apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We bought a canopy for our patio because we wanted upholstered pieces and take the cushions off our chaise (which is outdoors) if we know it is going to rain. The canopy has worked out great becuase now we can have an outdoor chandelier and another room to decorate:-)

"Austin normally has gorgeous weather"? How long have you lived here--three days?

I make sure my cushions are vinyl (not very green, but I'm reusing what I have), the real retro (my great-grandma's furniture, circa 1970) ones I keep under an awning. I know the only reason I have such nice vintage outdoor furniture with the original cushions is because my great grandma kept it out of the sun and weather. I am making some vinyl cushions (waterproof) for my seats on my unprotected deck. I am using grandma's retro vinyl table cloth and some old foam I had laying around the house, so if the sun and other elements ruin them I won't feel too bad. I try not to take too many things outside that I wouldn't be too upset if they were taken or be ruined.

I vaccillate on this one. Don't protect our little teak table at all. But we cover up our non-teak chairs so we can leave the cushions on them. So our furniture looks like a bad tan - some stuff dark, some stuff weathered grey.

My teak furniture was covered with a green film and very dark from the rains. I just rented a power hose to clean off the moss and crap off my patio and furniture. The furniture looks brand new again.

i have a wood chaise lounge and a painted/powder coated metal bench (roxi-ikea) that both have cushions on them. just got em, but i keep the wood under a tarp (from home depot) and bring the cushions in when i can and store them in the linen closet. sometimes i get lazy, but i try not to make a practice of leaving them out. sun, rain, dew - nothing outside seems great for furniture.

I live in Sacramento, so battling hot rays and rainy weather (in the winter) is the norm. My favorite outdoor weather proof items are the water/fade proof rugs (Pier One and Cost Plus sells really colorful, hip outdoor rugs) and fade proof pillow cushions (again, Pier One, Cost Plus sells beautiful pillows that can be mixed/matched). I may incorporate sculptures in my rock garden, but that's it for indoor items. I used to try to use regular pillows, but, the battle of hurrying home to get the pillows out of the rain was too much for me.