Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Expensive Things: Outdoor Furniture

As I've mentioned, I've been idly fantasizing about decorating the new home I will have one of these days once all the *^@#!& closing happens... in hopes that I'll be moving in before the weather gets cold, I've been shopping around a bit for outdoor furniture. If I'm lucky, I might catch some end-of-season sales. But I'm having a hard time finding the sort of thing I have in mind. I just want two folding chairs and a small table, and a small lounge chair. I want something simple and clean and modern-looking-- but not the kind of modern that is self-consciously "design-y."
Here's a chair that I thought was quite attractive:


I like how the wood is subtly shaped so it will actually be comfortable to sit on, and it's teak, which should hold up well to outdoor use. But check out the price tag: $478.40! Yes, each!

I also thought this was kind of cool:


It's leather, so it's not really for outdoors, but I got a kick out of the concept, and if I had $2,500 to burn, I just might want one!

As for lounges, the closest thing I've seen to what I want so far was at Bed Bath & Beyond for only about $30, but I can't find a picture. But as for what else is out there on the high end, I came across this:

That is exactly what I meant when I said I didn't want anything "self-consciously design-y." And it might clash with my Hooters outfit! No thank you, even if gets marked down from $545!

So my search continues... does anyone have any recommendations for where I might find what I'm looking for, at prices in the two digits?!?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi MadameX,

I found the Ace Hardware website to have good deals on outdoor furniture. But they don't ship to your home, instead they ship to the nearest Ace Hardware and you have to pick up there - so not sure if that would work for you.

Overstock.com has some good deals on Patio Furniture. Shipping is inexpensive and they seem to have good prices and a nice selection.

Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

Try Lowes. I got this bistro set earlier this summer for my little NYC balcony. The chairs are quite comfortable and the table looks cool too. But they have lots of other options.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=139689-81066-66045&lpage=none

I also saw a great set at Crate & Barrel, but it was more expensive and out of stock.

My advice: make sure you know the dimensions of your balcony so the furniture is not overwhelming, or dwarfed.

Anonymous said...

I second Lowe's and would also mention Target (target.com).

Madame X said...

Thanks for the great ideas all. I also realized Amazon.com actually has quite a few options.
And yes, making sure the furniture fits is a must in NYC! I plan to do the Martha Stewart trick of making paper footprints of furniture and laying them down in the space to see how they fit before I actually buy anything.

Anonymous said...

Found some good stuff in the amish variety. Check it out here:
http://www.amish-furniture-home.com
Good luck

Anonymous said...

www.gaiam.com/sale
there are some decent outdoor furniture pcs on sale right now more in your price range.


~ib

Anonymous said...

I have a cute little table and chair set that I bought at IKEA, if you have one of those convenient to you. I think I spent about $70 for the whole set, and it folds up!

Bitty said...

If you're really crafty, you could MAKE that webbed leather chair for a good deal less than $2500.00. I've watched enough HGTV to feel confident about suggesting this.

Buy an inexpensive but sturdy webbed chair, maybe second hand. If the webbing's bad, no problem. You're ripping it off anyway.

Then buy some secondhand leather jackets. If they're slightly damanged, that's ok. You can work around it. Damaged jackets would probably be cheaper anyway.

Then the work comes: cut leather strips from the jacket. Sew and weave and so forth until you have the chair you want.

Leather stretches, so be sure everything's really taut when you first assemble it.

This of course presumes you have time and desire to do it. But it WOULD be less than $2500!

Anonymous said...

I found Yardiac and Patio Furniture USA to have a great selection of patio furniture and fire pits. Great customer service on both sites. I found links to them on http://www.everything-patio-furniture.com. Check it out - looks like they are having an end of season sale!

Jason said...

Thanks for using my wrestling photo of the guy with the dollar bill stapled to his forehead! All I have to say "ouch!"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/broaddus/4004343090/in/set-72157622567458332/

Outdoor Furniture said...

I must say that I like the first chair mentioned here!