Outdoor furniture, budget, etc
We are mid remodel for the kitchen and hall bathroom. Our next project is going to be the yard--back and front. Thanks to some great responses on the conversations side when I asked about favorite things about people's yards, I have some ideas of what I'd like to do.
So now I'm working on budget for the project. One thing that I know we want is comfortable, durable furniture. We are in the San Francisco Bay Area so we can use our outdoor space for much of the year. Right now I am considering two seating areas in our backyard. One would be a dining area under a pergola. The other would be a sectional sofa area, possibly with a firepit. We are thinking we will set the area up to do outdoor movies as well. So I would like for the dining chairs to be light enough to move and comfortable enough to sit in for a movie.
I found these teak reclining dining chairs with sling seats. This seems ideal for comfort and I wouldn't have to store cushions for those in the rainy season (fingers crossed this drought ends and we actually start having rainy winters again).
These are from Royal Teak and sold online various places. The sling fabric comes in different colors. They run around $350 per chair, iirc.
Any thoughts on whether these are good quality? They say they are from plantation grown, kiln dried teak and use stainless steel hardware. They do not say they are A quality teak--though the maker's website talks about A quality teak. I'm not sure if that's just marketing or if there really is a teak grading system?
Other suggestions for dining chairs?
If I bought those chairs, I could buy the matching table or buy a different table. Would teak from a different manufacturer match?
Then I thought I would look for a resin wicker sectional with cushions? Again I'd like some thing fairly durable. We don't want to have to buy new outdoor furniture every couple of years and I expect this stuff will get a fair bit of use.
Does $6000 total sound like about the right budget for these purchases?
Thank you for any suggestions or thoughts!
Comments (12)
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Looking for good quality living room furniture on a budget! HELP!
Comments (3)I am not poor, but I have been poor. I also always liked beautiful things. With the exception of sofas, I ALWAYS have accepted with great pleasure hand-me-downs of very good quality or Craigs list kinds of things--acquaint yourself with the best names in furniture in the last 50 years, and look for those names when you are on Ebay or CL. Think of Downtown Abbey: Do you think these aristocrats bought new furniture? No--they used their Oriental rugs until you could read through them--so if it is good enough for European aristocrats, it's good enough for me. Never buy junk. And when you buy a good sofa, it can last for decades with just re-upholstery every 20 years or so. Really. I'm sitting in my family room. The only thing bought new (many (about 30) years ago) are two upholstered chairs and a sofa, both Henredon, reupholstered several times. Big Baker chair re-upholstered, from Ebay. Clarence House Chintz for about $13 a yard, from an online discount company. Round Hepplewhite leather topped table thrown out by my mother-in-law because it had a cracked leg. My carpenter fixed it. French armless chair, thrown out by my sister-in-law, reupholstered. Black and gilt coffee table, bought on Craigs List. Oriental rug--big, beautiful--bought on Ebay, cheap. I don't mean my taste need be your taste, but you'll find beautiful things that others don't need. Pretend you are inheriting things from your rich family. Put things together little by little as you acquire them and it will create a very organic, interesting room. I second what Tibbrix said above: Let the children eat in the kitchen or dining room. Let them learn to respect your things....See Morequality of patio furniture from fortunoff, Crate & Barrel etc. ?
Comments (5)I think it really depends on your preference as far as patio furniture goes. We really wanted wood furniture, and wanted something that would age well with little or no maintenance, and finally went with teak furniture from Wood Classics. We saved some money by ordering it in pieces and putting it together ourselves (my dh actually really enjoyed the project) and also by picking it up at their factory (only an hour or so away). We've had it a year and it has started to weather to a light tan - eventually it will turn a greyish and that's the look we wanted so it works for us. Don't have to cover it and will probably spray it down with their recommended deck cleaner in a few weeks, that is about it for maintenance. We've been extremely pleased with the company and with the quality of their product, FWIW. For the grill, I looked into a bunch and finally went with the Weber Genesis Gold, which comes in either a liquid propane or a natural gas model. Again, only had it about a year, but have been very pleased. Very sturdy and very uniform cooking. Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that most of the cooking resources rate the Webers very highly, whereas the Consumer Reports type mags like them but rate less expensive ones more highly (or at least did last year). We cook a lot and are somewhat particular, so I finally went with the Weber and wouldn't change the decision. Hope that helps! Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Classics...See Morefurniture budget
Comments (5)Vikki, I am not sure there is a firm rule. A lot I think depends on if you are starting from scratch, what your tastes are, how patient you are about shopping and collecting furniture over time versus being able to “complete” it right away, if you like an eclectic look versus a more cohesive “collection”, whether this is a high end project, etc. Since we have similar size spaces though ours is a single family home - we just had to furnish a new 2,000sf home 2 bed/3 bath, open concept living/dining/kitchen) almost from scratch (we had got rid of most of our old stuff with a cross country move several years ago, I think only furniture we moved in to new home was our master bed platform and mattress, but we even changed headboard.) We consider this our forever house, or at least until we have no other choice but to move! We are at about $30K (CAD) for furniture and additional lighting but still need to add a few pieces (rug, nightstands, office desk, a floor lamp or two, etc). That also does not include our window coverings (*sob*). We did manage to save 20%+ on most pieces by waiting for sales and promotions we knew were coming. Our loveseat, chairs, modular were custom - as we felt those were long-term key pieces - but others were regular offerings. By end of it we will probably have spent about 10% on furnishing of what we paid for the house, again, not including window coverings. But we wanted a very cohesive look throughout home as we plan to be here a long time, wanted brand new and certain customized pieces, and really had to start almost from scratch. It’s not a “high end home” (rather basic though modified builders plan in city subdivision) but it is still an expensive as that is just market, and if is our long time *home* and we want it to feel as such. We have a full unfinished basement we will finish and furnish too but that is space above and beyond the 2,000sf & 2/3 I wanted to use as a comparison to your size space....See MoreJust moved. Need decorating (paint, furniture, etc.) ideas.
Comments (7)So I would look at doing some bookcases with cabinet doors below flanking your fireplace which I would paint white. If you have an IKEA near you, I would look at the Billy series and do a wood light outside with white in the front. Mount your tv over the fireplace. You may need to put it on an arm so you can pull it out beyond the bookcase for better viewing. Look for a smaller scaled sectional in a gray/brown tone but not too dark. An arc lamp with a black shade would tie in the tv and the black on your chair seat. Faux succulent plants would be good. For the entry, a glass top console with art above. Get an area rug slightly larger than the width of the door so that the console table can sit on top. Also consider bamboo roll up shades in a light color for window with white drapes....See More
Nothing Left to Say
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoNothing Left to Say
8 years agobeachem
8 years agoI've had mine for 8 yrs. but I sealed/oil the wood and paint the metal yearly. I put them in the garage for winter because it's too cold to sit out.
I tied cushions to the bottom seat and to the back slats so they're comfortable to me. However they don't recline if that's what you're looking for. People will be sitting straight or slumped if they prefer. They're in storage right now after I emptied the garage for construction so I haven't brought them out this summer. Sorry no pictures.
I went with cheap alternatives because the CA sun is so harsh and I expected to replace often. Sadly the expensive outdoor iron/glass bar only lasted 2 yrs. the metal got rusted and crumbled despite treatment. All I have left are the 3 glass shelves.
The $100 sofa set has lasted 18 yrs.
It rained last night but here's a photo.
Sorry no matter what I do, houzz insists on posting the pic sideways because I'm on my phone.Nothing Left to Say thanked beachem
tibbrix
8 years agoIMO, sling is the most comfortable outdoor furniture. It "breathes", so it doesn't get hot like cushions; it's lightweight and often stacks; and it's easy to clean.
I have these chairs as my deck dining chairs. I absolutely LOVE them. They are SO comfortable for everyone: not too small for bigger people, not too big for smaller people…perfect size.
A couple of things bout them, though: they are put together when you get them, you do it with an allen wrench. It's very easy to do, and go slow at first so you really get how to fully screw in all the screws. If you do that, they're VERY solid chairs. They do recommend putting a coat of linseed oil on them. Better yet, I put a couple of coats of Spar polyurethane (marine-grade varnish).
I did replace one of the original chairs I bought four years ago this year because I hadn't done a good job with a couple of the screws on that one, so it had become wobbly. the other three are solid as the day I got them and put them together.
The sling has held up incredibly well, which is unusual for sling chairs in this price range. I would say, though, that if you go with sling, invest in the well-made brands.
to make a chair comfortable for movie watching, you need ottomans on which to put one's feet up.
Nothing Left to Say thanked tibbrixtibbrix
8 years agoAnd here is a simple sling ottoman from Outdoor Interiors
http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Interiors-Sling-Eucalyptus-Ottoman/dp/B00J5H6SZ0
Nothing Left to Say thanked tibbrix
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
8 years agoLove the appearance of the Royal Teak. Should do well in the Bay area. I am partial to the deep seating.
RH has their outdoor seating on sale now and my favorite style at a reasonable price is the Devon/ Maybe this is an option.
Nothing Left to Say thanked BeverlyFLADezinerNothing Left to Say
8 years ago
beachem