Covering the last settee on the deck.

Now all my scavenged deck furniture is looking good, don’t you think?

This is where we were:

See the settee? It was the last man standing (with a man lying down on it!). That plaid had to go!

Otherwise, not bad: A good amount of this deck furniture covered with nice Sunbrella fabric that resists everything and always looks as good as new.

To recap my deck furniture journey:

The fake-y wicker, which by the way is a fabulous use of plastic and metal, because real wicker requires an enclosed porch or preferably room and constant upkeep (and no cats), was given to me by generous friends. It consists of settee, two chairs, and a coffee table, including cushions with a jungle print of ugliness. Once again, sorry if you are a jungle print fan. But not only is it hideous and ridiculous (we don’t actually have any sort of jungle vibe going on out there), it was always dirty-looking, even when just scrubbed.

The iron furniture was a Craigslist find. Settee, chair, ottoman, and two tables for $150. I truly was in fear that the man would change his mind between the time I told him I’d be there and when I actually got there (after making Will borrow a neighbor’s truck, because we foolishly, shortsightedly did not have a pickup back then, opting instead for a vehicle to move children around).

At first I wasn’t sure about the coverings, but actually they ended up being really practical. Water just drains through and they never look dirty, other than the obvious dinginess of the original style — I wish that the settee had just been the dark brown of the chair and ottoman.

Here is a before of all my deck furniture, if you are interested, including me spray-painting that iron! And it can use a touch-up, which I will get to after we are done with the bathrooms.

Anyway, last year the seams started going on the plaid cushions —  and I could procrastinate no more!

 

I had found the Sunbrella on Fabric.com for the world’s cheapest price of $5.94 a yard when I was recovering the wicker.

Now it seems to be around $21-25 a yard, which is fine until you need 10 yards.

I just looked at the sale prices and tried to find something that I could live with. I didn’t want anything light or loud, figuring I could jazz things up with the pillows — and the little waves pattern went really well — miraculously well — with the existing coverings of the iron furniture (honestly, it just reads as solid brown) — important, because I also didn’t want to do more than the wicker. I just… couldn’t.

I know that sounds a little silly, but we are always on a budget, of course, and also I just couldn’t face crawling around, wrestling with the big pieces, and the anxiety that always haunts big projects like this — will the fabric be enough, is it actually a good purchase given the use, will I like it, will I do a good enough job to justify the effort and expense, blah blah blah.

So I compromised.

This compromise means that when I was ready to do the job, I couldn’t find the fabric. So we limped along last year. This year I found it (I would occasionally just do a Google search) for the not unreasonable if un-astounding price of $15 a yard, on ebay (with some pricey shipping, boo), so four yards later I was in business.

 

I will say that the old fabric really has stood up. There is virtually no difference between the old and the new, which ought to impress you, as we are always leaving the cushions out under the maple tree, in the rain, under the dog and cat, etc.

I like how the dark brown goes with the dark brown of my also fake wicker outdoor dining chairs. (Can you spot the cat under there?)

 

The dark brown of the chair and ottoman are in perfect condition, so I’m just keeping them as they are. (You have got to hand it to the manufacturer — they are probably 50 years old, I’m guessing.)

 

I have to say, I love it all! We are always so comfy out there — we can sit and chat or read for hours. Total cost for the living area — furniture, spray paint, fabric, and pillows: about $285. If I had known that the Sunbrella would be so worth the time, effort, and money and had bought enough to start with, the cost would have been $212. Ah well.

Tell me what you think!

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