Kat, I have a lot of old armchairs from the family homes and they need refinishing or an arm is loose or the dowels need to be re-glued--and it is our everyday furniture. I don't have the option of getting rid of the old and bringing in new, but I have too much of the old, so should figure out something. I wouldn't want to replace them all, but I think I need a plan to gradually refurbish them (that was my plan when I originally chose them from the estates) and reupholster in a way that suits the piece (meaning they don't need to match). We eat at an antique dining room table set with the original leather chair seat covers.

My yard was completely mowed today and I did more de-cluttering out there. I had a firewood cradle thing, made of welded iron L-bracket pieces, next to the side door into my garage. It was actually upside down, the little feet at the top and the long supports dug into the ground. This way I had 24" of space where I could put things and also stack garden stuff on top of it. As I pulled it away from the door and moved a couple of pots and bricks I realized that this would be perfect for an outdoor table. Leave it upside down and get some redwood 2x4s and cut them into lengths to fit into the L-brackets on the bottom. Since I relocated the circular saw I'll be able to cut through those boards in no time. I'll post photos when I finish it, but this would be a great weather proof table for either the back yard or the side where I am wanting to set up to bake in the summer. Anyway, now that that thing has been cleared away, the spot is easy to mow.

BTW: we were creative with the stuff that was discarded when I remodeled this house. I had a new heat pump put in and they had new supports for it, so the concrete slab from the old air conditioner was going to just lie on the ground or be trashed. I asked the guys to lug it around to the back and put it beside the new garage side door and it is a perfect little landing.

SRS