Inside Out

I don't really like outside.  Even as a kid I was much happier inside with a book than outside doing, well, anything.

And Kansas City, as much as I love it, it's not so much about the weather.  Which makes not wanting to be outside easy because there's always an excuse.  Too hot.  Too humid.  Too cold. But for the fifteen days a year (there might be more) that it is truly gorgeous I'd like a place to sit outside and read my book.

Our outdoor situation has been somewhat pathetic.  In fact, I can't even show you the "before" pictures as it would have been too shocking and you would have lost all respect for me.  But recently I had new outdoor cushions made and things are looking up.  The furniture is mostly hand-me-downs from Mr. Blandings's parents and I have always been grateful to have them.  These chairs in particular are beloved.  The downside has been that retail cushions won't fit.  My life, it seems, leans toward custom.  When I called my upholsterer he said, "You realize that foam is a petroleum based product, right?"  Friend, it's the story of my life.

I still need to plant some annuals.  I know it's late.  I don't like outside, remember?  I'm getting around to it.  Anyway, while a wall around the patio would be nice, it's usually an extension of the playing field, so it seems like a hazard to put a two foot stone wall in the back field.  But I was thinking some planters might be nice.


Elle Decor, July 08 (which I just received and nearly everyone in the free world has already memorized.)  Home of Bob Weinstein and Eric Hensley in Sag Harbor.  Photographs by William Abranowicz.  As an aside, I think I went to the estate sale here before the current owners purchased it.  As the article mentions, "It needed a lot of work." 
Then, I noticed as I was going through my files, almost all the outdoor furniture I have pulled from magazines was selected for a potential indoor use.

Domino, May '08.

This table, available from Conran would be indestructible as the Blandings' breakfast table.

Or this one, from Sue Fisher King, which is available in these really amazing colors.  Fab, huh?
And finally, this table from Marston and Langinger, also available in about a million colors, would make a handy side table for the kitchen sofa.

 Maybe I don't have to go outside after all.

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