somewhere between the moon and new york city...

actually, somewhere between Cincinnati and Dulles Airport...is our patio dining table.  I took four hours off of work so i could wait for the freight company to deliver it, but alas, they can't find piece 4 of 4.  the freight company says, 'we only have 3 pieces.' me: 'where is the 4th piece?' them: 'we have 3 pieces.' and so on, and so on with three other offices of the freight company.  if you have ever shopped for patio furniture, you know it's way more painful than, say, buying a house or a new car.  back in the olden days, one could skip over to Ace Hardware or Walmart and toss some fancy plastic chairs in the pickup and voila, patio problem solved. i don't know if the world recession has something to do with keeping things in stock, but the entire DC area has NO patio furniture in stock. anything you find must be ordered, and if you're lucky, it shows up about a month later.  talk about your modern day, snotty suburban problems. war in Syria? explosions in Nigeria? forgetaboutit, my patio table is missing.


the good news is, if you're looking for cute, durable, and affordable (most way less than $2,000 for a 7-piece set) patio furniture, i have done most of the work for you. i won't reveal our final pick until the table magically appears (and i really hope it does before the fam visits next week!), but maybe i'll save you the agony and despair of looking among thousands of websites and warehouse stores. 


follow me on Pinterest! most of my patio pictures can be found here: {lemon and mint} outdoor spaces


although limited in selection, Ballard Designs has some great patio dining options, and you can usually find a 15% coupon somewhere online.

'Ceylon' - the cheapest 7-piece solid-wood option I found.  The set is white-washed, but it also comes in solid teak, which is supposed to last for years and years.

'Galante': the only Chippendale version of patio furniture. anywhere. period. talk about fancy pants.

'Giodano': classic in every French sense of the word. oh wait, that's classique.

Sears has some surprisingly European patio sets:

'Crimora': the only cane backing around.  the table has a natural stone top in four heavy slabs. i hear horror stories about glass and tile-top patio tables breaking during shipment, but this one gets rave reviews.

'San Rafael': bonus points for having a two-person bench as a seating option

Hayneedle also has some great options:

'Bella': wicker resin, nothing rots and everyone's happy.

'Madison': modern but with a classy twist. looks like Crate & Barrel stuff but way cheaper.

'Mingle': reminds me of Southern screened porches, so deserved a mention.

Amazon, Lowe's, Target, and Home Depot have some other good options, but most of their choices did not fit my criteria.  I was trying to avoid:

1) tempered glass tables. based on angry reviews and online comments, these tables break about 85% of the time during shipment or during child use.  Tile-top tables are in the same category. Lots of falling apart, especially tables in the Martha Stewart line (surprisingly).

2) cheap wood. Acacia and other soft woods that aren't treated properly tend to have splinters, peel and crack, and often warp in the first few months of life oustide. no thanks. plus, i'm sort of over restaining/resealing wood furniture every year or even twice a year. for teak, maybe, but i got enough stuff inside that needs refinishing!

3) unsealed plastic or non-coated aluminum that gets really hot in the sun or warps over time. 

And finally, avoid pricey stores that tend to mark up their prices by 2-5 times the point of ridiculous.  Great Gatherings, Frontgate, Offenbacher's, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Crate and Barrel to name a few.  love those stores, but wait until their end-of-season clearance! if you find something at one of those places, send me a picture and i guarantee i can find you something similar for waaaay less.

Happy dining under the stars!