Replacing patio furniture can be a huge expense, especially while on slim budget. Garage sales and Craig's List are often the answer for those of us without a secret hedge fund, like myself, who scoured the usual sites to no avail as sums passing $1,500 for a new ensemble appeared the norm.
After weeks of searching, I did find a six piece set that needed a face-lift, but would be well within my scope of talents – i.e., trigger finger friendly spray paint and elbow grease. I purchased the four chairs, umbrella (sans base), and coffee table from a woman in Huntington Beach for $125, who originally paid over $800 for the Martha Stewart set at Kmart.
The set was an interesting grey/beige yellow combo – in theory a great combination. Those tones on a patio set, not so much.
After a good scrub, a layer of primer, and three coats of Rust-Oleum Metallic Bronze spray paint, we've got ourselves a new-to-us patio set.
The cushions that came with my original purchase were a paisley-floral pattern, matching the umbrella, but rather sun-bleached. Once again after scouring the Internet and all home improvement stores in a 15 mile radius for a solid color that would go with the umbrella’s color scheme on a deep-seated cushion, I came up empty handed. Naturally, I assumed this product that fit my specifications would be out there – and it was, at a premium.
This story does have a happy ending – on a routine trip for fillets at Costco I passed their legendary line of random products at the entrance and stumbled upon 20" aqua pillows, in a two-pack, for $15 each. Sold, to the brunette for $30, and the old seat cushions were left in the dust.
With a little elbow grease, a lot of research, and a little luck when you are least expecting it, even the most insipid patio furniture can be turned into your backyard’s most appealing feature.
Time to fire up the barbie.*Sample post for ApartmentTherapy.com
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