Magic In My Back Yard

I've been looking at various patio furniture options ever since the weather here started to turned warm and sunny and I've had the urge to read books outside instead of in my scrap room. I've found several that I like, but they were all more than a thousand dollars, and dude, I had a hard time spending a grand on the sofa I have inside the house (actually, to be completely honest I bought the one we have at Pottery Barn on clearance and ended up paying about that much for it).

That's when friend of mine clued me in to the patio furniture choices at Sam's Club. I haven't been in a Sam's in years (we don't really do the whole Costco/warehouse club thing) and had no idea that they even carried patio furniture, but he bought his set there last year and got a great deal on it and totally loves it. Based on his advice I started browsing their web site, thinking I'd bookmark the set that he bought and liked so much and then wait for it to go on sale.

And that's when I found the most amazing piece of outdoor furniture I'd ever seen- the Sinclair Daybed. Seriously, I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Before laying eyes on this beauty, I'd settled myself into the idea of the typical sofa+table+2chairs+2ottomans set, but I longed for something that was just a little different. This daybed fit the bill perfectly.

I mean, is it not just gorgeous?!?!! It looks like something out of a fairy tale or a child's adventure story, or maybe one of the Narnia movies. I knew I had to have one for the back yard (sans small child, of course).

Even Darren liked it. I know this because his first email back to me after I sent him the link to look at was "first thought: shouldn't there be greeks shooting arrows and fire towards a phoenician warship?". Yeah, he liked it. :)

The only problem was that this particular piece was on clearance, marked down from $1,000 to $600. It was still more than I had planned on paying, but to me the set was totally worth that. So what was the problem with it being on clearance? Only one store in the area (and by area I mean a 200 mile radius) still had them available, and I had no idea how many they had in stock. Luckily that one store was less than two miles from my house (I know, how totally lucky am I?!!?) and they had six in stock. They only have five now, because we brought one home.

That's Darren loading the three ginormous boxes onto the truck. It kind of reminded me of the time we hauled two IKEA Expedits (the 5x5 variety) home from Atlanta in the back of D's Honda Civic hatch, except this time it was only a couple of miles and we didn't stop to eat at Cracker Barrel on the way home.

And I haven't even told you the best part yet!! So, as I said earlier, this piece of gorgeousness...

...was listed for $600 on the Sam's Club web site. When we got to the store, though, there was a big sign on the floor model that said it was $300!!! I was so completely thrilled that I think I did a little happy dance right there next to the display. And then I proceeded to let out a little squeeee of happiness every five minutes while we were waiting on the boxes to be brought up from the back. And then while we walked around and bought large quantities of food. And then while Darren loaded it up.

So my lovely outdoor daybed is now mostly assembled in my back yard (it got too dark to finish the job, so I'll do it tomorrow), and I've already been to Target to buy some outdoor lights to string up on the canopy. Because, you know, I have to put lights on everything these days. :)

In case you're curious, it's HUGE- nearly the same size as a full size bed. It's actually three pieces that are fitted together with brackets and can split into a set of love seats and a chaise if you need separate seating. I'm totally going to just leave mine together, though. I love it. I love the size, the shape, and oh, my, especially that canopy. I can't wait to finish assembling it and spend some long hours outside with a good book (or three).