The endlessly soggy, gray days we’ve been having here on the Wet Coast have me desperately craving sun and summer.

They won’t change the weather, but these cheerful, but eco-friendly plates, bowls, and ice cream “cones” from Shiraleah will brighten any day.

This is the time of year to stock up for outdoor eating, but the majority of tableware designed for outdoor use is plastic. These offer the sturdiness of plastic (they’re unbreakable, and dishwasher safe), but are made with biodegradable bamboo fiber. The fiber biodegrades in less than 10 years, and doesn’t leach. Yay!

Available from ShopInspiredLiving.com.

Windowbox by Sunface13 on Flickr.

I remember the first time I saw window boxes worth coveting. I was 20 years old, backpacking through Europe. Although I wasn’t yet a gardener, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the perpetual, ageless villages with their cheery window boxes spilling over with geraniums. The window boxes were simple, but gorgeous, and I wanted to take them home.

Outside my window by James Jordan on Flickr.

In my mind, the best window boxes will always be European, best suited to crumbling brick or stucco apartment buildings. But right now the closest I will ever get to gardening in a European window box is vicariously.

Although I’m not in the market, I was curious to see what was out there in the way of window boxes, so I pulled together a few internet finds to share.

Sweet DIY succulent windowbox planter (made using an aluminum gutter) by Kalani Kordus on Flickr.

Simple teak wood planter from Jayson Home and Garden ($64-$115)

Inexpensive zinc rectangular rail planter from Crate and Barrel ($13.95-$19.95).

Modern terrazzolite windowbox from Jayson Home and Garden ($78-$160)

Galvanized metal planter box from Pottery Barn ($59).

Coir-lined traditional iron window box on Amazon.com ($165.96).

There may be snow on the ground but just thinking about hanging a few of these Soji Modern solar lanterns from Allsop Home and Garden makes me want to plan a summer soiree. Like a Le Klint for the outdoors, these would look right at home on our back patio. And they’re solar. No cords!

Ikea has also come out with a number of solar lighting options. Solig looks cute. Must gather strength to go check out in person.

Runway: Equinox two-seater from Barlow Tyrie

Reality: second-hand sofa with good bones.

I’ve been looking for seating for our back patio for what feels like forever. I had a very specific idea of the clean, modern look I wanted, but it was a classic case of champagne taste on a beer budget (the Equinox sofa, at top, retails for over $2000). So when I saw this old metal-framed sofa and matching lounge chair at a second-hand shop, I jumped.

I figured we could strip the pieces down to their metal frames, paint them, and refit the frames with cedar slats (the original cushions were wood-backed).

Cheaper and quicker than powder coating, RustOleum matte pewter spray paint easily covered the frames – and looks great! Cedar slats, stained with Sikkens Cetol-1 in Natural, provided a stable base that can be left outside year round, and look half decent even without the cushions.

Finally, we had cushions made (out of Sunbrella Charcoal Tweed #6007), added some throw pillows, and voila!

The lack of furniture was my final stumbling block to acheiving patio greatness. Now that it’s complete, a great many gin and tonics will be consumed there (at least until the rains start).

Check back later this week to see before and after shots of the entire patio!

 With this revelation, rephorm was born, and with it, the “Steckling” planter (above), sold outside Germany as On-the-Edge.

Says Michael, “Our aim is to translate typologies which are known for the interior into products for the architecture bound outside space. These products should occupy existing structures in a friendly and symbiotic way without drilling and screws. They don’t need additional clamps or feet. The products just use the most simple way to connect themselves with architecture.”

Hence Sling, a lamp that easily affixes to an existing railing (above). You can shop for rephorm products here.

Michael also publishes a balcony blog, Gruenes Wohnzimmer, which translates as “green lounge room,” where he reports on balcony-related products and news.

These hanging chairs by Nick Rawcliffe of Raw Studio, reminiscent of those 70s hanging wicker chairs (updated, of course, for the modern esthetic) are sleek and functional - they stack flat for easy storage. But are they comfortable?

Via MocoLoco.

While I’ve never had an appropriate setting in which to place an Adirondack chair (lakefront cottage pending), I have always appreciated their comfort and practicality (built-in drink “tables”!).

Room & Board’s Emmet chair and ottoman is a pretty sweet take on the original. Sleek and sexy – and made from 100 percent post-industrial recycled plastic. Guess sometimes you can improve on the classics.

With a backyard the size of a king-sized mattress, everything that goes into it must work extra hard. Plants are the easy part: just look fabulous and interesting for at least three seasons and I’ll let you live. Hard-working (and *attractive*) furniture, on the other hand, is tough to find. Benches that double as storage units, tables that easily transition from coffee table to dining table-height… if I can imagine it, why can’t they build it? (Actually, they do – it’s just that it’s either ugly or I can’t afford it.)

Now, the Piccolo Grande Table and Piccolo Grande Bench by Nobody and Co isn’t for sale until September, so I don’t know yet that I can’t afford it. Still, I can dream.

This is exactly what I need. At first sight it looks just like classic outdoor furniture in teak wood, but by sliding the structure, the staves separate and double in length, transforming a small table into a big one and a small bench into a big bench. Simple. Attractive. Genius.

Via Treehugger.