Feel like your current outdoor furniture (or lack thereof) is stopping you from entertaining or spending time outdoors? We get it. A sunny day after a spell of week-long rainy weather is like heaven. So let’s explore how you can pick the right furniture for your outdoor space and make the most of those (sometimes rare!) sunny days.
1. Make a List of What You Need
Before going on a shopping spree, think about how you want your outdoor space to function. Do you want it to be an entertainment spot, with hundreds of people stampeding over it every month? Or do you want a peaceful nook where you can hide from the world and read?
To make sure you get what you want, create a list of everything you’d like to do in your outdoor area and use it to find the right type of all-weather outdoor furniture. For instance, if you experiment in the kitchen every day, a dining table should be at the top of your list.
But if you’re a Netflix-and-chill type of person, skip the dining table and get a comfy sofa and a fire pit from ArchiPro to create a relaxing garden retreat.
2. Understand What Works
Weather can be notoriously unpredictable, so it’s important to carefully consider your environment when you’re searching for outdoor furniture.
So, instead of splurging on pretty maple wood or streaky copper furniture, think about buying furniture that’s meant to be able to deal with the elements and will maintain its sheen for years to come.
Some good outdoor furniture material choices are wrought-iron, aluminum or powder-coated steel, UV-resistant plastic, or stainless steel. However, these materials may get stained, faded, or corroded when exposed to the sun and rain.
You could go for pieces made from hardy wood types like teak, acacia, mahogany, cedar, or eucalyptus to decorate your garden hangout. You’ll only need to sand and wash them a few times per year.
3. Go For Low-Maintenance Furniture
The pretty chrome outdoor furniture in a Los Angeles mansion looks great. But is it any good for the dark, gloomy, and rainy weather you often get? It does if you want to keep carrying your outdoor furniture in and out every day!
If like us you are too lazy to move everything before a rain spell hits, try to choose furniture that can survive the mercurial weather, even if you forget about it. This means getting hardy wood or steel furniture and using fabrics like acrylics, polyesters, and nylons, which don’t fade when soaked constantly.
4. Don’t Forget Cushions
Outdoor furniture is meant to be comfy because how else are you supposed to spend hours outside? But standard cushions won’t do, as they can get waterlogged and remain soggy for days or weeks, especially when it’s been raining for days.
One option would be removing the cushions altogether and replacing furniture with mesh netting. But if you want your outdoor furniture to be super comfy, go for cushions with floatation or open-cell foam, which allows water to pass through quickly.
5. Try Before You Buy
Online shopping is way more convenient than stampeding through IKEA searching for the right cushions or wood furniture that won’t rot in the first year but you can’t check whether the sofa you’re choosing is actually comfortable or has the right cloth type.
Similarly, you won’t know what a dining table looks like until you see it in person. And don’t even start on scratches, dents, and false claims. So, to be safe (because outdoor furniture is expensive), go and shop in person for your furniture and try before you buy – test the sturdiness, the weather resistancy and ask the retailer for the recommendations for your outdoor space.
6. Think About Storage
If you didn’t pay attention and got gorgeous but fragile furniture (we don’t blame you) for your brand-spanking-new outdoor space, you need somewhere to keep it. Even wrought-iron or teak wood patio furniture will degrade if you leave it out, particularly over the cold winter months.
So, to add years to the life of your patio furniture, store it in a protected space in the off-season. It’s always a good idea to consider your storage capacity before buying outdoor furniture. If you have no extra capacity at your house, self-storage is always an option for those times when you won’t be spending any time outdoors.
Feel like your current outdoor furniture (or lack thereof) is stopping you from entertaining or spending time outdoors? We get it. A sunny day after a spell of week-long rainy weather is like heaven. So let’s explore how you can pick the right furniture for your outdoor space and make the most of those (sometimes rare!) sunny days.
1. Make a List of What You Need
Before going on a shopping spree, think about how you want your outdoor space to function. Do you want it to be an entertainment spot, with hundreds of people stampeding over it every month? Or do you want a peaceful nook where you can hide from the world and read?
To make sure you get what you want, create a list of everything you’d like to do in your outdoor area and use it to find the right type of all-weather outdoor furniture. For instance, if you experiment in the kitchen every day, a dining table should be at the top of your list.
But if you’re a Netflix-and-chill type of person, skip the dining table and get a comfy sofa and a fire pit from ArchiPro to create a relaxing garden retreat.
2. Understand What Works
Weather can be notoriously unpredictable, so it’s important to carefully consider your environment when you’re searching for outdoor furniture.
So, instead of splurging on pretty maple wood or streaky copper furniture, think about buying furniture that’s meant to be able to deal with the elements and will maintain its sheen for years to come.
Some good outdoor furniture material choices are wrought-iron, aluminum or powder-coated steel, UV-resistant plastic, or stainless steel. However, these materials may get stained, faded, or corroded when exposed to the sun and rain.
You could go for pieces made from hardy wood types like teak, acacia, mahogany, cedar, or eucalyptus to decorate your garden hangout. You’ll only need to sand and wash them a few times per year.
3. Go For Low-Maintenance Furniture
The pretty chrome outdoor furniture in a Los Angeles mansion looks great. But is it any good for the dark, gloomy, and rainy weather you often get? It does if you want to keep carrying your outdoor furniture in and out every day!
If like us you are too lazy to move everything before a rain spell hits, try to choose furniture that can survive the mercurial weather, even if you forget about it. This means getting hardy wood or steel furniture and using fabrics like acrylics, polyesters, and nylons, which don’t fade when soaked constantly.
4. Don’t Forget Cushions
Outdoor furniture is meant to be comfy because how else are you supposed to spend hours outside? But standard cushions won’t do, as they can get waterlogged and remain soggy for days or weeks, especially when it’s been raining for days.
One option would be removing the cushions altogether and replacing furniture with mesh netting. But if you want your outdoor furniture to be super comfy, go for cushions with floatation or open-cell foam, which allows water to pass through quickly.
5. Try Before You Buy
Online shopping is way more convenient than stampeding through IKEA searching for the right cushions or wood furniture that won’t rot in the first year but you can’t check whether the sofa you’re choosing is actually comfortable or has the right cloth type.
Similarly, you won’t know what a dining table looks like until you see it in person. And don’t even start on scratches, dents, and false claims. So, to be safe (because outdoor furniture is expensive), go and shop in person for your furniture and try before you buy – test the sturdiness, the weather resistancy and ask the retailer for the recommendations for your outdoor space.
6. Think About Storage
If you didn’t pay attention and got gorgeous but fragile furniture (we don’t blame you) for your brand-spanking-new outdoor space, you need somewhere to keep it. Even wrought-iron or teak wood patio furniture will degrade if you leave it out, particularly over the cold winter months.
So, to add years to the life of your patio furniture, store it in a protected space in the off-season. It’s always a good idea to consider your storage capacity before buying outdoor furniture. If you have no extra capacity at your house, self-storage is always an option for those times when you won’t be spending any time outdoors.
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