Lazy Day Off - Outtakes

Some pics of other things going on while working on my DIY outdoor pallet bench.

an antique chairback more than 100 years old from which 

used to be my friend's grand-uncle's chair

 stripping paint off the chair reveals better the 

cool design on this wood

 foggy day!

Timmy's..  after buying some other materials for the bench

the housepets

 a sweet 'ol German Shepherd dog

Lazy Day Off - Kinda

Spent part of a chilly day off putting on the finishing touches to a DIY outdoor bench made of pallets that a friend built for me.

I've been wanting patio furniture for my balcony for the warm months but find patio furniture being sold here quite generic-looking or bulky or just not with the design I have in mind (especially a low-seater design), and if otherwise, quite expensive for sure.  You wouldn't believe how expensive they sell such things here.  And to think I took the outdoor bamboo furniture I got back home for granted when it's quite inexpensive compared with the prices of such things here.  They'd be surprised if they knew.  That'd fetch quite some amount here for sure.  'Cause it's pretty good and sturdy bamboo furniture.   *shakes head*  I certainly haven't seen bamboo furniture here of the likes made back in the Philippines.  And one of the chairs has become my pet dog's chair even. lol. 

I just wanted an outdoor seating solution where I can cozy up/put my feet up on the seat as well, with my laptop, or a book maybe, outdoors at a corner of the balcony. Since a side of my balcony faces a park and the front is open sky, not another building or structure, it'd be nice to hang out there in the evenings especially.

I thought I found the right bench at the right price while browsing through the Internet. But, while browsing the Internet, I also saw some DIY pallet benches I liked. Actually, I preferred. However, no one sees pallet benches sold quite commercially. Not very common. If it were, it'd be probably by a really expensive furniture/design store I expect. And it'd be probably cost at least slightly more than an Apple iPad mini or iPhone, that's if you're lucky enough to find one. So I thought I'd settle for the commercial one online. But made of plastic. =(

Anyway I showed it to a friend and he suggested a bench made of pallets. Well, what do you know! He and I are on the same wavelength. Lol. Didn't think I'd know someone else here, especially a guy, who's into design/art, too. Also, it turns out the commercial one's length is longer than the side corner of my balcony where I plan on placing the bench anyway so ultimately I can't buy that bench for that side of my balcony.

What's even better was, my friend works for a company that gets delivered goods on pallets. A-ha! So long story short, I gave him my specifics in terms of dimension and how low I wanted the bench and voila, got my bench now.

readying to spray outdoor/exterior wood stain on the bench

Happy New Year 2013!

Just got back from a new year's eve party. Foggy roads on the way home, and up to now outside my window. Wow. I like foggy nights. It just brings a different sort of mood. There's no snow tonight too. Just freezing temperature.

So foggy that my camera had difficulty focusing right away.

I like the effect though.