Enough about our colorful stools…
…and on to our newest set of colorful chairs. Yes, we’re officially on a bold-seating kick. You might remember the $35 thrift-store chairs we refreshed with green paint and new upholstery for the office.
Or the free hand-me-down highchair for Clara that we brightened up with sunny yellow paint in this project.
Apparently we prefer the brightest options for our seating, and this time we went red—a rich tomato red—to complement the blue hydrangeas around the paver patio we built last May.
When we revealed the patio last spring, we wrote that we wanted durable, long-lasting outdoor furniture but planned to save up for it. After putting aside $20 a month for 13 months into a patio-furniture jar, we finally had enough for two of the chairs we’d been eyeing.
To refresh your memory, the space previously held old folding chairs from Ikea.
They looked fine from a distance, but up close they were peeling, cracking, creaky, and generally worn out.
We’d had them for about five years—great in the sunroom at our previous house but not holding up outdoors after the move. Even though they were designed for outdoor use, they hadn’t been treated with a protectant like oil or sealer, and it showed. They were never the most comfortable anyway, and we’d long been smitten with classic wooden Adirondack chairs—the sloped seat and wide arms are just perfect for lounging and holding a cold drink.
Good wooden Adirondacks are pricey, and after checking Craigslist, yard sales, and thrift stores without luck, we decided to save up rather than settle for cheap plastic “interim” chairs. We try to avoid placeholders that we’ll later regret—so the monthly $20 habit worked: we kept saving for the things we actually wanted while also maintaining a general savings account for other priorities.
We do most of our saving in one account and pull money out for whatever rises to the top of the priority list—like when we saved for our kitchen reno after moving in. It’s a simple method that helps us juggle multiple projects without impulse buys.
Back to the chairs: we resisted plastic and narrowed our options carefully. Here’s what we considered before buying:
Contender #1: A Joss & Main chair priced at $129.95 (marked down from $144) in a cherry tomato red. Made from premium cedar with a protective polyurethane paint finish, it promised weather resistance and a professional-looking paint job that would hold up in cracks and crevices.
We liked that these chairs arrived prefinished; treating intricate wooden pieces ourselves risks uneven coverage and moisture damage in hard-to-reach spots.
Contender #2: A pricier option at $289—nice, but beyond our budget.
Contender #3: A Target chair on sale for $123 (down from $174). It was a good value, but the shape felt less classic compared to the first option.
Contender #4: An L.L. Bean option for $299—well made, but above our target price.
Contender #5: Another Joss & Main chair on sale for $250 (from $339), but we preferred the $129 tomato-red version for its color and value.
Contender #6: Ballard Designs offered a simple white or wood version for $299.
In the end we went with Contender #1.
About two weeks after ordering, the chairs arrived and we restarted our patio fund—there are still more items to save for, so the $20-a-month plan continues.
After a bit of assembly we had our sloped-back, wide-armed Adirondack chairs ready to enjoy. It was a small, celebratory moment—John’s parents even came by to see them, and there was a lot of oohing, ahhing, and testing out the comfort.
They look great next to the hydrangeas and warm wood tones of the fence and Clara’s rock box—an accidental but welcome coordination.
We’re still a ways from a fully furnished patio, but this is a meaningful step forward. Next on the savings list might be a woven outdoor storage ottoman. Meanwhile, the blue garden stools we picked up at HomeGoods tie nicely into the hydrangeas and other blue accents around the yard.
So that’s the latest from our patio: two tomato-red Adirondack chairs, a restarted savings jar, and lots of plans for the future. Have you been saving for outdoor furniture or hunting for the perfect chair color to match your garden? We’d love to hear what you’ve found.