Archive for the ‘exterior’ Category

Butterfly Chairs

Monday, January 31st, 2011

I’ve been slowly amassing butterfly chair frames to use as seating around the fire pit for the past year or so. Unfortunately, buying individual frames over Craigslist is a bit of a problem when it comes to having all the chairs and their covers match. Why won’t a bunch of unconnected strangers in different towns have exactly what I want?! So inconsiderate.

Mismatched and falling apart, the random ugly slings on each chair were making things look a tad dorm room ghetto.

I recently received an email from Steve Dunning of Circa50 whose subject line literally read “help is on the way”. He had noticed my past post and how terrible the chairs were looking and then a wave of embarrassment about the state of my ghetto chair covers hit me like a tuna in the face. With much shame, I admitted that they had been neglected for far too long.

Thankfully, Circa50 rescued me yet again.

They sent six white indoor/outdoor vinyl weave slings in size D. The heavy duty exterior vinyl is a Circa50 exclusive and so very thick and fabulous to sit in – they are like white clouds of slingy heaven.

I can’t decide if six chairs may be a bit much around the fire pit, but once we install the stock tank pool I have a feeling that a pair will navigate over to the other side of the yard. Then it shall be decided…do I need still more? Probably…because I am obsessed with butterfly chairs…

It’s amazing how a matching set of slings instantly changes the patio area. It’s like the whole thing just went up a thousand notches in the über fancy design category.

Honestly, I kind of don’t want anyone to sit in them since they look like the hotness.

Thanks again, Steve and everyone at Circa50! These really did save the side yard. Now everything else needs to get better to keep up.

FILED UNDER: after, exterior, furniture, links, patio

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Bar Top

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

The breezeway between our side yard, the house and the garage has this funky little pony wall that was cut down at some point. The original layout of the breezeway is a bit of a mystery, but I believe the entire area used to be enclosed.

See? Someone just hacked it down. I’ve considered various options for making this area useful and have come to one conclusion.

Bar time. Hello.

Yeah, this is looking like a party house now.

My idea is to source a ten foot slab and then secure it to a frame bolted to the brick pony wall with a steel pipe installed in the right corner for support. I am slab crazy. Have a problem? Throw a slab at it.

Easy enough, right? Maybe…

If it all goes horribly awry, I’ll probably just make a top with some long redwood slats in a frame of 1×2’s or get super nuts and weld up a metal top.

FILED UNDER: exterior, sketchup

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Front Fence

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

After we rehabbed the side yard fence I started to consider what could be done about the ugly broken down fences in the front yard. Unfortunately, these are not salvageable and whatever design is chosen it needs to be sympathetic to the slatted redwood screen, provide privacy, be easily DIY’d and be cheap.

While perusing RO/LU’s landscaping projects I stumbled on a fence idea that I enjoyed very much. It appears that they used 6×6″ posts that are held in place by 3/4″ steel rods with a spacer between. The things I love about this?

-No ugly side.
-Steel doesn’t rot.
-Easy to build. (I think).

This idea sort of fits all my criteria and could be adapted for the 16′ run on the side of the house, as well as a division between the cat neighbor and us. Hooray. Problem solved? Right?

Um. NO.

So, 6×6″ redwood is not what I would call standard in any way. I called around and got a quote for $126 for ONE ten footer. YIKES. Seeing as I needed 22, that’s almost 3K in just wood for one section of fence. No thanks.

Here are my three fence design ideas. Floating in spaaaacccceeee.

6×6″ option. I love you. You will not happen, unless someone has a clever idea about where to get 6×6″ redwood for cheap.

4×4″ option. Hmmmm. I am not loving you. I think you are too busy and I like the beefy of the 6×6″. You need 32 4×4″ posts plus 1/2″ spacers. You will cost something like $300.

1×12″ option. You were my very first idea. I liked you, I just did not like that you had an ugly side.

You need five 4×4″ posts to keep you in place and then they are all naked for the world to see. I got some quotes on you and you will be about $300 in materials.

What do you guys think? Remember, from our backyard we will see this:

Plus you will be really close to the fence while lounging in the stock tank pool. Also, we need privacy for swim time.

And the front will be important since it dictates the little side fence and will be the backdrop for our minimal landscaping and we got to show off that sexy sail.