Summer Has Arrived!
April 14th, 2009 § 7 Comments
Despite a rather chilly day here in San Francisco, there’s no denying that summer is on its way! In my opinion there are only two negative aspects of summer, getting my pasty Irish skin bikini-ready (never a pleasant task) and purchasing the ever expensive outdoor loungers necessary to lay on in a feeble attempt to get that pasty skin tan. Today I’ve decided to focus on the latter of those two issues as I still have no solution for the first.
There are beautiful pieces of outdoor furniture out in the market, but quite frankly they are too damn expensive! So I scoured the internet today to find my top picks that weren’t offensively priced. I realize there are also teak and iron options out there, I just currently really like the “modern wicker” look that’s been popular the past few seasons so that’s what I tried to find. I think all of the above pieces look sharp and chic and while they aren’t cheap, hopefully they won’t break the bank!
- Adrienne
A-Listers Need to Know:
Price & Purchase(clockwise from top left):
Home Rolston Chaise Lounge, $279.99 Target.com
Del Mar Armless Chaise $899, cushion $249 – $319 RestorationHardware.com
Ibiza Chaises, Set of 2 $999 SmithandHawken.com
Lexington Loungers (Set of 2) Today’s Price: $1,109.99 Overstock.com
ARHOLMA Corner section brown $120.00 Ikea.com
ARHOLMA Cushion beige, $40 Ikea.com
Resort Outdoor Sectional $249.00 – $1,396.00 cb2.com
ARHOLMA one-seat section brown $90.00 Ikea.com
Greno Cushion Assorted Colors, $14.00 Ikea.com
**Update** You’ll see in the comments section that one of my readers was curious about the quality of the CB2 resort collection. As you’ll see from my response, I saw the collection in person today and was impressed with the quality and comfort. Also, while I was at the Cb2 store I tried out the Bask Sun Lounger and found it to be really comfortable too. It’s not soft (as you can see it has no cushions) but it feels supportive and sturdy and if you were to add a back pillow I think it’s a great lounge option especially for the price ($299)!
Can someone with access to a CB2 store comment on the quality of the CB2 resort outdoor section versus the Ikea Arholma? We went to look at the Arholma and the all-weather wicker seemed very weak and not of a high quality. Is CB2 better for the price?
Hi Stephanie,
I have access to a CB2 store in S.F. and was hoping to make it over there sometime this week to check out quality. In general, I think their products are of good quality for the price, but that being said I haven’t seen the outdoor products in person yet.
I’ll keep you posted!
If anyone else has input on the set, it would be great to hear from you too!
- Adrienne
Thank you Adrienne!
Hi Stephanie,
I just got back from CB2 and was able to check out the resort collection. I was impressed with the quality and the collection was also comfy to sit on.
I haven’t seen the Ikea collection in person so I’m not sure if the CB2 collection is incrementally better. That being said, I think this is a great product on a stand alone basis and is probably something I’ll get for myself.
The only thing that might be a concern is the wicker feels a little plasticy (but I think that’s purely because of the water resistance) and despite the texture it does feel sturdy.
The last thing I was impressed by were the cushions that come with the pieces. They were well tailored and looked really sharp.
I hope that helps! Also you can look at the review on cb2.com under the pictures and pricing. I think everyone pretty much agrees that this is a great outdoor product especially for the price!
- Adrienne
[...] I mentioned in my update to the post “Summer Has Arrived” I was in CB2 today checking out some outdoor furniture. While I was there, I came across [...]
[...] some of you may know from my “Summer has Arrived” post, I’ve been on the hunt for reasonably priced outdoor furniture options. Despite [...]
I was wondering if anyone has used the IKEA ARHOLMA outdoor sectional and could comment on its quality and how well it holds up. Thanks!