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Adding Bright Red Adirondack Chairs To Our Side Patio

Enough about our colorful stools…

StoolPaint Detail Two Backs

…and on to our newest set of colorful chairs. Oh yes, we’re officially on a bold-colored seating kick. Remember we already have these $35 thrift store guys that we gussied up with green paint and fresh upholstery in the office?

Chair Done5

And this zero dolla (holla!) hand-me-down highchair for Clara that we happied up with some sunny yellow paint?

High Chair Done4

Apparently it’s nothing but the best brightest for our buns. And this might be kind of shocker, but this time… we’ve gone red!

Adirondack After Straight On

A pretty tomato red, to be exact. And it looks pretty darn tasty with the blue hydrangeas around the paver patio that we DIYed last May.

When we shared the big patio reveal pics last spring, we mentioned that we needed some nice solid long-lasting patio furniture, but would be saving our pennies for a while. So after 13 months of squirreling away $20 a month toward the cause, we finally had enough in our little patio-furniture savings jar to get two of these babies!

Adirondack After Single Angle

To refresh your memory, these old folding chairs from Ikea used to be parked there:

Adirondak 1 Before Burger

Which weren’t half bad looking… until you got a little closer.

Adirondack 2 Stains

That shot above doesn’t even do justice to the “hard life” that these old wood folding chairs now exude when you get a little closer. They’re peeling, cracking, creaky, and just generally kinda sad looking. We got two of them from Ikea for $100 over five years ago, and they were great in our former house’s sunroom for around four years.

Adirondack 1 5 In Old Sunroom

But after we moved and stuck them outside in the elements, even though they were made for outdoor use, they weren’t looking nearly as hot anymore. Probably because they weren’t covered with any protectant (like weather resistant oil/stain/sealer/etc). But it’s ok. They were honestly not the most comfortable things anyway, and we’ve always had a full-blown crush on colorful wooden adirondack chairs. How dorky is that? The slope of the seat is just so perfect for relaxing, and we love the wide wooden arms (big enough to rest a nice cold beverage). Basically if there was an Adirondack Chair Fan Club, John and I would both totally volunteer to be the treasurer and the secretary.

But a good well-made wooden adirondack chair comes with a price (we tried craigslist/yard sales/thrift stores to no avail). So we’re not talking about $39 (like our new blue stools) or $35 (like our office chairs) or zero bucks (like our hand-me-down highchair). Hence all that saving. We’re not usually as methodical about saving a certain amount each month for a specific thing, but putting a monthly “payment” of $20 into a jar for lawn furniture actually worked while we continued to squirrel away whatever other cash we could spare in our normal savings account for other things. Our main money MO is usually just to save as much as we can in general – like by only having one car, giving each other haircuts, not eating out too much, buying a fixer-upper in an affordable city so the mortgage is lower than the rent on my tiny studio apartment was in NYC six years ago, paying off credit cards to avoid interest, couponing at the grocery store, etc (you can peruse over 30 posts on how we save cashola here).

Coupons Kroger Receipt

So we’re usually saving up for multiple things at a time in one general savings account to be used towards whatever we think is next on the priority list (ex: the kitchen reno was something we saved up for since putting an offer on this house two Septembers ago, but during that time we also bought other things like materials for our DIY patio, a dining table, or a bed – since they would occasionally move to the top of the priority list). You can read more about our little money management method here.

Back to those new chairs of ours…

Adirondack After Detail

We successfully resisted our instincts to cheap out and get plastic ones because we’re enamored with the real-deal-Holyfield wood ones and knew that plastic ones would be what we call “an interim item” (something we’d buy but and then later be annoyed that we didn’t just put that money toward the actual thing we wanted and save until we could make it happen). So we generally try to avoid placeholder stuff. And lo and behold, this month we finally had enough cash in our jar to close the deal. But you know me, before I pulled the trigger I had to weigh a bunch of options. So here they are:

Contender #1: These guys were $129.95 (marked down from $144 each, with free shipping) from Joss & Main and came in the fun cherry tomato color that we loved. They’re made of solid premium cedar and painted with polyurethane paint for protection against the weather, heat, and sunlight.

Adirondak Joss Main Final

We knew we could always buy an unfinished chair somewhere and attempt to paint it ourselves, but with so many cracks and crevices we didn’t want to end up with something that didn’t look as good (and wasn’t as protected in all those hard to reach spots where water could collect and cause problems). So chairs that came pre-painted by the pros with polyurethane paint for protection against the weather, heat, and sunlight definitely appealed to us as something that would hopefully stand the test of time. Just didn’t want to spend less but end up with something that looked shoddy by next summer. I guess you could say that we’re happy to save money on free/cheap indoor chair makeovers but worried that messing around with wooden outdoor furniture was more risky since they have rain/sun/other outdoor variables to contend with. But when it comes to metal outdoor furniture – we love a good DIY!

Contender #2: Next I found this guy for $289 – eeks! More than double the price. Back to the hunt.

Adirondak Build Direct

Contender #3: This guy on Target’s site was on sale for $123 (also with free shipping), down from $174. But we didn’t like the look of this one as much as the first one (it felt sort of squat/less classic).

Adirondak Target

Contender #4: We also found this one at LL Bean but it was $299, so it wasn’t our first choice either.

Adirondak Llbean

Contender #5: Then we saw this guy in another Joss & Main sale, but he was $250 (down from $339) and we actually preferred the $129 tomato red color for our little hydrangea complementing plan.

Adirondak Joss Main Folding Yellow

Contender #6: Ballard Designs also had a plain white or wood one for $299.

Adirondak Ballard

So that’s how we found ourselves right back to our original find: Contender #1…

And about two weeks later, these guys arrived, and our little patio-furniture fund has officially been restarted (we still need other items out here, so we’re just going to continue our $20 a month habit).

Adirondack 3 Pieces

After “some assembly” we finally had our sloped back, wide armed adirondack lovies all ready for use. I know this might not be exciting for you guys, but it was kind of epic for us. We even invited John’s parents over to see them. It was a full on viewing party for our adirondack chairs. There was oohing, ahhing, sitting, petting. All of it.

Adirondack After From Side

And sure enough, they look pretty perfect with these great balls o’ flower.

Adirondack Hydrangea

We’re definitely far away from a fully furnished patio, but we’re closer than we were before. Inch, inch, inch. We didn’t even think about how nice these guys would look with the warm wood tones in the fence and Clara’s rock box, so that was a nice accident.

Adirondack Full Patio From Steps

We’re thinking we might start saving for a square woven outdoor storage ottoman like this next. Oh and see those blue garden stools? I got one at HomeGoods for $39 a month or two ago and loved it so much that I actually went back and grabbed another one last week (although the free black metal chairs that surround the second one – left by the previous owners – are only temporary). We really like how the blue stools tie into all the blue hydrangeas, and even the blue birdhouse in the tree (also a HomeGoods find from last year for $9). Heck, even the crazy blue rain barrel sort of fits into the scheme now. Haha. We can’t wait for those newly planted hydrangeas on the right side (next to Clara’s rock box) to grow enough to catch up with the 2-year old guys on the left. Once they’re all nice and big it’ll look even more garden-riffic back here.

So that’s the latest on our little patio. Have you guys been doing any outdoor furniture buying or saving? Do you think it’s crazy to pick chair colors based on flower colors? Or to have family over just to ogle some new chairs? Haha, it just might be.

Comments

  3. annabelvita says

    My in laws were telling us this weekend that the pair of good quality wooden outdoor chairs they bought over 20 years ago have outlasted four of five cheaper table and chairs sets – so they’d totally endorse your “wait till you can get the real deal” thing – that’s what they’ll be doing in their new house for sure!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Wahooo! That’s so exciting to hear! We stayed at a bed and breakfast for a wedding that had a bunch of bright red adirondak chairs lined up outside on the back porch and that’s where we fell in love. The owner said she had them for over a decade and they looked brand new!

      xo,
      s

  7. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    I love them! They really do look great with the hydrangeas (my favorite flower ever).

    We’ve been considering painting our Adirondacks (seen here with the pillows I made). We’re not too sure though; we’re afraid the color would compete with the Talevera pottery and neutral tones of the house.

    Reply

  8. Cate says

    I bought my mother some fun coral ones a few years ago for mother’s day. They were from Love My Patio – they were a on sale for a pretty good price and everything local wa a good bit more, so I went for it. They were super cute in person and easy to put together; however, they haven’t really held up to the elements like I expected them too from the description.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, those sound so cute! So sorry they haven’t held up as well as you’ve liked. Maybe bringing them in for the winter months is a nice break for them? Do you know if they were painted specifically with paint meant to protect from the elements (as opposed to regular paint?). Maybe you can repaint them and seal them for more protection?

      xo,
      s

  11. Kim says

    I think you need two more for when the grandparents come over (or friends). Then you can all sit out there and enjoy Clara’s company.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, right now we have those black metal chairs over near the rock box (they were left by the previous owners) but we’re definitely going to add more seating as we go!

      xo,
      s

  13. Kate says

    I bought two (unfinished) adirondack chairs for my front porch from Home Depot last year for $29 each. I was blown away by the price so I snatched them up and took them home. I assembled and painted them and loved them so much that I went back for more. They were sold out in the store and online, so I checked Craigslist and lucked out by finding four more for my back deck. Two were assembled and went unprotected through the seasons and the other two were new in the box. I talked the guy down to $80 for all four of them and they are the best!! :] Can’t beat $140 for SIX adirondack chairs. They are sturdy and holding up well to the elements, not to mention that they are super comfy!

    Reply

  14. Jessie S says

    Absolutely adore these! I’ve been hoping you guys would do something red, and those babies look great out on your patio :) I especially love the blue accents everywhere. Yay for bold patio furniture!

    Reply

  15. Karin K says

    Those are so stinkin’ cute that I am going to go back online and buy some World Market pillows I saw yesterday for my wooden bench I scored for $0 from my employer (castoff from a renovation). You guys have inspired me!

    Reply

  18. Stephanie says

    There’s a really long story that involves crazy former friends and awkward moments to explain why but I LOVE adirondack chairs soooo much.

    And I love yours. The tomato red is perfect on your patio and so pretty. They just look like they call “come sit on me with a refreshing beverage and catch some sun.” I love sun.

    Reply

  19. Lindsay says

    LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Especially next to the blue hydrangeas! That makes me want to plant some right now. I’m not a flower person – do these last long? Or are they kind of like peonys where a good hard rain comes in and they all kind of die off??

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They’re awesome! So far they’ve been blooming for about two weeks and still going strong. I’d imagine we’ll get maybe two more weeks out of them? Anyone know how long hydrangeas like this bloom? They’re in part sun/part shade so they seem to like that (maybe in full sun they would fizzle out faster?).

      xo,
      s

    • cbb says

      My hydrangeas last for months, colour fades at the end of the summer, I usually have to snap the dead ones off in Oct but that’s in Ireland far cooler temps than Richmond i’m sure

  22. allison says

    Hi guys – I’m sure that you will be Pres/Vice-Pres of the Fan Club once you start spelling Adirondack correctly ;-)

    Reply

  24. Megan says

    Do you have any Amish around you? They are near us and every group we have gone too (Amish or Menonite) have great wood furniture to buy and it’s very reasonable. My parents have bought a bunch from them and we have a few pieces too, such as beautiful porch swing. Plus it helps support their community and cuts down on delivery fees… and I know you two are great about trying to buy local when possible! :) Just an option for when you need more/new furniture!

    Reply

    • Linda says

      I used to shop at Amish vendors – however, what I have read about their treatment of animals does not accord with how I feel about animals – so no more Amish support for me. In a way it’s a shame – they do make nice furniture.

    • Natalie says

      We have a ton of Amish that live around us. I even had some in my class in elementary school! They make great long lasting furniture but the stuff around here is very pricey since it’s all custom made.

  25. Ginny @ goofymonkeys says

    I love the red chairs – my parents have a pair of red ones on their front yard. We have some bright blue plastic cheapies on our front porch and I do love the way they bring another color to our front yard.

    Reply

  27. Robin @ our semi organic life says

    For anyone looking for outdoor paint we just redid our wooden chairs (similar to your before chairs) with this new Valspar outdoor protection spray paint. We’re trying to extend their life since we’re broke. It’s especially for outdoor furniture and protects against the elements and rust. What an upgrade! So far so good this summer too! They even have bright punchy colors.

    Reply

  28. Missy G. says

    Love the chairs! We have the plastic adirondack ones, but they suit us because we tend to move them around a lot. We also have lots of trees, so I’m hesitant to get anything too nice back there, only to have a big branch fall on it and then we can’t afford to replace it.

    I’m also really impressed that you got free shipping from Joss & Main! I didn’t think that was possible. Was that random, or do you get that as a curator’s perk? Either way, very nice!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They actually give free shipping on a lot of items – just randomly! Always be sure to check if they’re running it! I have noticed some collections have it and others don’t while sometimes certain items have it and others done (sometimes expensive items have it, seemingly as a perk of buying expensive things, and some light easy-to-ship things have it, like pillows and napkins).

      xo,
      s

  30. Amy @ Lovely Nest says

    My husband bought me a wooden adirondack for my birthday a couple of years ago, but it must not have really been made for outdoors because the paint started peeling and it just looked like a hot mess. I planned to re-paint it, but as I was getting ready to, I noticed one of the legs had basically broken off, so it went to the curb (where someone picked it up not 20 minutes later!). Right now we’re rocking two $18 plastic Target adirondack chairs, but I love them for now since I don’t have to worry about paint and if they do get ruined, we’re not out very much money at all! The whole story is here: http://www.lovely-nest.com/blog/2012/5/7/old-chair-new-chair.html

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Love that story! John’s parents got three red plastic ones for their beach house (since they didn’t want to worry about renters abusing them and them being expensive) and they’re awesome! We appreciated how light they were since we could move them around really easily!

      xo,
      s

  31. Donna says

    Gorgeous chairs! My husband has made several pairs over the years for us and family and friends, using Norm Abram’s pattern. He used pressure treated wood and then later I painted them. They are still solid and great, but you are right about the nooks and crannies. It’s so hard to get paint in there, so you made a good choice.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Donna! It’s so funny because we’re usually so gung-ho about painting things ourselves, but things with so many cracks and crevices that live outside made us nervous for moisture to sneak in somewhere and mess up our chairs!

      xo,
      s

  32. Kelsey says

    Hey I was wondering what kind of watering routine you guys have? Your flowers and lawn always look so plush and green! Do you have auto-sprinklers? Do you use your rain water and a watering can? I struggle with my black-thumbed-ness…luckily my boyfriend has a slightly less black thumb than me. :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We do have sprinklers in the front and back yard (none on this side yard though) so we just watered the new baby hydrangeas to establish them and now don’t do anything. Same thing for the front yard grass (we actually haven’t turned on our sprinklers because we only use them when it’s really dry and we have had some great rain a few times a week for the last few months) so we just manually watered the grass with a spray hose every day for a few weeks while it came in and now give it a little hose down if it has been especially dry. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  33. Becky says

    The new chairs are great. I went with plastic adironack chairs for my patio as they will be out in the elements all year around (I don’t have much storage space.) Anyway, are the pillows you put on them made for outdoor use? I’m looking for some (which will be stored in the winter).

    Reply

  34. Lisa says

    Love the chairs! Actually, I was looking at that last picture and thinking about your rain barrel. Since it is so close to the rock box, why not do something fun, but not too out there for Clara on it. Since it is already a decent color of blue, you could totally make it an “aquarium”. You could find all kinds of stickers or prints of fish, anemones, starfish, etc. and slap them on that barrel and cover them with some kind of weatherproofing stuff…or since you you are artsy, you could totally just paint on it. I would make them realistic looking though, not “cartoon”. That would blend in okay with your patio area, but also be something cute for Clara to check out. She could even help you decorate it if you wanted her to. :)

    Reply

  35. Eve says

    Eeek! LOVE! That has to be the most perfect shade of tomato red – love the orange undertone against the blue, and those pillows are super cute!

    Reply

  36. Debbie says

    outdoor furniture can be more pricey than indoor furniture! when we were in AZ over memorial day we went shopping at one of our favorite outdoor furniture & pool places for a few completer items for our house there. we saw the most perfect furniture for our new three season gazebo thats being built at one of our lake homes in MN. we mixed & matched two styles & picked out a great custom fabric. the only problem was some items were special order & not readily available, plus the cushions all had to be made. so we took as many pieces as we could w/ us to take back in our plane & they are shipping the rest to us via a dedicated truck (yes, its that MUCH)towards the end of the month. by the time we were all done, we had spent more than eight grand! itll be gorgeous when its all done, but it seems so silly to spend that kind of money on furniture that isnt going to be used all that often.

    Reply

  37. Jeannie says

    This looks amazing. I love Adirondack chairs and hydrangeas so in short, I’m very jealous! :-D Well done!

    Reply

  38. Nora Rose says

    Freaking love it! Here is the red I’ve been waiting for!! You guys have been doing so much yellow, blue, and green, red really spices it up! ;)

    I totally eyed the rain barrel in that picture and I agree that it is starting to fit in quite nicely. Your patio is looking amazing!

    Reply

  41. Whitney says

    Love Adirondack chairs! My husband built ours from old shutters and scrap wood he found in a dumpster! We painted them tomato Red too! They have sat outside through 3 winters now, might need a new coat of paint, but still holding up great!

    Reply

  42. Nora Rose says

    Alsoooo, point of inquiry on the finish on these chairs: does this paint last? I assume this will be a time tested thing but my childhood memory of Adirondack chairs involves peeling the green paint off of them at my parents’ house. I’ve seen a lot of them in the Adirondacks (for reals!) that don’t last well, kind of like those painted picnic tables at ice cream stands. I think latex paint might not adhere to them well if you were to DIY them but this finish looks like a plastic/glossy spray on type. Let us know how it handles!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I believe the special paint they used is made to hold up better outside than regular paint (it’s polyurethane paint for protection against the weather, heat, and sunlight) so we hope they’ll last a good long while without needing to be repainted. Will definitely keep you posted!

      xo,
      s

  43. Allyn says

    Love them! I love really bright colors on outdoor furniture. We always had them on our patio growing up (I think we had a mix of blue, green, and maybe yellow chairs?). Way to go bold with red!

    Reply

  44. cjw says

    Love them (I bought the interim plastic ones from Home Depot last month cause my hiney had nowhere to sit at all on the patio). Plus, very patriotic — killer for a rocking Fourth of July party!

    Reply

  46. Rachel says

    Had you considered buying some unfinished Adirondack chairs and painting them yourself? We picked some up from Home Depot earlier this spring for $50 each as a house warming gift for some friends. I love the red though! I’m looking forward to tackling our backyard patio, which is next Spring’s big project :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries! We just worried aboout getting into all those cracks and ending up with something that didn’t last as long since it wasn’t a pro paint job with special paint to resist fading/sun/water/etc.

      xo,
      s

  48. Katherine Brooks says

    Love the red chairs and you guess correctly that red makes blue POP! landscaping doesn’t just end with the gardens! Thanks for the good update! Happy gardening ! Katherine Brooks (The Landscaping Gal) :)

    Reply

  50. Valerie @ makingitworthy.com says

    Did you check Craigslist, etc. for used chairs?

    I didn’t see that option mentioned in the post and was surprised b/c you guys usually bargain hunt that way too.

    my whole house is practically furnished by CL or Goodwill so I’m just curious why you guys didn’t go that route this time.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes we looked on Craigslist and at thrift stores and yard sales the entire time we saved up for them, but never found anything that was quite right (we wanted two of the same chair, preferably with a pro paint job so they’d last).

      xo,
      s

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