The other day I mentioned to my neighbor Martha that I was looking for some vintage metal garden chairs, and she suggested I check out thisisnotikea.com. Which is something I should have done in the first place since all my designy friends are always raving about Alexis and all his groovy vintage finds from the 50s, 60s and 70s at great prices. See something you like online? Email Alexis at info@thisisnotikea.com and set up an appointment. He’s in the Mid-Wilshire area, and you will go ga-ga when you walk in the door. For us, it was love at first sight with these tomato-red 1950s lawn chairs, which we brought home and placed by the fountain.
Here’s a little extra shopping incentive: This Is Not Ikea is a greener choice, namely you are reducing your carbon footprint by recycling and rescuing vintage pieces. Second, you end up with something unique from the ubiquitous “big box” stores so that your garden doesn’t look like you ripped a page out of Ikea.
We’re so inspired by the color of the chairs that we’re going to sprinkle some Oriental poppies to pick up that same vibrant hue through the lavender-scented flower beds, which are filled with a gorgeous array of purple blooms. Here are a few shots of the borders:
gravel path in front garden
around the base of the enormous tree in the back garden
And if you want to see something really dramatic, check out the before and during pics:
So exciting! Next up: the carport. We’ve replaced beams, repainted, added a brick patio beneath and are putting up lattice today over the dilapedated back fences. More tomorrow…
How exciting! It looks really great. We’re almost done with our backyard, too. Of course, it’s teeny tiny. And we have a small patch of astroturf for green (hey, it’s eco-friendly). Tiny G is going to love exploring. Is he crawling all over the place?