Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

Some people do a lot of entertaining throughout the holiday season. On the other hand, there are those who hesitate to open their doors to large crowds of people. Although there can be many reasons for their reticence, it’s often because they’re not confident in their hosting or cooking skills, or they’re insecure about how their homes look.

Usually, however, they’re worrying for nothing. First of all, Christmas parties are rarely dull, no matter who is hosting them, as the spirit of the season alone can carry the occasion. Unlike non-holiday get-togethers, at these affairs, there’s no lack of conversation, because everyone has something to say about the big day that’s coming up, and how excited, exhausted, frantic, worried, prepared, or unprepared, they are for it.

In the second place, their fears about the appearances of their houses are probably just as unfounded. In most cases, they are fretting about relatively minor things, such as carpet stains, dull wallpaper, scratches on their buffets, dining tables, bars, or other wood furniture, or because they don’t feel that they have enough – or good enough – tableware for bigger groups.

If you are apprehensive about any of these things, relax! As I said before, there are tons of ways in which you can use decorations to make your home look stunning, even if you feel that it’s not exactly a showplace. Besides dimming the main lights, and illuminating the place chiefly with candles and Christmas lights, you can use red and green doilies on your end tables and accent tables to cover up imperfections, or add even more shine by making table runners from foil wrapping paper.

Another attraction that’s a major distraction is food; and a brilliantly-set table will make things look even more smashing. This, too, is easy to do, even if your resources are few. So, in my next blog, I will have some tips and suggestions for inexpensive ways to create a fun and festive table.

Oh, by the way, there’s one other big reason why some people don’t invite anyone over during the holidays – they simply don’t want to.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: bars, buffets, dining tables, table, wood furniture

Before long, children in costumes will be roaming the streets in search of candy.  With all of the craziness in the world, however, parents are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of this tradition.  Therefore, instead of letting their kids go trick-or-treating, they often choose to have Halloween parties. 

Although the themes of these get-togethers will naturally be scary, for those who choose to host them, the most terrifying part is all of the destruction that may be wrought by a houseful of little gremlins. 

If you’re debating about having such an affair, remember, you can still hold the party outdoors; in fact, that’s the best place to evoke the, uh, spirit of the occasion.  Furthermore, there’s a lot more room for playing games; and if anything gets spilled, it will be on the ground, instead of on your carpet. 

Halloween decorations are also a lot spookier under the moon and stars.  You can string trellises and pergolas with orange lights, and hang a ghost, a spider, a bat, or even a “dead body” from an arbor.  Planter trellises and planter benches with lattice also look wonderfully eerie when decked out with twinkling lights. 

Use orange and black disposable cloths on your picnic table or outdoor dining set, and use jack-o-lanterns or candles as centerpieces.  Additional picnic table benches, folding chairs, and patio chairs can be used for extra seating, as well as for a game of “musical chairs.”       

If you have a gazebo, you’ve really got it made.  Gazebos are great places for outdoor entertaining, all year long, especially if they’re enclosed with screens, doors, and windows, and have some extras, such as built-in benches and hidden wiring.  They also look spectacular when they’re decorated, with lights, scarecrows, pumpkins, and bales of hay.

So, you see, there’s nothing to be afraid of; you can host your Halloween party without destroying your house.  You’ll also be very popular with the little neighborhood boos and ghouls, who will think you’re the ghost with the most!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: arbor, bench, Chair, gazebo, Outdoor Furniture, pergola, table, trellis

Picnic tables everywhere are being heavily used during these long summer days; and there’s nothing new about that, as this has always been their big season.  The difference is that, in the not-too-distant past, after their demanding warm-weather performances, picnic tables would normally go into hibernation for the rest of the year.

These days, however, millions of people, reluctant to relinquish the outdoor living experience for three-quarters of the year, are keeping it alive by enclosing their porches, patios, and gazebos.  Although this is a great way to cheat Mother Nature out of her chance to see us pining away for our picnic tables during the cold-weather months, it opens up a whole new area of concern from the standpoint of outdoor decorating – or is that indoor decorating?

You see?  There’s the rub. Once the line between the indoors and outdoors is blurred, it creates correlating questions about the kinds of furnishings and décor that should be used in these new rooms.  Because they’re meant to capture the essence of the outdoors, it stands to reason that some degree of rusticity would be desirable.  On the other hand, because they’re also, technically, indoor rooms (and, in some cases, under the roofs of the main houses), some people may be inclined to be a bit more elaborate with their motifs.  In fact, many people are quite extravagant, not only with their enclosed rooms, but with their outdoor rooms (i.e., yards) as well.    

Whatever the case, it’s no longer enough just to have a few porch chairs, folding chairs, benches, or weatherworn picnic tables, in these new rooms, which are often used year-round for entertaining.  Because of their heightened purposes, even the ones that are country-themed are being decorated as meticulously as regular indoor rooms, complete with coordinating colors and accessories. 

But that’s okay, because AllPicnicTables.com, which is always ahead of the curve when it comes to new trends, has an awesome assortment of rectangular, oval, round, square, hexagonal, octagonal, and extra-wide picnic tables, in virtually limitless colors, styles, and materials.  Besides the classic cedar, pine, oak, teak, and cherry tables, we also feature aluminum, vinyl, polywood, and thermoplastic-coated steel tables, suitable for residential and commercial uses, along with outdoor dining sets, bar and bistro tables, and a full line of outdoor furniture.

Furthermore, even though all of the furniture is built to last, whether it’s used indoors or out, most of the synthetic and metal pieces are practically indestructible.  Indeed, they will refuse to crack, chip, warp, decay, rust, peel, or break, even if they’re left outside year-round to endure Mother Nature’s full arsenal.

So, contrary to popular belief, it is nice to fool Mother Nature!

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: picnic table, picnic tables, table, tables