Our back patio has been depressing me ever since the summer started. I hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it up or to buying a new kiddie pool for the ever-important mid-afternoon foot-dunking, before the weather turned brutally hot and humid. I didn’t want to be outside without the relief of the little pool, but I didn’t want to go to the effort to clean up the old one because it was too dang hot, and humidity makes me crabby.
Eventually (last week), Neil cleaned up the old pool, patched the holes he could find, and set it up for us to enjoy, but the rest of the patio looked kind of like a dump.
This morning, it was 70 degrees, breezy, and dry. Like a dream come true. I was inspired.
It looks better, no?
It’s not perfect. That pool is a disaster, and I am replacing it as soon as I can find a store that still has something similar in stock. If I had a budget for it, I’d replace or recover the chair cushions, too. We left them out all winter and now they are awful to look at. Of course, there is one simple thing I can do to deal with the aesthetic issues of this space…
only come outside at night. Candlelight makes everything look better 😀
Tilex. Spray those chairs with Tilex. Let it sit about 10 minutes, then hose it off. Repeat as needed. I have the same kind of chairs, with that plastic mesh and painted aluminum, and this stuff takes off all those stains without damaging anything. Love it!
Also. . .do you have anything underneath that pool? We’ve always picked up a scrap of that fake grass outdoor rug and put it underneath. Makes the bottom of the pool more comfy and prevents most of the little holes. Right now, K-Mart and Walmart should be having sales on the little pools, I hope you find a good one!
Actually, I didn’t mean those chairs – they’re not so bad. The iron furniture has some cushions that have picked up rust and dirt, and they just look terrible. They were cheap Walmart cushions in the first place, so it probably wouldn’t cost much to replace them with more of the same…
Thanks for the pool tip. I actually would prefer to have one of the more rigid kinds. And a smaller one, too – this one takes up so much space on the patio. If I end up with another soft-bottom one, though, I’ll keep in mind the faux grass idea!
those candles do the trick don’t they? ugh with the pool thing- i bought one, lasted 2 weeks……deciding what to do now. 🙁
Gotta love candle light. It improves just about any scene!
For the pool, I recommend duct tape 🙂 It’s managed to hold us over until the next season many times.