Patio Furniture Buying Guide

Beautiful patio furniture enhances a home's unique ambience. When choosing outdoor furniture for your home, consider several questions: First, how do you want to use your furniture? A petite bistro table and chair is a wonderful place to enjoy a drink. A comfy chaise lounge is the perfect place for enjoying the latest spy thriller. Second, what style best suits your home? Hardwoods--cedar or teak--accentuate the natural setting, while cast iron creates a more formal atmosphere in the garden. Aluminum or steel, accented with rich fabrics, feature a more contemporary design for the deck or garden room. Finally, what size furniture do you need? A large deck or yard will accommodate large dining sets while a single rocking chair will be the perfect accent for a small porch.

Patio Furniture Components

Just like indoor furnishings, patio furniture has variety; mix and match the pieces to show off your personal style.

Chairs and Tables

Outdoor chairs form the base of any outdoor sanctuary. Casual patio chair styles include loungers or deck chairs, folding chairs, outdoor rocking chairs and Adirondacks. The "chaise longue" (/sheyz lawng/: French for long chair) has an elongated seat and leg rest and an adjustable back. Crafted with a durable hardwood or metal frame, this classic poolside patio chair often holds fluffy cushions. The Adirondack chair, designed in New York State in the early 1900s, features wood planks, deep seats, fan backs and wide arm rests. Seats are generally low to the ground. Adirondack style is found in other lawn furniture such as benches, rockers and porch swings.

Outdoor dining chairs and high-back love seats offer a more formal seating option for the patio. For convenience, dining chairs are often sold in sets. Some of these feature such deep, plush cushions and beautiful craftsmanship that you'll be tempted to use them indoors.

You'll need patio tables to match those patio chairs, especially if you plan on enjoying meals outside. Outdoor tables for the garden and patio are available in many sizes and styles. A bistro table is usually small enough to serve two and fits nicely on a small patio or balcony while outdoor coffee tables complement the outdoor living room style of larger decks and backyards. For dining, choose round or square (36-inch to 46-inch) patio tables to accommodate four to six people, a rectangular outdoor table to sit six or more. Patio furniture even includes outdoor bar tables and stools. Of course, the iconic picnic table remains a backyard staple.

Dining Sets

For convenience and coordinated style, you can't beat the outdoor dining set. Patio furniture sets are available in a variety of styles and many display a surprising elegance for outdoor furniture. A versatile bistro set, with a wrought iron patio table and chairs, creates the urban ambience of an outdoor café on a small patio, yet looks provincial in the garden. Sleek aluminum patio dining sets modernize the setting. For a natural look, choose outdoor patio sets crafted of cedar, eucalyptus, teak and other woods.

Patio furniture sets generally include a dining table and chairs. Usually two to four chairs accompany the patio dining set, but sets can have as many as eight chairs. Some patio sets resemble more traditional garden furniture and include patio chairs, an outdoor bench and a coffee-style patio table.

Benches

Outdoor benches provide cozy outdoor seating for two or more people and the occasional furry companion. Place a wooden or metal bench in the garden or yard so you'll have a place to relax while admiring your green thumb. Adirondack benches painted in bright colors add a cheerful accent to any yard and long benches accommodate extra party guests. Contemporary aluminum outdoor benches update patio furniture, either alone or as part of a patio dining set.

For more specialized furniture, choose a rocker, love seat, or outdoor storage bench. The rocker or two-seater loveseat bench adds a romantic charm to the porch or garden. A storage bench has drawers under the seat. Place the storage bench near the pool, in the yard or the entry way to store towels, gardening tools or rain boots. Choose a tree bench to wrap around that old oak.

Hammocks and Swings

For the ultimate in afternoon snoozing, drop your weary body and soul into a hammock. Yes, those tree swings are still around but today's models feature more durable designs and materials. Buy a handy hammock stand and you don't even need trees for your portable bed. Hammock chairs are a wonderful variation on the classic hammock and resemble swings with headrests and footrests. Stands are also available for hammock chairs.

Hammocks are great outdoor swings for riding solo, but if you would rather share, add a porch swing to your home. Porch swings are making a comeback as folks rediscover the front porch and the swings now come in a variety of styles. Porch swings still require chains to suspend them from a roof or stand which somewhat limits their placement. A glider is a good alternative to the traditional porch swing. Basically a swinging bench suspended from its own vertical frame, the glider is a stable piece of outdoor furniture that can be placed anywhere.

Umbrellas

Patio umbrellas are available in a range of styles to shade the patio and garden. Their many colors and patterns also brighten the garden décor. Umbrellas make wonderful garden furniture in a backyard lacking shade trees. A good outdoor umbrella has a wood or metal frame and a durable fabric canopy. Wooden umbrellas have that exotic tropical look, but generally do not have the tilt and rotate features common to the metal models. An umbrella canopy should be 5-feet larger than the area to be shaded. For example, a 42-inch patio table needs an 8.5-feet umbrella.

Some patio umbrellas are free standing, but many are designed to be set in a patio table which has a center hole to accommodate the pole. When choosing a patio umbrella, remember that most do not include stands. Of course, Overstock.com offers the same great savings on umbrella stands as you will find on the umbrellas.

Patio Furniture Materials

Great materials accentuate the casual, traditional or formal designs of patio furniture. For outdoor furniture with a natural look, choose deck chairs and chaise lounges crafted of beautiful woods. Cast iron patio chairs add a traditional accent to garden furniture while aluminum or steel chairs feature a contemporary design update of patio home furnishings.

Woods

The most traditional craftsmen's material, wood brings the beauty of nature into the home. Oak, maple, pine and cherry tree woods have long been used to create exquisite indoor furniture; these may also be used in outdoor furniture if properly treated. On the other hand, several species of wood naturally resist decay from temperature changes, humidity and insects. The patio furniture from these woods, often originating in tropical areas, looks wonderful in the natural state or when painted, oiled or stained.

Some of the most popular woods for outdoor furniture include teak, acacia, cedar and eucalyptus. Teak is a hardwood evergreen from Southeast Asia: dense, heavy and durable. It repels water and resists warping--an excellent wood for climates with dramatic temperature changes. Teak is more expensive than other woods; however, it is the best wood for outdoor furniture and its durability more than makes up for its high initial cost. (But, of course, your initial cost is much reduced because you're buying at Overstock.com.)

Acacia is a fast-growing hardwood tree grown in India, with a warm, medium brown tone. Cedar wood furniture, usually made of red cedar, is prized for its subtle fragrance and warm tones of light golden reds to deep honey browns. It is durable and contains natural oils that repel insects. This wood needs maintenance and occasionally must be refinished. Eucalyptus is a native of Australia; similar to myrtle, it is a heavy wood that is a popular furniture material.

• FSC Certified: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit organization that promotes forest management based on their ideals of economic viability and environmental responsibility. A substantial amount of outdoor furniture is now crafted of wood from FSC certified forests. To learn more about the certification process, visit the Forest Stewardship Council's web page at www.fsc.org.
• Unfinished Furniture: Patio furniture features a variety of finishes such as clear sealants, toned stains and UV-resistant paints. While most of our furniture comes with a finish, you'll occasionally find some unfinished pieces. Unfinished wood, especially teak, weathers to a silvery gray patina that many people find attractive. You can finish the furniture during the aging process by applying a sealant when the wood has reached the desired color. Consult with your local professionals to find the best products and processes for your furniture.

Grasses

Sturdy grasses are also a popular material in home furnishings, especially in tropical regions, and they add warm, neutral colors to the setting. Artisans have created furniture, rugs, baskets and more from hard stems and pliable twigs for centuries. Furniture of these materials must be kept in a well-ventilated area to dry out if it gets wet. Also, this furniture tends to be lightweight; so consider it for an area sheltered from high winds.

• Bamboo: A tropical grass with extremely durable stems that are used for making furniture and flooring.
• Rattan: A species of climbing palm native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and the South Pacific. Weavers use rattan to make baskets and craftsman use the canes for furniture, wicker furniture in particular.
• Wicker: A weaving style that uses slender, pliable twigs or canes. Often crafted of willow, rattan or reed, wicker patio furniture remains popular for sunrooms, outdoor patios and conservatories.
• Wicker Style: Furniture with the styling and weave of traditional wicker but is not made of a grass. Often made of a durable PVC resin or vinyl, this style is also called synthetic wicker.

Metals

While blacksmiths have forged iron tools and ornaments for centuries, the use of metals in furniture making became widespread, and relatively inexpensive, during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. Often treated to resist rust, metal outdoor furniture also features lattice or woven patterns that prevent water from pooling on the surface. Durable metal furniture comes in a wide array of styles from vintage, with its curved legs and lacy patterns, to contemporary with minimalist, angular lines.

The most common metals found in furniture are aluminum, steel and iron. Aluminum is lightweight and resists corrosion, making it a favored material for outdoor furniture. Manufacturers form products from aluminum tubes or by casting. Steel is often formed into traditional cast iron designs. More flexible than the heavier iron alloys, steel furniture is more comfortable than iron for many people. With the exception of stainless or galvanized pieces, steel rusts faster than iron. Iron has been used by man for millennia, and iron furniture, especially cast iron, is heavier than aluminum or steel. Choose cast iron if you don't want the patio furniture blowing across the yard during a storm.

• Casting: Cast items are made by melting a metal such as aluminum or iron and pouring the molten material into a mold to set.
• Powder-coated Finish: This dry finishing process involves spraying an electrostatically charged coating onto furniture and then heat-curing the items in an oven. Made of ground pigment and resin, powder coating adheres to metal better than liquid paint. Used on many metal products including cars, the powder-coated finish is strong, long lasting and scratch resistant.
• Wrought: Blacksmiths form wrought metal products by heating metal, usually iron, to a pliable stage and then hammering it into shape. Wrought iron patio furniture features elegant design elements such as slender bars and curved patterns.

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