Patio Furniture

[TexasCatherine]

Originally Posted by Oildog

I went buy the Chair King and was shocked at the prices. I was hoping to get something a bit cheaper.

If the prices at Chair King shocked you, definitely scratch Patio 1 off your list ~ their prices are absolutely ridiculous (and the salesman was condescending as hell). We bought our outdoor bar stools at Chair King and had thick Sunbrella cushions made for them ~ not cheap, but they are in perfect shape after two years of being outdoors 24/7 so I think it was worth it.

Other than Chair King, there are always deals at WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, and Target, but if you're planning on putting these on a rooftop, make sure you buy the heavy stuff. Those aluminum chairs have a tendency to blow away...as we found out the hard way.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by Oildog

I went buy the Chair King and was shocked at the prices. I was hoping to get something a bit cheaper.

Originally Posted by Trudysmom

You just have to be careful. If you want furniture to last, you sometimes have to pay more. We love our wicker rockers and table from Chair King. Our furn. from H.Depot was not a good buy. The paint peeled and we have to get new furniture to replace that set. Furniture that is cheaper has to be replaced a lot more often.

You get what you pay for. We bought some patio furniture from CK about 12-14 years ago. It's still in great shape, and have had to do nothing to it except keep it clean (d*mn birds & trees). Then we bought some more furniture from Wal*Mart. It lasted about two years, and I threw it away. Rusted apart, plus fell apart. Then we needed some more furniture (hey, we like outdoor furniture, what can I say?), went back to CK, bought some stuff that is still in great shape (this was about 3-4 yrs ago).

Now, in all reality,the CK stuff was about 5 times what WM was. So I prolly could have bought new furn every 2-3 years, and still saved money at WM. But it's such cheap looking crap.

And that CK stuff just keeps on working. Seriously, 10+ years and looks as good as new.

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by TexasCatherine

If the prices at Chair King shocked you, definitely scratch Patio 1 off your list ~ their prices are absolutely ridiculous...

FWIW, I've just purchased over 20 pieces of furniture for my patio and backyard. Tables, chairs, carts in a variety of teak, cast aluminum and resin wicker. Bought some at CK, some at Patio 1, and some at Anthony's Patio on Westheimer. I also looked at box and discount stores. My conclusion is that each store, including Patio 1, carries a range of brands and prices. For example, you can get a teak table in a name brand, like KingsleyBate, or a no-name brand. Same table, same wood, but you pay more for the little brass plate when you buy the name brand. You may also only find a particular shape table at one place. Only CK had an almost square cast aluminum table that could seat 10. Additionally, you can almost always negotiate something in the deal. But unfortunately furniture like this doesn't have a model number (unless it's the name brand), so it's hard to compare apples to apples. At some point you may need to just be satisfied that you're "in the ballpark" on the price.

The other reason to carefully price shop is because contrary to most expectations, buying online may be more expensive. For example, a 20" teak side/end table can be had for $200 at Patio 1 (no brand), $233 at Anthony's (KingsleyBate), and $264 at teakfurniture.com. As my wife reminded me, we can buy the little brass plates at Hobby Lobby and put them on ourselves LOL

[cheryjohns]

Believe it or not, my set came from Big Lots. Cast iron, and looks as new as when I bought it 3 years ago - and it sits in the sun on a deck.

[tdhg566]

And it will still look good 30 years from now. My parents have a cast iron patio table and chairs that they've had almost 40 years. Some of the finish has weathered so it hardly looks new, but it is still just as sturdy and solid as it was when they first got it.

[cla]

If you want your cushions to last, make sure to get Sunbrella fabric covered cushions. They are more expensive, but cushions I bought back in Jan 2006 look the same as extras I bought in 2008 when I added pieces to my patio. And with summer 2010 approaching, all of my cushions still look brand new. (I used to replace cheaper cushions annually)

[seadoons]

Chair King: great selection, bend-you-over prices. Their prices were not even in the ballpark and were shocking.

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by seadoons

Chair King: great selection, bend-you-over prices. Their prices were not even in the ballpark and were shocking.

You should only shop at CK during one of their sales. You should also take into account delivery fees. CK is delivering the largest cast aluminum table we could find in the city (seats 10), and ten chairs for almost nothing. Total purchase cost, including delivery and tax, was no more than any other place selling large cast aluminum tables. And since no one else had anything this large except in long/thin banquet table shape, it was almost a moot point