On The Hunt: Patio Furniture

If you read my post, Patio Ideas, you’ll know that we’re getting a new patio in a few weeks.  I am itching to get this project started, and I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t rain too much in the next couple of weeks…no one wants a rain delay!  Here are a couple of graphics of the soon-to-be patio.

Since I’ve had this project on the brain, I’ve been shopping for outdoor furniture.  In the process I’ve discovered a couple of things.

1.  Patio furniture is expensive, really expensive.  With the new emphasis on  outdoor living spaces, I feel like patio furniture has inflated in price.  I’m starting to realize that I would pay as much for a couch inside my living room as I would for one on my patio, even though they’re not the same quality.
2. Poor comfort factor.  Because outdoor furniture cushions have to withstand the elements they are, more often that not, constructed out of extra firm foam.  The cushions are also made out of outdoor fabric, which can be scratchy and rough.

In order to combat these two major obstacles, I’ve been doing a lot of shopping, both online and in stores.  Because of the poor comfort factor, I feel like I have to sit on everything and online shopping for this stuff scares me a little because I can’t sit on it.  That’s why I religiously read reviews.  If even one person mentions that it’s too stiff or uncomfortable, I move on.  And to keep the furniture within our budget, I’ve been shopping auctions, online sales and craigslist.

So, here’s what I’m looking for:  A sectional couch, a table with 6-8 chairs, and maybe a couple of loungers.  I’ve found several options that I’ll show you below.

Sectional Couch

We’ll start first with the sectional.  This is what I’ve been having the most trouble with.  I can’t seem to find anything that has all great reviews on comfort that’s within our budget.  I found this couch for $929 with free shipping from Amazon.  All of the reviews said that it was really comfortable and had good back support because the back cushions are angled.  Back support as well as a deep seat is a must have for my very tall (6’5″) hubby.

I also love this outdoor occasional bench by World Market as featured on Chris Loves Julia.  It retails for $399.  Although it’s not a sectional, I could get 2 of these and place them on either side of the fire pit.  And the best part is, I tried it out in the store and it’s really comfortable!

Isn’t their patio amazing?!?!  I just might copycat this!  Imitation is the best form of flattery, right???

Dining Set

I’m closely watching a teak dining set at an online auction.  The bids keep rising and rising and even if I don’t end up getting it, it’s made me realize that I really like teak furniture.  I love the look of the warm wood with clean lines and from what I’ve read, it seems to hold up better than the wicker furniture that I had in mind.  Here are a few sets I like.

Praiano Outdoor Dining Collection

Loungers

We’ll have a small area in between the fire pit and the dining table to have a lounge space.  These two lounge chairs below are super sleek and go with the teak theme.  They’re from Wayfair and $99 a piece.  I like the pillows (not included) that add a pop of color as well!

This chair is adorable and it just looks so comfy!  I like the fact that it folds up for easy storage and doesn’t have to be a permanent fixture on the patio.  It’s $152.99 at Target.

We have a hammock that we used at our other house which hung between two trees.  Sadly, we do not have any large trees to hang it from now, so it’s just been sitting in our garage.  I could utilize it as an alternative to lounge chairs, and it would be a lot cheaper!  Isn’t this hammock stand great??  And, it would match the teak theme!