Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lamps Plus. As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own.
Do you remember some of the lighting fixtures I’ve gotten from Lamps Plus for our house so far? We updated the 50-year-old exterior lights with the classic Stratton Street Lights…
We added a lot more light to the long, interior hall with the Possini Euro Star fixtures…
…and freed up the living room side tables by adding the Mendes Antique Brass wall sconces over the sofa.
As we’ve been turning some of our attention to the house’s exterior this spring and summer, I started looking at some of the items offered in the “plus” categories of Lamps Plus. What initially led me to them was the search for a teak bench similar to the one we bought in PA and took with us to Minnesota. I loved that bench, but it was perfect on the porch of the Minnesota house, so we ended up selling it to the new owners. Once we built the new fence in our current yard and started sprucing up the landscape, I envisioned a teak bench along the fence to provide a focal point and some seating when we have a bonfire.
Lamps Plus came up in that search with the exact same teak bench. I love the classic styling of the back and the arms. It’s a deeper bench, making it comfortable for sitting on, but it also isn’t too heavy so it can be moved around as needed.
I can’t wait until it has aged and matches the worn gray finish of the teak lounge chairs. I’m also looking forward to the yellow newness of the fence calming down a bit!
I planted a limelight hydrangea on either side of the bench and plan to add a little boxwood hedge around those. I’m also going to build a trellis to grow something along the fence behind the bench. In a few years, it’ll be a really lovely moment in the back garden.
It was easy to assemble and is very sturdy once it’s it’s all put together. I had my other bench for about eight years and it held up beautifully, which is why I wanted another one. You can find the teak bench HERE.
I also ordered the Farron 3-tiered lit fountain. We considered adding a fountain to the pool, but we were a little limited as to where we could add it and what styles we could choose from. I felt like the backyard would benefit from the trickling sound of water and, since we couldn’t add it to the pool, a fountain was going to be the best option. I love this fountain even more than I thought I would. It looks great, but the sound of water adds so much to the ambiance of the pool and patio.
(I had the foundation leveled out, but it has settled a bit, so I need to fix it so the water falls out of all of the spouts.) I have found it to be easy to care for. I just top off the water every couple of days (when it’s really hot) and sometimes use the jet nozzle to force cloudy water out before I refill it with fresh water. I’ve even caught the birds playing in it.
And, the fountain is lovely at night. The lights are subtle and just add a gentle glow.
It’s another addition that adds so much to the patio.
The last thing I ordered from Lamps Plus was four Bellagio solar-powered landscape spotlights. We positioned two on either side of the espalier apple tree to highlight them at night. I thought it would be a nice idea, but I had no idea how impactful it would be. I never paid much attention to lighting around the house other than for safety, but now I’m thinking of all of the other ways the garden and house could be lit.
The best part is, since they are solar-powered, you literally just pull them out of the box, turn them on, put them in place, and they are good to go. They are easy to move for edging or mowing or if I decide to use them in another place. I can see adding more over time to highlight more features. I can see these being nice to light a mailbox, house number, or a holiday wreath on the front door.
As I shared in this post, Lamps Plus has quite a few things for your home and garden that aren’t even lights! It’s my go-to place for new light fixtures, but I’ve also learned it’s a good place to check for patio furniture and other things that might be nice additions as we continue to work on our home and garden.
Now that the temperatures are cooling off, I hope to get some more yard work done before winter. We have some soil and grass seed to put down and we want to get the trim along the back of the house painted and shutters painted and installed. I can’t believe we’re already in September!!
22 Responses
I am so happy to be in September! Cozy coming up.
I love the bench.
I have a fountain in front of my house. The hummingbirds will only drink from the spout and get huffy when we turn it off.
I love watching them flutter and sip.
Everything looks great. Whenever you do yard post, I get energized.
Your bench and fountain are lovely. We are in Canada and with the exchange rate they would both be a pretty steep price, I am afraid.
Can the bench be left out in the winter or should it be stored away?
PS:
Any chance Lamps Plus is doing a marketing discount using a code from you? There are a lot of items I am interested in but since I retired I watch my spending much more closely.
Love the bench, another layer of cozy in your yard and the fountain is amazing too. Mixed feelings about it being September already but the cooler temps will be nice
Please be mindful of light pollution as you add lighting around your yard. Those of us living in a city or suburb are losing the ability to see and enjoy the night sky. If you are highlighting areas around your house or yard, don’t leave them on all night long. Also, everyone will enjoy having to look at your lights!
YES! Light pollution is tough on pollinators like moths and bats.
Love all the new additions. What a change in the backyard from move in day!!! I would suggest to put some castors on the legs of your new bench. Direct contact with the mulch will rot them out and the bench will always rock…and not look so pretty. They sell them at Home Depot.
Keep up the good work.
l checked out the teak bench fine print, the bench has a teak finish and made of acacia wood. not a teak bench. disappointed was ready to order.
love your backyard and the finishing touches.
I am a longtime reader and admire your sty!e, skills and I’m a longtime reader and have such admiration for your ability to carry out such stunning visions. For this reason I hesitate to seem critical with my comment but I hope you will reconsider adding more lighting that shines upward. We are rapidly losing our night skies to excessive lightning by municipalities, urban areas and homeowners. Once you give that up, it is very hard to recover. There are night sky imitative all over the country that will advise you on exterior and landscape lighting.
The Smithsonian had an amazing exhibit about night skies and light pollution. While we can all do our part (lower wattage, timers on lights, etc.) homeowners aren’t the major polluters. Pretty sure that’s the Big Dipper seen over Marian’s house, and her neighborhood doesn’t look urban to me?? Please don’t lose sleep over two solar powered lights.
Thanks, Bambi. I do want to use artificial lights with consideration.
Need to edit above comment but don’t see a way. Please excuse the glitch I hit while commenting.
Just curious, do you sometimes scour Facebook Marketplace to see if you can find another one of those teak loungers (same brand, etc.)? Assuming you’d like to have four, that is.
Yeah, I do look around for teak furniture just to see if there is anything I can’t pass up, but we really couldn’t fit a fourth lounger. Three works well since there are rarely more than two people sitting in them at a time.
One more thing, I’m sure you probably know this, being a paint expert, but they do make an opaque wood stain that you can use on fences. It’s a stain, but looks solid and won’t flake off like regular paint would being out in the elements. I used it once to paint a (freshly built) wooden fence white and it worked (and looked) great. (I’m not suggesting you paint your fence white, but just a thought.)
I have looked into stains and considered paint as well once the wood is dry. It would be such a pain to paint or stain but I do think it would look better. I’m sot of hoping the bushes grow up and just hide it altogether!
I was just wondering if it’s suggested to use a clear protective sealer over wood furniture to keep it from splintering? The bench looks like it’s just made for that space and your backyard has really turned into an oasis!
I truly hope you are not worrying about your outdoor lighting. I think the new spot lights out front are perfect, maybe even stunning.
It has been such fun watching everything come together~ it’s all thoughtful and beautiful, Marian. Does it feel like as homey to you as it does for all of us?
I appreciate you sharing your life with the world!
I love everything you do and especially your style of decorating.
I’ve been following you since you promoted your line of chalk paint and I’m happy to have found you on Facebook.
Aaaaaaaaaaah, they don’t open up their website for other countries, bugger. I love how it all looks. That fountain needs a bit more space though. It falls away from all what is around it. In courtyards, it is usually the center. But your garden, eh?