How to Choose Your Outdoor Furniture

Choosing your outdoor garden furniture can be a nightmare. The vast array of different types of furniture on the market means that there is so much choice it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Here are a few tips to help you pick the best outdoor furniture for you.

What Do You Want Your Furniture For?

If you’re a small household and you just want to have breakfast out in the garden in the summer, then a bistro style table will be suited to you, while a wooden picnic-style table and long benches is more suited to a big family who love to eat dinner outside. Some of the furniture will easily be used in different ways, but identifying your primary need for your furniture will make deciding on the rest easier too.

What Design Do You Want?

There are several approaches that you can take to the design of your outdoor furniture. If your garden has a clear theme or design, then it may make sense to keep your furniture in the same vein. For instance, if you have a Victorian style country cottage garden , then it makes sense to have furniture that reflects this, such as a wrought iron table and chairs.

You could, alternatively, keep in a similar aesthetic to the furniture that is inside your home, reflecting your home’s design and décor.

The Material

Wooden furniture is good if you want solid, low-maintenance furniture. In particular, teak and all weather rattan make excellent outdoor furniture. Teak is naturally protected from water damage and fungus, making it durable and perfect for the outdoors, but it can be very expensive. Rattan can be natural or synthetic, but if you want outdoor furniture that will last in any weather, then you’ll need synthetic.

Metal stands up to the elements well too, and can be extremely pretty when moved into ornate styles. Metal does need to be maintained, however, checking for rust occasionally, and sealing or painting the metal as necessary.

Plastic outdoor furniture is extremely cheap, but looks it too. It might last a while but it adds nothing decorative to your garden.

Soft Furnishings

Things like rugs, throws and cushions will make your garden a much more comfortable place to sit and enjoy. Whether you choose bubblegum pink or something that matches your garden, you’ll either need to buy waterproof furnishings or buy a water-tight box to keep everything in when you’re not in the garden.