Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

Among the many indoor projects that people are working on at this time of the year, painting is one of the most common.  This is understandable, as it’s a great way to give a room a whole new look, without the expense of remodeling; and virtually anyone can do it.  For first-timers, however, the myriad choices in paints can be rather confusing.  Heck, it’s difficult enough just to pick from the millions of available colors.  Then, after you make that monumental decision, you have to figure out whether flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, or gloss paint, will best suit your purpose.

So, if you’re not familiar with these terms, remember that flat paint has a matte finish, with no sheen, shine, or shimmer.  Because it doesn’t reflect light, it can hide some minor imperfections; but it’s less durable, more porous, and harder to clean, than glossier types.  This makes it more hospitable to mold and mildew growth, so it shouldn’t be used in high-humidity rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchens, or in backyard structures that aren’t insulated.

Eggshell has just a slight hint of luster, but can add a bit more depth and warmth to a room.  Easier to clean than flat paint, it still disguises small defects, and is less attractive to mildew.

Smooth and somewhat shiny, satin paint is much more durable than flat and eggshell varieties.  Very easy to clean, and resistant to mold and mildew, it’s great for use in bathrooms and kitchens, as well as high-traffic areas.

With its beautiful, sparkling finish, semi-gloss paint is extremely durable and easy to keep clean.  It’s used mostly for trim, doors, and bathroom and kitchen cabinets; but it’s highly reflective, and will draw attention to even the slightest blemish.

Gleaming, glistening gloss paint is mainly for trim, wainscoting, and cabinets; but it can also make a home look stylish and welcoming when used on the front door.  Because it spotlights every imperfection, however, wherever, whenever, and if ever you use it, be sure that whatever you put it on has no flaws whatsoever.

Once you’re done with the indoors, you can start planning a fresh look for the outdoors.  Adding patio furniture to your porch or lawn is a great way to add an entirely new living space to enjoy.   Of course, with the thousands of patio chairs, porch swings, garden benches, swingbeds, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, chaise lounges, hammocks, accent tables, gliders, outdoor dining tables, garden structures, and ottomans available, there’s practically as many varieties of outdoor furniture as there are paint colors!

Luckily, though, this will cause you no consternation.  Because materials can be easily split into two categories; cedar, pine, oak, cherry, teak, eucalyptus, and cypress, verses aluminum, synthetic wicker, polywood, and vinyl.  Your decision is simple: either you wood, or wood not.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: accent tables, adirondack chairs, aluminum, backyard structures, cedar, chaise lounges, cherry, cypress, eucalyptus, garden benches, garden structures, gliders, Hammocks, oak, ottomans, outdoor dining tables, patio chairs, patio furniture, picnic tables, pine, polywood, porch swings, Swingbeds, synthetic wicker, teak, vinyl

As I was saying, I enjoy trying to find out how our many holiday traditions got started; but each one has so many conflicting versions, that it can be difficult to pinpoint its exact origin.  Still, they’re all pretty entertaining.

 Kissing under the mistletoe, for example, is a strange one.  As one story goes, in ancient Scandinavia, it was a plant of peace; so, if enemies happened to meet under it in the forest, they would put down their arms and observe a truce until the next day.

 Somehow, over time, that led to kissing beneath it.  The thing is that, according to legend, men supposedly had license to kiss women who were standing under it.  BUT (and, as you can see, that’s a big but), afterward, they would pluck a berry from the mistletoe, and when the berries were gone, it was, well, all kissed-out, I guess, and the privilege existed no more.  

 However, like every tradition, it apparently kept on changing, and the berry-plucking eventually ceased.  Of course, although it’s no mystery why men would want to do away with the part that would deprive them of their rights to further kisses, I don’t know whether it was a blatant disregard of convention that caused the modification, or the simple fact that most mistletoe found in homes today is plastic. 

 See?  That’s the even-funnier thing about trying to solve an ancient puzzle; the more pieces you find, the more puzzling it becomes.  In the first place, I can’t imagine what possible good a one-day truce would do anybody, except that, maybe, it gave one party the chance to run away (and live to fight another day!) under cover of darkness.  Otherwise, it seems to be a hollow gesture – kind of like a meaningless kiss.  

 At CedarStore.com, we prefer more solid traditions; and that’s why most of our wood furniture is still hand-crafted in true, Old World style.  This includes our beautiful oak and cherry jewelry chests, jewelry boxes, armoires, silverware boxes, and cedar chests, which make great gifts, not only for Christmas, but for any occasion.  In fact, by giving one, you may start a whole new tradition, as it may end up being passed down for generations. 

 All in all, I’d say that’s much more enduring and meaningful than an insincere kiss under a plastic plant!

 Yours Outdoors,

 Kathy

Tags: armoires, cedar chests, cherry, jewelry boxes, jewelry chests, oak, silverware boxes, wood furniture