Sort your summer seating – for this summer and beyond..
If you’ve looked and sighed at your patio furniture a few times this summer, why not treat yourself to a fresh new look, and save some money while you’re about it? Now is the perfect time to browse the shopping sites for patio furniture in the summer sales. Order now and you can benefit from it for a couple of months too, before winter sets in.
Before you set off into e-commerce land, however, have a good think about what style of furniture you are seeking, and in what material. Your outdoor furniture will ideally suit your indoor style, helping that flow from home to garden. Narrow it down to contemporary or traditional and use these in your search terms.
Next, think about what materials you want to have your new patio furniture made from. There are pros and cons to every material – except plastic, we’d argue. There are no pros to plastic!
Some materials will allow you to leave your new furniture outside year round, others less so. Some require ongoing maintenance, others not so much. When deciding on your furniture, take into consideration not only where you might overwinter it, but also if you truly are the type of person to re-stain and protect furniture each spring. Loads of people are – I’m not!
Here are your main options, each one has its benefits in looks and needs.
Metal
Steel garden furniture, while long-lasting and robust, is very heavy, so opting for this is a commitment not only in terms of price, but also where you place it. – you don’t want to be heaving heavy chairs around every time the sun moves. It is a great choice for the really traditional styles however, and once it’s in place requires minimal maintenance. If you know you will want to be moving your seats with the sun, aluminium is a more popular choice. Often folding by design, aluminium furniture is easier to store away over winter, reducing the need for maintenance.
We are rather fond of this choice, from John Lewis. It comes with quite a magnificent price reduction and we love the rattan-style weave in metal powder coated frames.
Rattan
Rattan has been really popular for some years now. However, the word ‘rattan’ has been adopted as the catch-all term for all furniture made with weaving ribbons of material around a frame, whether real rattan (which is made from a form of palm strands), wicker rattan (also made from plant materials, including willow, reeds, bamboo or seagrass) or PE, a man-made synthetic polyethylene resin. The latter is far more durable and requires significantly less maintenance. It can also handle the British climate, unlike wicker or rattan, which needs to be kept dry and taken indoors to overwinter. Because of its history, rattan-style furniture comes in so many designs – from contemporary blocks to last century curves – you’ll easily be able to find something that suits your style, whether that’s modern or traditional.
If you’re seeking rattan or rattan style you have a lot of options. We just had a quick search and came up with dozens worth a second look, but by popular vote we have landed on this set from Laura James – it’s the table that sealed the deal for us!
Wood
A classic choice, but will require a commitment for ongoing maintenance. It will need an annual wash, sand down and application of oil, which is not something everybody is prepared to undertake. Teak wood is the luxe choice for garden furniture – it has a high natural level of oil in the wood, so it can withstand the wind and rain of an English garden, but it still needs regular care.
We’ve fallen for this acacia wood set from The Cotswold Company. The design is quite timeless, with a nod to mid-century, and effortless Scandi, and it has a perfectly relaxed appeal.
If online doesn’t work for you, if you prefer to set your own seat on a seat before you buy, all the big garden centres and DIY stores will be selling off this season’s stock too, so get yourself out and about and find yourself something you can love for years to come.
Eddie – Friday 9th August 2024. (Images used from companies mentioned).
