Since it's been so long since I've talked about our fancy patio, I'll do a quick rundown to get everyone up to speed.
Way back in June or so, we had a lot of concrete poured in our yard.
This concrete was stamped with a slate texture and had a diamond expansion joint pattern put in. Ok, not -all- of the concrete got this special treatment. Our mid-yard/courtyard got regular no-nonsense concrete wrapped around our funky, useless wall.
Gladly accepting suggestions for that wall! |
Despite our enjoyment of the cool gray, we had already agreed to have the stamped concrete stained. So, staining day came and we received a very oddly shaped checker board.
We both walked around the yard in silence. I'm sure we were both questioning our decision and spent the rest of the night fighting the urge to panic.
We just weren't thrilled.
We were warned the color would not look great until the gloss coat went on. As we repeated those words, the hose was brought over to mimic a gloss coat on the new stain. It did look nice with a sheen, but that faded too quickly to keep us excited.
So we stayed indoors with the blinds shut.
Finally, the day to apply the gloss coat arrived and we were driven outside once again.
Ah! So much better than that dingy checker board! Now it was a high-gloss checker board!
We really liked it and it's continued to grow on us.
It feels like a swanky outdoor coffee shop.
Welcome. |
Fueled with a desire to be outside once more, we shopped for real patio furniture.
This set is actually huge (in my opinion), but is dwarfed on the patio.
I felt a dark set worked better with the color of the patio, plus it wouldn't be as easy to stain. Then again, it will probably show dings and scrapes very well.
These chairs are unbelievably comfortable even without cushions.
I couldn't help myself when I saw this cherry red umbrella. Plus, it's rectangular!
This is the table as it was shipped. Despite the description saying it was a transformer, Ced was pleasantly surprised to find out that it extends.
I was surprised to find out how it extends. The assumption was that it had loose leaves that you had to store elsewhere until they were needed. This amazing table stores them under the table top.
Not only are they stored there, they're connected, so you just unfold them and they swivel smoothly into place.
The ends are then pushed together. . .
and locked for stability.
This is unlocked, but you get the idea. |
Lucky for us, our slow decision making has prevented us from purchasing other dining furniture, so we already had a great space to store the patio furniture. We like this set so much we're debating on skipping the idea of acquiring yet another table and just leaving this space available for the patio furniture to come inside.
Naturally, the kitties think this is a great plan as well.