s market. You’ll cut your best deals when a retailer has little business because of the weather — out of season.
When Should You Take the Eclectic Approach to Patio Furniture?
Anytime! Here are some opportunities:
- You have a friend that is moving long distance and they have too much stuff. You can offer to take some of their furniture off their hands that you think will work on your patio. You can offer to buy it from them or, offer to help them diminish their load by putting the furniture in your car, hugging them to wish them a safe move, and driving away.
- You are walking your neighborhood for exercise and you see one of your neighbors has put some furniture at the curb for trash day. You assess the item and decide that your DIY skills can improve this furniture and that it will work just fine on your patio. Go get your car!
- You have a friend that manages a local coffee shop or eatery which offers outdoor patio seating. Make sure your friend knows that you are searching for cool patio furniture and if/when their establishment might upgrade their outdoor furniture that you would be interested in their old furniture even if you have to dig it out of the dumpster behind the establishment.
- You are at the funky local grocery store that has decided to offer unusual household items as a draw to get customers in their store. They might have patio furniture at a discounted price because the grocery store is just using these items as a hook to get you in to buy food. Bite on their hook and score yourself some nice patio furniture at a steal of a price — because who buys patio furniture at the grocery store? You do.
- You have friends who are extremely talented in producing things and they offer you a gift because they are excited about your passion for creating a cool outdoor living space. And, you enjoy spending time with them on the patio. They become family. Be gracious and accept their superlative gift. And invite them over often to enjoy their company on the patio. Alway be well stocked with adult beverages to offer hospitality. And let then sit back and relax in the chairs they’ve made for you as a heartfelt gift.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to a patio furniture store and order what you want. But none of the opportunities I described above involved going to a retailer to furnish the patio. And every opportunity mentioned above was an opportunity that we experienced personally and ended up with some cool patio furniture that we are happy with and proud of.
Our Patio Furniture Stories:
Friend Moving #1
We have a friend, an only child, who ended up with her mother’s house when her mom passed at an old age. She spent some time cleaning out the house and getting it ready for sale. All the while, a set of iron furniture was parked on the front porch — two chairs, a loveseat, and a plant stand. When we enquired about the set she said it had been setting in that spot for 40 years. It had some surface rust on it and was faded, but it was quality furniture from an earlier era. We offered her $200 for the set and she accepted.
I used a wire brush on my drill to knock off most of the rust. Next, I applied a primer specifically engineered for rusty metal as a base. Then I used a black semi-gloss spray paint designed for outdoor metals.
The chairs are very comfortable and look like new. They stay out on the patio year-round. We couldn’t be happier. And a search online for similar furniture netted one similar chair for $160. I estimate to replace this set at current retail would cost around $800 to $1,000. The photos above are the chairs and loveseat (the round tables we purchased from Lowes at $30 a piece).
Friend Moving #2
OK, this is a DIY project in-progress. We had an older friend who was moving out of state to be with her son who was going to lovingly tend to his mother in her golden years. Her husband had passed and much of what she had was of no use to her where she was moving. She offered a number of items to us for free. One was a dynamic rope hammock — check out our blog post Hammocks Are Essential for Living on the Patio for more information about this unique piece of patio furniture. She also offered us these cool 1930’s style steel chairs. We wanted some chairs dedicated to our fire pit that would hold up in the winter weather as well as the heat of summer. Sometime this Fall we’ll sand them down and repaint with the same rust primer and metal outdoor paint we used on the iron set. We’re thinking bright red would be cool. Stand by for finished photos. Total estimated cost: a couple of cans of spray paint and a twelve pack of beer.
Update:
This DIY project was “in-progress” for at least a season (OK, I was lazy). But I finally wire-brushed and sanded them to get them ready for new paint. Now, I won’t say this is my best prep and paint job. These chairs have many miles on them. So it wasn’t worth going overboard trying to make them look brand new. However, they serve a purpose on the grill deck as a seating option to enjoy a cocktail while monitoring whatever is on the grill. And the color looks really cool! But the project did, in fact, require a twelve pack.
Walking Your Neighborhood on Trash Day
Julie was walking the neighborhood for exercise and noticed a concrete bird bath at the curb for the trash guys. She came back home and told me she wanted it. I was NOT happy. But I love my wife and wanted to please her. So, begrudgingly, I agreed. We have a “boxy” SUV so it fit into the back with space to spare. But, it weighed tons! (I’m not exaggerating.) We barely could lift the two pieces ourselves to get it into the car. I had to use a furniture dolly to wheel both pieces, separately, into the back yard. The bath basin was cracked so I caulked it and repainted the interior of the bath basin. But the outside was stunning — green moss and weathered concrete. It looked like something you’d see in a patio area of a vineyard in France or Italy. Great character. For free! To purchase it new would cost around $100.00
Friend Manages a Local Coffee Shop/Eatery Offering Outdoor Patio Seating
So, we had a friend who was a manager for a local store of a noted world-wide chain of coffee shops — you can figure that out, right? One afternoon she called and said that her store was changing their entire compliment of outdoor seating furniture — that night! While corporate policy prevented her from giving us the furniture, corporate instructed her to put the old furniture next to the trash dumpster in the alley behind the store — around 10 p.m. that night! You’re keeping up with me, right? We borrowed another friend’s truck and scored this metal bistro table and two plastic wicker chairs. All we did was paint the tabletop. Several days a week we eat our lunch and dinner at this table. This set stays on the patio year-round so when the winter cool air meets the warmth of the winter sun we relax at the table on the patio. To replace this set we’d probably pay around $250 or more retail.
The Funky Local Grocery Store
Where we lived in Florida there was a small grocery store chain that was kinda funky in terms of the groceries they offered — many European brands — offbeat foodstuffs. But the food was tasty and less expensive than the big-chain grocer in the community. To get people in the door they’d offer home items for sale that were very out-of-the-ordinary for a grocery store. But it was quality merchandise. One day we got a flyer from the store and Julie noticed these “gravity chairs” — like a chaise lounge. They were inexpensive but well-made. They’ve lasted over five years. They were $30 a piece — about half what the current retail market price is for these chairs (we added the pillows).
Friends Who Are Extremely Talented
There are many talented people in the world. We happen to be friends with a couple and the husband is a retired master carpenter. He renovated our kitchen and I have never walked into it and said, “I wish we had done this or done that.” Preston’s work is stunning craftsmanship.
Before we started building our patio we used to sit out in our car port at the end of our car. We only had the black table and wicker chairs I talked about earlier. The space was functional but lacked any aesthetic appeal. One day, out of the blue, never having made a request or even hinting about the beautiful Adirondack chairs Preston builds by hand, he showed up with two — one for Julie and one for me.
His wife Pam came along and we celebrated their fabulous gift in our carport with adult beverages. In part, Preston and Pam’s gift of the Adirondack chairs was inspiration to start this blog, Living on the Patio. Truly these chairs are a work of art and wonderfully comfortable. Yes, you can buy a cheap plastic knockoff from the big box stores for $89.00. But they have no heart, no class.
So, if you have a friend who has great talent in whatever, tap into that resource. Pay them their fair market price for whatever they do and revel in having something handmade with great expertise and crafted with love. You won’t regret it or second guess your decision. This is one of the reasons why life happens on the patio.
Important Tip
One design secret we learned in furnishing the patio is to always have two matching of whatever. We’ve placed them so that each style of furniture denotes its own area on the patio. There’s never an odd-duck, single chair — unless every chair is different and then that’s a cool design idea.
Seasonal Shifts
Everything on the patio stays out year round except the gravity chairs. They go in the garden shed till spring.
- We have covers for the Adirondack chairs that we leave on through the snowy parts of winter. Check out these two suppliers from whom we have bought several covers for items such as our grilling table, fire pit, and Adirondack chairs: National Covers and The Cover Store.
- As added protection, we usually spray our covers with a coat of Scotchgard™. They offer Outdoor Water & Sun Shield or Scotchgard™ Heavy Duty Water Shield.
- Julie oils the Adirondack chairs at least twice a year to keep them looking new and helping them stay water resistant.
How Much Should You Spend on New Patio Furniture?
Now you know how we were able to furnish our patio with limited expense, unique creativity, and lots of elbow grease. And we’re happy with what we have.
An online search turned up this question along with the answer provided.
Question: How much should you spend on patio furniture?
Answer: It can be tricky to figure it all out. Generally speaking, a quality cushioned chair will cost between $800 and $2,000. A quality sofa will cost $1,800 to $3,000. Look for dining tables between $900 and $2,000 or more.
We decided to take the eclectic route and put our dollars into other elements of our outdoor living space. It’s all about what’s important to you. Just don’t discourage yourself from having fun patio furniture because your budget won’t allow you to buy brand new. As you can see, we think we’ve done alright for a small dollar investment and have had fun being creative along the way. So sit and relax. And always remember, every day is Friday on the patio.
Please Leave a Comment: Patio Furniture
Leave a comment below and tell us if this information was of value to you or tell us what we missed and can add to this post. And tell us what direction you’ve gone in when furnishing your patio. Add a picture so we can see where you sit and relax!
Buy us a Coffee
If you love this blog post on livingonthepatio.com, click the button below to make a donation and buy us a coffee. Thanks.
We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post at no extra cost to you if the affiliate links are utilized to make a purchase. Click this link to see all our disclosures.
