Outdoor Furniture

Have you seen Unite House Wrecking in Stanford, CT?

http://unitedhousewrecking.com/patio3w.htm

Haven't seen it. The website is ho hum but seems like they may have good selection and some deals. I'll try a call. Thanks.

I suspect you aren't looking for teak, but if you are considering teak, there are several online retailers with tremendous quality products that are sold in mostly Hamptons like locations. The include Wood Classics (now called Arthur Lauer), Country Casual, and Barlow Tyrie. Some or all of these may offer non-teak lines. Their quality is about the same (high) based on my experience with them in the past (but I haven't ordered from any of them in about 2-3 years).

I've never looked specifically at their outdoor furniture, but they do have a lot of it, and their other stuff is worth a trip. While you're in Stamford there're lots of antique/second-hand places on Canal Street, and Braswell Galleries in Norwalk.

Do you want cheap stuff or good stuff?

I can recommend a friend of mine if you want good stuff:

http://www.munder-skiles.com/

modern - I have built a lot of furniture with my own hands and while your friend seems to have some nice things and an interesting concept a fair price for a good durable product is all I'm looking for. Cheap and good and not necessarily mutually exclusive.

You can get good design cheap, though the quality is often not as good. I still have my set of Massimo Vignelli designed Hellerware from grad school purchased at Design Research in Cambridge, the first of the design stores in the US. Fortunoff's went bankrupt, they used to have a large selection of outdoor furniture.

I have some Brown Jordan outdoor stuff, what I would call a mid-priced brand, I am sure you can find a dealer near you.

http://www.brownjordan.com/

If you like modern and are willing to do mail-order, Unicahome has some great outdoor furniture:

http://www.unicahome.com/c909/outdoor.html

It's too bad NYC doesn't have a store like Unica. Conran's has some of the same brands, and CB2 has cheap knockoffs, but we could really use a great design store here. Maybe I'll open one.

There is a Brown Jordan showroom in the A&D Building.

You can find some reasonable prices at patio.com There used to be one in Manhattan; I think it is gone.

If you have any reason to be on the east end of long island, this is my favorite place. Their prices during the summer are very Hamptonsesque, but come November usually are 40-50% off. http://www.hildreths.com/Patio.htm

dwr outlet in secaucus?

Spinnaker - may be harder to find good looking storage for the terrace stuff (cushions, garden stuff, etc). Frontgate has some good stuff, may not be cutting edge design wise, but lasts.

Bought their very inexpensive stacking faux wicker chairs (didn't want to have to deal with cushions), really cheap, very comfortable for dining, and paired them with a great painted ceramic tabletop from Italy. Chairs are still in good shape (only cover them in winter, otherwise they're just out)

bump

Having spent thousands to get nice-looking wood furniture from Restoration Hardware that didn't hold up, I will tell you my secret: IKEA.

Their outdoor wood furniture is inexpensive, looks decent, and lasts.

Though if you want to be trendy, go the ph41 route -- we're seeing plastic wicker everywhere, and the new high-end stuff really is amazing.

ali r.
[downtown broker}

If you don't mind fishing around, some beautiful stuff.
I think the key to outdoor furniture is proper outdoor furniture covers.

http://www.furniturestoreblog.com/2009/05/17/patio_furniture_20_luxurious_styles_for_serious_lounging.html

truthsker- some incredibly beautiful things on that site - but maybe more for a pool area.

Other thing is that having to put covers on, and take them off each time to use the furniture can inhibit easy use of the outdoor space (my husband doesn't barbecue as much as he might, possibly because he keeps the thing covered, and is just a little lazy).

Somewhat easier is putting cushions in a storage container, but leaving furniture uncovered until winter.

ph41
I don't advocate daily coverings for sure, I was thinking more seasonal and being diligent during storms. I think it would make all the difference in the world.