buy of the month: adirondack chairs

I had initially envisioned four wooden chaises on the new gravel terrace off of the barn room.  But, after months of thinking about it I realized that while I loved "the look," it made me feel like I needed a pool or a ocean view to go with them- neither of which I have!  I also didn't like that they would be difficult to move around the terrace.   Wood chaises are also very expensive which is why I thought about it for so long before making a decision.  One day, after glancing at the pair of white Adirondack chairs in the front meadow it dawned on my how perfect Adirondacks would be on the terrace.   

Since we've moved to New England I've fallen for Adirondack chairs.  They feel so New England to me.  I'm picky about my Adirondacks- I like an even fan-back top and nice arms.  I happened by Home Depot several weeks ago and spotted boxes of natural wood (fir) Adirondack chairs for $29 each!   They had a good design and scale, but the thing I noticed was that they had a bulky/chunky arm detail- it just seemed out of proportion for the rest of the chair.  After inspecting the chair I thought of an idea to remedy that issue- I would have Dan reshape the arms.  By the time I got back to HD with the big SUV they had dropped the price to $20!  I could buy four for less than the regular price of one chair at other shops.  I did have to assemble them (Dan was happy to be out of town that day;) which wasn't difficult, and found them well-made and sturdy.

I wanted the chairs to blend into the space (as opposed to the white in the front meadow), so I decided to stain them to give them a bit of age.
The stain is:  Sherwin Williams Woodscape Exterior Stain in Charwood #3542

 before and after: 

the recently stained chair dried to a lighter brown with a bit of gray coming through the wood.

In this photo you can see the before arm (left) and after arm.

I drew an angle similar to the fan-back of the chair for Dan to cut.  I think this one small detail really softens the chair.

I find these staining pads (Home Depot) to be much easier to use than a brush.  You have a lot more control and the product goes on faster, covering a larger area than using a brush.

The chairs on the terrace. 

 I'm on the lookout for a table to go in the center.  We talked about doing a fire pit with a large iron piece like the one we used for the courtyard planter, but in the end decided that since this space is so visible from the house we didn't want to look at an empty fire pit when it wasn't in use. 

All in all, I think it was $80 well spent!

Update:

Thank you to much older sister Susan who sent me this link to the

Home Depot Adirondack Chairs

on line for $29.88 with Free Shipping!