Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

         We spend a lot of time discussing more popular products, such as gazebos, pergolas and picnic tables.  Today, I want to give some love to a few unique products that you may have never seen, much less considered adding to your backyard or garden design.

          Trees may be beautiful, but they can also limit the space of your backyard design.   A quick solution that several public parks and schools have utilized is a Tree Bench.  The bench wraps around the tree, forming a sitting area for several people.  The tree bench can be made of Cedar, Pine and even Teak.

         Planter Benches are the perfect boundary of any garden.  A pair of planter boxes on each side, help support the bench.  The lattice on the back adds a nice back support and looks great.  In fact, we now offer a double planter bench which forms an “L”.  My son described it as “way cool,” and I agree…like totally way cool! 

As a side note, (and very beneficial to you!), now through March 31st, we are offering $25 off any Planter Purchase of $150 or more!  Enter Promotional Code PLANTER in the shopping cart. 

          We’ve also combined the want for garden benches, porch swings and the want for a wooden arbor.  CedarStore.com has an Imperial Arbor with a garden bench and 4’ porch swing already built in.  And, just for a little decorative “icing on the cake”, we’ve created an arched top, too.  The treated pine arbor is a great center piece to a flower garden, or even a stand alone in your back yard.  Sit with the grand kids, or hide from life while inside the Imperial arbor.  Definitely, my favorite of the little known products!

          If you’re looking for deck furniture, I would recommend a few Adirondack chairs, or perhaps a wall mounted pergola!  We get a lot of questions about being able to attach a pergola to the house, and the answer is a simple: yes.  We’ll talk more about wall mounted pergolas in our future blogs. 

          As always, if you’d like us to address a topic in a future blog, just let us know via email (contact@cedarstore.com) or by leaving a comment.  We’re always happy to discuss a project, or offer our advice.  After twenty years in business, and 10 years online, we’ve seen it all!

Have a great day!

Shari

Tags: Arbors, Pergolas, Planter Benches, Planters, Tree Benches

Despite it being March, the temperatures here on the east coast are still cold.  In fact, if I see one more snow flake, I’ll start rooting for global warming.  Since it is March, I do know that Spring is not far away (which means summer and bathing suits are close, too…maybe snow is good). 

The first thing you must do this Spring is organize your wish list.  Is this the year to decorate the garden with a few odds and ends, or is this the year you add a cedar garden bench, Adirondack chair and canopy gazebo?    Is this the year to just plant a few flowers, or finally lay down a rock bed and a cedar garden bridge? 

Spring is the time of optimism and a Can-Do attitude.  Make a list of your Do-It-Yourself backyard projects.  Circle your favorite, and immediately get to work!  The longer you wait, the closer August gets.  “I should have…” is never a good statement.

You can organize your list in two ways—most important or in order of easily accomplished.  Some people like to start with a couple small items, build some momentum, and then tackle the big one.  Not me!  Bring on the challenge!  I’ll do it now, while I’ve got the energy and desire to get it done.  If I do a few small projects, I’ll take time off and never get back to the real projects.

CedarStore.com presents the best of both worlds.  The projects appear large, such as a Vinyl Pergola, but really, they’re built in only a few hours.  The same goes for the cedar and treated pine arbors.  Spend half a day building the arbor, the other half placing hanging vines or flower pots, and call it a day! 

Another idea is to start the season with a storage shed.  Maybe Cedar Log for that rustic look?  Maybe a vinyl shed for its longevity and economical cost?  Starting with a shed gives you a chance to store all the tools for your upcoming projects in one place, and out of your way! 

Or you may just decide; no work for me!  Add a few pieces of outdoor patio furniture, relax, recline and reset. 

The most important thing is to enjoy the journey! 

Shari 

Tags: adirondack chair, Arbors, garden bridge, outdoor patio furniture, Sheds, Spring Cleaning

One of the most common debates our customers have is:  “Should I buy a pre-assembled kit or build it myself?”  Let’s examine the pros and cons of each…

First, a quick story.  One of the first gazebos we sold was to a couple in Pittsburgh, who stopped by our greenhouse and retail site.  They didn’t buy right away.  The wife fell in love with a little Cedar Octagon gazebo.  The husband, after studying it for several minutes, looked at me, hitched up his pants (it’s a guy thing), and proclaimed to his wife, “I can build that for a lot less!”

I next saw the couple at our retail site about three years later.  I instantly recognized them, but didn’t say a word.  It wasn’t long before the wife approached me, and with a rye smile asked, “Do you remember us?” 

“Of course”, I told her.  “How is your gazebo?” 

At this point, the husband had his hands in his pockets.  I knew why, and it’s a story I’ve seen dozens of times since.  His wife turned to him and victoriously said, “Tell him how far you’ve come with the gazebo!”

He had the floor done.  After three years, he had only built the floor!  It wasn’t his fault, really.  We’re all busy.  If the kids don’t have practice, our parents need help with something, we have chores of our own, and we occasionally try to relax.  Who has time or skills to build a gazebo?

For the record, our gazebo kit prices are only a few hundred dollars more than buying just the raw, uncut materials.  The question you have to ask yourself is:  “Are the weeks and frustration to build it worth a few hundred dollars?”  The compound angles alone on an octagon gazebo kit are enough to drive professional contractors a little mad.

Our gazebo kits assemble in one day.  The same formula applies to our wooden picnic tables, which only take about 15 minutes to assemble, wooden pergolas, shed kits, and all of our pre-made outdoor furniture kits. 

The reason our kits are so easy to assemble is the use templates, otherwise known as jigs, which allow us to consistently create perfectly made components without wasting a splinter of wood.  Also, our lumber is a higher quality than you can buy at national hardware stores.  Our expert craftsmen hand select the #1 grade Cedar, Pine and Teak. 

In fact, one of our biggest customer segments is general contractors and handymen.  So, my slightly biased opinion, but one based on years of experience, is leave the saw the in shed and buy a kit.  Invite a few friends over, put a few steaks on the grill, and when the neighbors smell the steaks, they may even offer help, too!

Enjoy your day!

Shari

Tags: Gazebo Kits, Outdoor Furniture, Pergolas, Shed Kits

If you’re looking for the next project, or one that will really add value and space to your home, we recommend outdoor kitchens!  By adding an outdoor kitchen, you instantly have a gathering place for guests or large parties, a family area and a picnic area.  It’s just more relaxing to cook and eat outside!  

A little while back, the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) television show, Indoors-Out, featured a few of our Outdoor Kitchen Furniture Products on their shows.

A Grand Entrance

The first step in building an outdoor kitchen is to create an impressive entrance.  A beautiful walkway, highlighted by a cedar Mayfield Arbor was unfortunately left out of the picture, but it provided a beautiful entrance.   Many of our other customers have opted to cover their outdoor kitchen with a Pergola, which is a really impressive look. 

Planning your Outdoor Kitchen

Planning and building your outdoor kitchen is really all about preference and budget, but it’s tough to go wrong with either choice.  Several of our customers in cold weather climates have even opted for a gazebo to cover their kitchen, so it could be used year round.

Outdoor Kitchen Appliances

After impressing guests with your “entrance”, the next primary part of your outdoor Kitchen is your grill and preferably an outdoor sink.  It’s easy to transition the sink to a bar, or counter space, and it’s handy to avoid running in and out, and in and out of the house (admit it, you can hear your parents yelling, “You’re letting the air conditioning out!”). 

Wood Furniture for your Outdoor Kitchen

The completed project showed our Red Cedar Trestle Table.  They also used Adirondack Chairs.  CedarStore.com offers many patio sets, picnic tables and outdoor furniture options, from wrought iron and polywood to cedar and pine to complete your Outdoor Kitchen project.

You can build an outdoor kitchen on stone, concrete, a wood deck or even the bare earth. As always CedarStore.com is available to help, 1-888-293-2339.

Have a wonderful day!

Shari

Tags: adirondack chair, arbor, Outdoor Furniture, pergola, picnic table

Setting up for an Outdoor Wedding is one of our favorite projects.  Typically, a bride’s parents call us months in advance to plan their daughter’s big day.  Many moms have always dreamed a picturesque gazebo in the backyard, or a quaint bridge over a small creek.  Adding a gazebo or bridge to an outdoor wedding is a nice touch of class that includes excellent functionality!

What Gazebo is Best?

Let’s begin with which gazebos are best.  Octagon gazebos are the most traditional—add decorative braces, turned posts and decorative railings and you have a little piece of Victorian Heaven.

For larger outdoor wedding parties, and larger amounts of guests, I’d recommend a longer rectangular or oval gazebo.  We can increase the width of the opening, creating a stage-like entrance for the big day!  The material you choose should match your house and surroundings…in other words, a white vinyl siding house can easily add a white vinyl gazebo. 

I remember one project—A mother called us on a Tuesday, wanting a large gazebo for her daughter’s wedding on Saturday!  And she needed it built on site by our crew…No problem! (Well it was a problem, but she was so frantic, we didn’t have the heart to tell her we moved Heaven and Earth!).  So, our crew drove 12 hours to her house Friday night…and finished the gazebo just before noon Saturday morning, as the caterers were setting up and guests were arriving! 

No one can ever say we’re not dedicated! 

Outdoor Bridges

Another popular outdoor wedding accessory that has served families well is a simple pedestrian bridge.  As you can see in the picture above, it creates a unique landscape and creates a nice separation of the activities.  The pedestrian bridges are so easy to build that a couple people should take no longer than a couple hours to complete the project…though we don’t recommend waiting until the morning of the wedding to start! 

Other Outdoor Wedding Options

Some families who don’t want a large gazebo have opted to use a pergola entrance to the wedding area.  Our Kingston Arbor just seems to fit well.  It’s wide enough to fit most red carpets and bridal trains, but decorative enough to instantly set a tone of elegance and class.  

The outdoor additions make a unique setting for wedding photos and create a unique environment, all at a cost less than many couples must spend on large halls!  Call CedarStore.com for assistance, 1-888-293-2339.

Tags: arbor, bridge, gazebo, pergola