Wait. This is Outdoor Furniture? No Way!

Can you believe it’s nearly June? After that horrific winter we had to endure, the days of sweltering heat will soon be upon us. Or, we might also have a delightful relatively cool summer like last year. Whatever, I prefer the heat to the cold which feels like your face is being slapped by a thousand angry stapleguns. But alas… we have many, many weeks of temperate weather before us which means we can actually go outside!

Alright. On to the subject at hand. Outdoor Furniture.

I’m a child of the sixties. I guess those of you who’ve been reading Laurel Home for some time must realize that by now. It was such a fun time to grow up. (except for that icky war and the offing of several of our esteemed leaders).

It was/is hot as hell where I was raised in Evansville, IN. Did you know that Evansville is the hottest place on earth? It lies in a low valley on the Ohio River. There is a ginormous levee to keep the city from flooding. (sometimes)

Alright, it’s maybe not THE hottest place but it routinely hits an extremely humid 100 degrees F or higher.

Hold on!

Here is my childhood home in Evansville courtesy of google earth. Have to say that aside from them adding on, nothing has changed except a couple of big trees were lost. The rest of the hood is remarkably exactly the same.

My mom was an avid gardener. We had a lovely patio surrounded by flowers and shade trees and we had a couple of these chaise lounges which were always slightly rusted.

Haha! Remember? And we had the chair version too. I remember that they were so flimsy that if they weren’t opened just right, your arse would come crashing into the concrete. Ouch. But we didn’t know any better.

We’ve come a long way since the sixties. Someone decided that teak was a good material for outdoor furniture and more attractive than the plastic/aluminum stuff. And some outdoor furniture was made of iron or an iron-type look. Then someone way back in 1961 (!) invented Sunbrella, a solution dyed fabric made from polypropylene that could go OUTSIDE. The early sunbrella usually had very beach-type, very bright colors. Now, Sunbrella comes in many sophisticated palettes and colors.

In 2015, our outdoor furniture has evolved so much that it’s often difficult to tell whether the furniture is indoor or outdoor furniture. The only requirement for outdoor furniture of course, is that if a monsoon lands on it, it’s going to be okay in a day or so. I think it’s a cool idea to have an outdoor living room if one has the space for it.

I had a lot of fun putting together a little collection for you of cool outdoor furniture. Some of this is so cool, I don’t see any problem with using it indoors. I mean, if you can hose it down outside, how more practical can you get?

Today, I’m sticking to chairs both dining and otherwise, tables of all kinds and sofas, settees and lounges.