Back to the Drawing Board

7 Comments

Posted by Rebecca, April 7th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I headed to Ikea to check out the Arholma outdoor collection we were thinking of as an inexpensive alternative to my beloved Crate & Barrel set. Sadly, I wasn’t feeling it.

That’s my sad face. Not to be confused with my some dude is circling this couch as I’m trying to pose for a picture for my blog and I feel totally weird about it, face. It’s just very low, the cushions are meh and I just wasn’t feeling the material. I wanted to like because it was affordable, but I don’t even think adding throw pillows would make me like it. I think it would be good for a small patio/city balcony area, but I think the scale would have been off for us.

After this, I figured we’d have to suck it up and go with the West Elm set.

We stopped in there this past weekend to see if they had their outdoor furniture displayed yet. They didn’t, but said they would have it in a few weeks. They asked me what I was looking for and when I said the Wood Slat collection, they told me they had a lounger in the corner I could look at to get an idea. I excitedly ran over only to realize I had walked by it minutes before, but I didn’t notice that it was what I was looking for because it looked black. I really want a nice wood tone to go with our upcoming stamped concrete patio. Whaaaamp whaaaamp #2.

So I was back to the drawing board. Then our friend Robin informed me that Pier 1 had a set similar to the Crate & Barrel/Ikea one.

We also went to look it and though it was still low, it was a step up in quality from the Ikea set and could work. But the table only sat 4 people so we’d still have to find one of those.

I’m feeling a little defeated at this point and I think I’ve lost track a little bit of what we want. Though I love the Crate & Barrel Ventura set, I think I need to stop trying to replicate it and just find something else that I like. So I revisited some sites with zero expectations, as if I was starting from the beginning. I was strangely attracted to the Target Belmont Collection, even though I have seen it and even posted this picture before.

I’m still not in love with this conversation set, but I think it may just be how the picture is staged. I looked at some of the other pieces and I really like them.

I think I wasn’t sold on this furniture the first time around because of a) the conversation set looks a little awkward to me in that first picture and b) the color of the cushions. But before I wanted a West Elm white and navy look, I wanted a bright color. I figure I can still do white and navy throw pillows since the striped pillows pictured here are not included. All of the items in this collection ship for free, except for the armless chair. Just an added bonus to think about…

As I told Mike yesterday, the last thing I want to be picky about is the color of cushions. An affordable price and a good shape/base are much more important to me. I think getting a bold color could be a fun challenge to work with. Margarita green anyone? 🙂

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7 Responses to “Back to the Drawing Board”

  1. That’s really sad about the Ikea set being pretty meh 🙁 I like the Target and Pier1 sets, though!

    Did your your Ikea have the Ammero set? I have only seen it in a passing glance on the way to the check out, so I have no idea if it’s too low, etc. I’ll be pretty crushed if it’s equally disappointing.

  2. Gorgeous pick from Target! The bold color could be really fun to work with. I totally know the challenge of picking patio furniture, especially if you’re on a budget (which is why we don’t have any cool patio furniture yet. 🙁

    Seriously though, I like all of them, but the Target one is particularly attractive… though I do agree with the awkwardness of the conversation set photo.

    Can’t wait to see your choice in action!
    Ashley@DesignBuildLove.co recently posted..T-I-M-B-E-R!!! And they all fell down…

  3. ALittleBite says:

    Have you thought about building your own? Ana White makes some amazing plans… It would be a lot of work but way cheaper.

    http://ana-white.com/2010/05/furniture-plans-the-ends-and-the-corners-for-the-simple-modern-outdoor-sectional.html
    ALittleBite recently posted..Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Throw Pillows

    • Rebecca says:

      Yeah I think it would be too much work for us with all of the pieces we want. Plus we’d like to sit on the patio this year, and with our schedules it would take us for.ev.er.

      But I do love browsing Ana White’s plans, someday we will find something we can make!

  4. I have always been really impressed with what Target has to offer. Their ‘Smith & Hawken’ stuff is really nice.

    I can’t wait to see what you get. We are going to be shopping for stuff too… that is, only if there is any $$$ left after all the renovations. Ha!
    karen @ our slo house recently posted..the DIY balance – riding without training wheels

  5. Christine says:

    I am seriously dying laughing. I feel like this blog was so meant for me. I was just looking for reviews on the Ikea couch and was debating between that and the exact same Target one! I just need a sofa for an outdoor patio and was excited that Ikea was a sectional and cheap!

    Did you end up getting the Target stuff? How did it hold up? I read some complains about the dining table breaking easily.

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