Monday, May 6, 2013

The Patio Table Challenge

With my basement in total disarray and warm weather outside, I have turned my fickle eye towards my deck. When I first bought this house, what truly sold me on the house was the deck and yard. I remember standing at the kitchen window and thinking of summers outside on the deck while Peyton ran amok in the yard. I haven't really done anything with the deck since moving in.  My dad built a swing-set for Peyton a couple years ago, and she (and other neighborhood kids) loves playing on it.

But spending time outside hasn't been quite as lovely for myself. I am not a huge fan of the sun. And my deck doesn't get a lot of shade (ok, hardly any). To add insult to injury, the only deck furniture I've had were a couple of plastic chairs and a wooden rocker. I love the rocker, but as my tush has no padding it is not the most comfortable seat for me. So, for the last few years, I have not had any fun on my deck.  Last year, right before winter set in, I did purchase a love seat at a steal, but I have not been able to use it until recently. It has not-overly-attractive-but-plush cushions.So sitting on my deck is now comfortable for my bony little tush.

Some of my favorite bloggers have been participating in the Home Depot Patio Style Challenge, and I have been inspired by the updates theses bloggers have made to their outdoor spaces. It makes me want to pimp my deck.  So, last week, after Peyton and I had a very sad little attempt to eat our dinner on my table-less deck (picture the two chairs pulled up to her kid-size picnic table...) I decided a table for our deck was a necessity in order to enjoy this summer outdoors.

I did not want to spend a lot on my table set since I still have my basement renovations to finish. So I shopped around-Home Depot. Menards, Lowe's, Target, World Market... and finally narrowed my choice down to two options at Home Depot:
Option A

Option B

There were pros and cons to both options.

Option A:

  1. The chairs were comfortable for reclining in--they rocked and swiveled and all that jazz. 
  2. No cushions meant no maintenance. I could leave this set out even in rainy weather and not have to haul cushions back and forth. 
  3. The set is brown. While not my favorite color (at all), it would match the love seat on my deck.  

Option B: 
  1. The cushions made for uber soft seating--my tush was happy with layers of padding between it and the chair. 
  2. The seats rocked forward a bit to allow for easier dining. (Which, after all  I am looking for a table to eat at, not relax at.)
  3. The table was more aesthetically pleasing- the shape was perfectly square and black, with a clear glass top. Much more modern and more suited to my tastes.

I was really conflicted between the two. What finally made the decision for me was seeing Peyton sitting at both tables. Option A was a much higher table, and it was more difficult for Peyton to eat at easily. Yes, she'll grow, but when I pretended to be typing on an invisible laptop at Option A, my arms got tired with the height. So that cinched it. I went with Option B. Because fake laptop typing makes all the difference. 

Option B came home with me. And the very next day we were hit with a freak snowstorm. So the patio table is still in its box, taunting me. 

2 comments:

  1. Don't even ask me how long my patio set sat in the box too! (A month?) I'm excited to see what you do with it!

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  2. A whole month?!?! I would have been going quietly mad... ok, maybe not so quietly!

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