You all are most helpful in background discernment! A million besos for helping me — or rather, bullying me — to choose the right color! I love how it went from “I like the ochre” to “poor mustard, I feel so sorry to say I like the ochre” to “mustard must die!!” — did you notice that?
Mob rule. But a nice, tasteful, discerning mob, MWAH!
Monday is my day to make lists and look at my bills (not really to choose quilt colors, though it may seem so — this is the miracle of auto-posting).
I really find that if I get the menus written up, the grocery list in order, and the week's schedule for homeschooling under control,
as well as go through the previous week's mail (which is all junk except for the bills, and you don't dare just toss stuff out, because they are so sneaky in how they make the junk look like bills) and file receipts, then I'm all good for the coming week. It gives me a lot of peace, except on Mondays.
Which is why you are only reading about this now, not that it's all so fascinating that it would need to be reported on instantaneously.
But the point is that I was sitting on the deck, enjoying the warm sunshine, and I realized that I had never shared with you the saga of my deck furniture. It does involve spray painting, to a certain degree, so you might find THAT interesting, anyway.
This is nothing new, by the way, unlike the list making. You see, last year — or maybe even the year before, it's all so hazy in my mind — in the early spring I became determined to find sturdy, comfortable seating for the deck. So that all my loved ones could sit outside, mingling, conversing, relaxing, and enjoying the temperate weather which does occasionally descend upon us.
For cheap. The furniture, I mean.
I had been looking at yard sales and Craigslist for so long, and I had resisted wicker furniture because as pretty as it is, it just will not last out exposed to all the elements. I needed iron.
And do you know how much the least, raggediest, smallest bit of iron furniture usually goes for, even second hand? At least within fifty miles of a metropolis?
And then you have to find cushions…it's all so vexing.
But this one day, up popped someone about half an hour from me selling this set:
He was asking $150. It was all sturdy, the glass for the tabletops intact (just not pictured), the iron not rusty at all…that chair glides!!
I borrowed my neighbor's truck, got Will in to drive me, and could not put the money in that man's hand fast enough before he changed his mind and realized he could make a whole lot more on this set if he just took a better picture…
Now, I will confess that my first determination was that I was NOT going to redo the cushions. They are a funny kind of plastic woven material, and honestly, it rains on them and the water sort of pours through and then they dry.
No mildew, no dirt (not that you can tell since they are conveniently brown), and in good shape. Ugly, but in good shape.
So I thought, and I thought, and I decided that the key here was to change the color of the metal to match the cushions and just make it work. So that's what I did! (That little end table is from the Chief's mother's house. Worth a lick of paint.)
I used a dark bronze metallic spray paint, and it took about 6 cans, if I remember.
{People, I am here to tell you that the little trigger thingy hanging on the rack near the spray paint is worth every cent they charge for it! Stop being cheap about the wrong things! Just buy it!}
Now, you are probably saying, “Gosh, why don't you change those cushions!” But I just don't have the energy.
And they are a heap better than these, n'est-ce pas?
I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you if you are a jungle-print aficionado, but not only are these really…not my style…they are not outdoors-worthy to the point that they seem to collect dirt out of the very air and display it prominently and with pride. However, the furniture itself is not wicker (see above) but of a wonderful man-made substance that does not show any signs of wear.
And what's more, this entire set was free.
Yes, zero dollars.
Why? Because the lovely person who gave them to me has a husband who honestly believed that no one would buy any of their furniture, because it was used. He apparently never noticed that he lived in a community full of cheap persons and that he himself has a large family and shouldn't be so silly. So he made her give away all their stuff before they moved. And not charge anything for it. And was stubborn. Funny person.
So now I have enough seating on my deck for everyone.
You may try to convince me to cover the jungle if you tell me exactly what to use and where to get it for cheap or nothing. One friend suggested shower curtains (the porous kind), which sent me off into a fruitless quest for shower curtains that are not ugly and not jungle-y.
Also, please excuse the fact that none of the tabletops is quite clean. It's because of this:
Which hangs directly overhead. By September I'm just too tired to keep cleaning off those tabletops.
Keri says
Yay! You found a patio set too! Love that bronze spray paint, and in the future, will DEFINITELY use one of those spray paint trigger things. I cheaped out on one when painting my thrifted patio set and my fingers hurt for days. Literally. Days.
Dawn says
Amen to the spray paint can thingy.
Pippajo says
I have a scattering of questions/comment that have nothing whatsoever to do with patio furniture.First, because I'm a bit of a stalker, what is E. lasagne? Eggplant? Escarole? Exceptional? Easy? Cause I have a recipe for Easy Lasagne and I was wondering…Also, your gazebo (also in the stalker category) looks a lot like ours! But do you actually use yours? We don't and it always pains me but I can never think of a good use for it.Third, is that a zip line I spy in there? Does it get used? Did you worry about children maiming themselves and losing limbs and possibly partial brain function from using it? The Viking has been after me for over ten years to put one in our yard and I won't let him. He will never let it rest if he finds out my favorite blogger has one…so I won't be telling him!Okay, I'm done stalking you for now. And, good job on the patio furniture. I will remember that nozzle tip!
Bethany says
What in the world is a "spray paint can trigger thingy?" If they are so fabulous I'm totally willing to jump on the bandwagon, but I must know what it is and why I need one.
Corrie says
Cut patio set, the bronze looks fabulous.
Leila says
Ah, Pippajo!! You are a stalker extraordinaire! One of these days I will tell you what E. Lasagna is! But you will never guess until I do…hee hee…Our gazebo…sigh. It needs to be painted. I am not sure I understand a structure that is supposed to exist for its beauty and yet is made using the most utilitarian materials…in my head it will someday be the summerhouse it could be. It also leans, thanks to the giant leach field that was built above it.Third, yes, you spy a zip line, just in front of the equally life-threatening trampoline. We specialize in endangering children around here! But…what fun.The zip line is high enough not to strangle anyone and low enough not to kill someone who drops off. There is a stop on the line just before the tree, so it doesn't get much closer than what you see there. I had the Chief make the ladder thingy, so little kids don't get hung up there. I just love a zip line. If I had my way, it would go right over a lake :)Bethany, if you have ever spray painted anything, you know how tired your finger gets. It will pretty much feel like it's dropping off by the time you are done with any medium-sized job.You can buy something, technically called a thingy, that fits on the top of the can and provides a trigger. You can reuse it forever. Keep it on the shelf with your cans.
Anna says
Would you kick me if I suggested… yellow?
Anonymous says
Your 'new' out-door furniture looks great! Such a wonderful improvement with the painting of the metal. No need to recover the cushions imho when they look fine and are FUNCTIONAL. You're very talented. Thanks for sharing. Linda
Leila says
Yes, Anna, I would, because if you read carefully you would see that it isn't the color that is my problem, it's the finding something cheap that really works that is my problem. But I would kick you with affection and a keen sense of humor.
Anna says
Aw, thanks. 🙂 I haven't been around long, but I love it here.Blame the rest of it on new-mommy brain. What are the chances that you could pick up cushions that has lost its furniture family?