Do Your Thinking In a Rocking Chair

A friend at work recently helped her parents downsize from a house to a condo.  It was probably to their advantage that four of her coworkers had bought new houses in the past two years.  She brought in price lists with pictures, and the four of us fought over furniture with the well-bred aggressiveness that befits a professional environment.  Being an especially thoughtful friend, she knew I had been eyeing her parents' rocking chairs on the online house listing, and she set them aside for me.

I recruited my father-in-law to drive them over in his truck, and $40 later, I was the proud owner of two brightly-colored, ladder back rocking chairs.

"Aren't they great?"  I asked my FIL as he carried them inside.

"Hmm," he said.

Charis told me, "That generation can't figure out why our generation wants to buy all their old stuff."

The lime green and white motif had looked great in a sun room, but clashed with our taupe siding.  I had a gallon of Behr exterior glossy paint/primer in antique white that we had picked up at the Home Depot Memorial Day Sale for the trim on our chicken coop.  The associate accidentally mixed a gallon instead of a quart, so we'd gotten the gallon for 50% off.

It only took me one month and the help of my sister Margaret, but I finally got those rocking chairs cleaned, sanded, and painted with two coats of paint.

In retrospect, spray paint would have been a faster option.  I became quite familiar with the slats on the seats.  But I couldn't beat using paint I already had, and I'm thrilled with the color.  Also, I've read that it's a good idea to let painted furniture cure for at least 1 week before use.  My neighbor sunk into one when he was over the next day.  So there's that.  This is basically the opposite of a furniture painting tutorial.

The reward for completing the painting was picking out seat cushions.  My brother Sam went with me to Home Depot.  He's twenty-year-old and just started a PhD program in mathematics.  As we were browsing the outdoor furniture area, I found out that he has some strong opinions on decorating.

On beds: Every bed should have only five pillows - two in the same fabric as the sheets, two in the same fabric as the duvet, and one accent pillow.

On outdoor cushions: Solid colors are best.  If you must have a pattern, go for monochromatic.

He said if he was going to get a little crazy, he'd get these:

Whoa.

I ended up leaving with something more colorful.  Sam said that they are a too bold for his tastes, but they were OK for me.  Makes sense seeing as how I have nine pillows on my bed.

Oh, the frivolity.