Patio Dreaming

The back patio doesn't really have a before and after to show you. It has stages and a wishlist. When we first looked at the house in November, the patio was a charming fall scene, staged with furniture and (mostly) living plants. Not our exact style, but wonderful staging to give us ideas.

Then we moved in and it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and I think you get the picture.

By the time all the snow melted, the back yard was just about as alive and cheery(note the dripping sarcasm) as our side yard. Since it was too cold to utilize the patio just yet, it became a dumping ground for ripped out shrubbery.

Wasted Yard

At long last, we've sent the dead bushes to meet our town's compost pile and have dug out our wicker patio set. The set has seen better days, but it was a tag-sale deal from my parents last year and its all we have for now. This weekend, the patio looked sufficiently decent. It no longer offends me! (And apparently my photo is blurry. oops!)

Here's where we get to the "Wishlist" portion of today's lesson post.

~Chiminea. I want one, and I want this one from Lowe's:

Who doesn't want to be able to roast marshmallows on an open fire?! (Except Hubby who doesn't like marshmallows- more for me!)

~The other item on the patio wishlist is a grouping of objects: a patio set! So here's my deal. I want something vintagey and preferably colorful. Hubby likes the look of wrought iron, so who am I to argue. I scoured vendors at Brimfield, but to no avail. Anything that I liked was either way out of my price range or needed far too much work. I've been checking out the standard places: potterybarn.com, target.com, HomeGoods, etc but I've found nothing that screams "Own Me!"

Until..........

I was flipping channels and as I flipped, I caught a glimpse of the patio set I've been looking for. I had to flip back to see where it was from, expecting it to be from Macy's or Pottery Barn or the like. Nope- K-mart. What? Yup, K-mart. So, off to their website I go, and look what I found!

I'd also like to procure the matching bench so we can pull it up to the table when it's more than just Hubby and I eating outside.

I'm sure you guys know me well enough by now to know that I like to modify things. I know, hold your shock. Well, this set would of course need a different pattern on the seats, but other than that, can I have it please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

I'm still working out the details in my mind (maybe more chairs and a larger table painted to match? we'll see), but can't you just see these beauties styled to perfection in our quaint back yard patio?