Under the Tent and Dreaming

Our backyard tent pavilion has brought many hours of enjoyment over the years. We bought it in 2003 and created this outdoor room. In the summer, we sit here at night with candles lit, listening to the fountain and drinking our glass of wine.

One of the advantages of tents is that they can be moved. I have set this tent up in the backyard of a house I staged for a kitchen tour. I even put it on the lawn for an evening dinner party. Wherever it goes, it creates romance and adds an instant sense of place.

Here it is set up for my girlfriend's 50th birthday party.

And here it is today looking tired. I made the mistake of not taking it down and storing it in the garage for two winters in a row. Consequently, there is moss growing on top and the teak wood is turning black.

The inside structure is sagging.

The big question is do I replace it or try to restore it?

I made a phone call to the store where I bought it. It is made my Tropitone and at the time was expensive. I should have taken better care of it because the price has gone up $1000!

Here is my same tent on Tropitone's website. I'm loving those striped side curtains!

I decided to do some homework and see if within the last seven years, there are more options from other manufacturers. This is another tent by Tropitone which is less expensive because it has metal framework instead of teak. All of their tents are made with Sunbrella fabric.

Here is a poolside pavilion from Resort Cabanas, a company specializing in cabanas for hotels and resorts. Not quite the look I'm going for.

Now this is the look I'm going for! I found this image from Traditional Home and fell in love with this outdoor room. I'm wondering if the homeowner takes this tent down in the winter. Isn't it wonderful?

I found this pavilion from Target! It is the most expensive of all their backyard tents, but quite a bit less than the Tropitone tent. The posts are metal and I don't believe the fabric is Sunbrella, but for the price, it's very nice. Although it is too dark for the look I like, I could paint the posts white.....What do you think?

These tents are from Maharaja Tent Company. The top one is called the Lily Pond Cottage Tent and the bottom one, my favorite, is called the Pergola Tent. How romantic are they?

Or this? Somehow, the tent "makes" this backyard, even though it is already magnificent.

So, after all my research, I think I will try to restore my tired, mossy and sagging tent! I love the look of it, and at the price of replacing it, it is worth the effort. Hopefully, I can get one more summer out of it. I'll keep you posted on the outcome....

I'm linking up to A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

Thank you Susan for hosting.