Buying garden furniture
Useful tips on what to look for whatever your style or your price range.
Metal furniture
• Ironwork and steel frames should be treated with a special undercoat and a primer coat to give them better protection against rust.
• Check what the frames are coated with – ‘powder coating’ and materials like aluminium and nylon will create a smoother and more weather-resistant finish.
• If you go for cheaper or lighter options, make sure they are easy to fold and store away so that they won’t be ruined by their first winter outdoors.
• Polymer-coated lightweight aluminium or anodised aluminium frames are good hardy choices for lasting in all weathers.
Wooden furniture
• Ask about what colour the wood will turn over the next few years – even protected wood will change colour and some will go from browns to silvery greys. This can look great, but check what you’re getting.
• If your furniture isn’t already treated with oil or varnish, get a treatment that is specifically for garden furniture. Oil is easy to apply and can keep the wood water resistant and supple.
• If you want a really tough but good looking varnish, use yacht varnish.
Plastic
• Ideally, pick seating with matching cushions – sitting on plastic can get sticky on hot days.
• Make sure you buy items you have room to stack, store inside or that come with protective weather covering – plastic furniture might be waterproof, but will discolour in bad weather.
• Check the furniture is well weighted – light plastic tables will batter around your patio with the first gust of wind.
• Polypropylene options are durable and fairly low-maintenance.
Savvy tip
If you want a woven look, don’t leave wicker furniture outdoors as it will rot quickly. Other materials like high-density polythene fibres are now used for stylish woven finishes and are far more weather-resistant.
Pass it on – the traditional look
For a pretty tables and chairs aluminium options can look as effective as wrought iron and can be left outside all year round.