Home Depot’s “Great Ideas for Outdoor & Indoor Living” has just landed on my front doorstep. The caption on the front cover, “ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR HOME AND GARDEN,” catches my eye and I quickly drop what I’m doing and begin madly flipping through it. ‘What essentials am I missing?” I think to myself thumbing through its glossy pages.

The Beacon Hill 5-Piece Conversation Set for starters. Apparently if I’m going to have any kind of conversations at all in my back yard this summer, I had better be having them while sitting on these taupe with black leather piping cushions that adorning the charcoal metal frame chairs, complete with pert little blue and lime green accent cushions.

Also listed under “essentials” are the Tuscany square planter, Plantation Patterns 9′ Umbrella in Pompeii Red, and my favourite, a Natco Panache indoor/outdoor area rug - what’s wrong with grass or concrete?

This quickly gets me to thinking. If I were doing a catalog entitled “Essentials For Your Cottage” what would it absolutely have to have? Cappuccino maker? Nah, I don’t drink coffee and I don’t want my guest to get to comfortable.

After little consideration, here’s is my list - I’ve tried to put it in order of importance:

1. Good waterski/wakeboard boat
2. Nice big dock that I could moor the boat on the side and plenty of room for entertaining (happy hour space)
3. Big metal umbrella mounted in a bucket of cement so it doesn’t blow away - (our wooden one snapped)
4. Toys - wakeboard, skis, windsurfer, kayak,
5. Comfortable deck chairs - prefer the plastic Muskoka chairs - easier to move than the wooden ones and they are easier to fish out of the lake after a windstorm
6. Metal swim ladder mounted to the side of the dock
7. Solar lights going from the dock to the cabin
8. Good Fire Pit - level area
9. Cedar Deck facing the water
10. Webber barbecue (with drunken chicken holder)
11. Outdoor table and chairs that don’t mind getting wet
12. Hammock and pillow
13. Appliances: Fridge, stove, washer and dryer
14. Comfortable beds
15. Wood fireplace
16. Comfy couch for late afternoon naps

Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment.

While home decor seems to be getting more complicated, I prefer to keep the cabin simple. Less to clean and less to maintain.

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 11:30 am and is filed under Décor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.