Monday 14 April 2014

New furniture for the patio

Until very recently we had a gas barbecue on our patio, but we have just disposed of it. We felt that since we had only used it about 5 or 6 times in the last 3 years - and not at all during 2013 - it was not worth hanging on to it. We generally prefer to cook indoors, even when we eat outside (which to be honest is a fairly rare event). So, since the barbecue has gone we have re-vitalised the patio by replacing the old plastic furniture with some new wooden items:


These are items from the "Acacia" range marketed by www.greenfingers.com.  We actually have four more chairs, but we have not put them out yet. The table is an expanding one. In the configuration shown here it is 1.5 metres long, but it expands to 2 metres if you need it to, so it will comfortably accomodate six diners.


We are planning to get a set of cushions for the chairs, because I imagine they would not be comfortable to sit in for any length of time without them.

The quality of this furniture seems very good, and I think it is excellent value for money. I was impressed with the ease of assembly too. Actually it was only the table that needed any assembly - the chairs are folding ones - and it only took me about half an hour to do it. Amazingly for flat-packed furniture it went together easily, and there were no bits missing! They even provided the necessary Allen keys and screwdriver. This sounds like a sponsored review, doesn't it? Well, it's not, but I believe in giving praise where praise is due. Last year I had a really bad experience with a flat-packed potting-bench which I was given (free) to review, by a well known retailer. It was awful: poor quality wood; missing parts; bits that didn't fit properly; minimal instructions - everything was wrong, so you will understand why I was apprehensive about this stuff from Greenfingers.

Now that the furniture has arrived, I will be re-arranging the potted plants to enhance what I call the "Mediterranean Courtyard" feel of the patio. I have two Bay trees and an Olive tree to go at three of the corners. The other corner is obstructed by the rotary washing-line! There will be a clutch of Rosemary and Lavender plants too, which will all add to the ambience.

My only worry in all this is "where will I put my seedlings?". In the past I had no qualms about putting dirty, wet pot plants and seed-trays on the plastic table, but now I won't want to damage the posh new wooden one!

10 comments:

  1. Oh so much better - couldn't you have kept the old table stashed in a corner somewhere. Perhaps if you cover your new table with polythene you could still use it for your seedlings.

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  2. Looks lovely furniture. I restored ours last year wit some sage green Cuprinol and was amazed at how new it looked. We have a couple of tables outdoors but have tended to eat on the summerhouse out of wind, rain or sun. Like you we prefer to cook inside and bring food outdoors rather than have a barbecue.

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  3. very nice and this will get more beautiful with age and then, just when you think it's done for you can paint it some gorgeous colour and it will go on for another 5 years!... buy a piece of thick foam backed plastic and cut it to the shape of the table... not only will this protect the table but you can then use it for your seedlings.

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  4. Very nice. I bet it gets lots more use than the barbecue did.

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  5. It looks lovely. But I'd never get rid of my BBQ. I use it often enough.

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  6. I love this style of furniture. I bought something similar last year, only smaller. The two chairs and a round table are folding too and easy to put away winter. I bought he set in Autumn last year. Usually, at the end of the gardening season, many home and garden things are on a big discount.

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  7. Lovely dining furniture! You could do what I do and put all my littler pots on plastic trays - I got them all from Poundland so they're not expensive, but they have handles and usually a modern floral design on them, plus they are plastic so wipe clean easily. The handles mean you could lift the whole tray and place it elsewhere while you're using the table. They're about 15" diagonally across - about the dimensions of a laptop.

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  8. Your new furniture looks wonderful in your garden. I see a lot of lunches...glass of wine...and then jumping up to pull a weed that you just noticed....

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  9. Oh this is lovely Mark, just lovely. I like that it is expandable and it ties in with the terra cotta pots around.

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  10. Lovely furniture, a great find for the price and they look really sturdy too. We just purchased a second hand set via ebay and repainted it. A long job, but so worth it in the end. I hope you enjoy using it as much as we have so far.

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