Our 2013 projects included painting our old patio furniture and installing a shade cover. I shared with you last week how we added some much needed shade to the patio in an attempt to beat the Texas heat just a little. If you are interested you can check it out right here. So the next step to make this shade project complete was lighting.
When we bought the house right away we added string lights on the fence with multicolor bulbs. Sort of cantina style, they aren't Christmas lights, they are party lights with round bulbs. These lights are so much fun - or they were in the beginning. Within a couple of years most of the paint had baked right off or faded and I was wondering if we should consider clear bulbs. The replacement bulbs were about $1 each from the original vendor and we had upwards of 75 bulbs. I didn't really feel like buying $75 worth of light bulbs so for Round 1 we repainted the bulbs with glass paint. It helped. But it lasted even a shorter time than the original color on the bulbs. So after 5 or 6 years the bulbs looked like this. Yuck! Time for Round 2.
After some serious internet searching I purchased some new bulbs (amazon.com) for a lower price. I thought they were the same size as the old ones, but when they arrived they were larger but the same wattage and same size base - which was the most important thing. They look great! I had no idea how BAD the old ones looked until the news ones arrived. Here's a side by side comparison of a new (larger) bulb and an old one that had faded.
You probably can't imagine how much joy these new brightly colored bulbs brought to my life - but I was very very happy to have a little more color in my backyard!
I'm not very good at night photos, I need to play with my Nikon a little more, but you get the idea.....
With the party lights renewed, I just needed lights for the new shade on the patio. I also found them shopping online (yes I hate to run from store to store). This time Costco had the best price and free shipping! These are Sunsetter lights designed to go with retractable shades. They are awesome hanging from our sun shade. They really light up the patio with six 25 watt bulbs, next time I may use lower watt bulbs for a little less light output.
In the midst of all our patio updating this last month I pulled out a pop up hammock we have owned for a long time and barely used. It's getting some good use now! By Obi Wan
and Chewie
Sometimes SuperDave and I even get to take a turn. I think this weekend would be good.
TGIF!
Much Love and Laughter,
Laura
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