Keep cushions dry in a vented box sized in gallons, and check the volume before you buy.
also: deck box, patio storage bench, cushion box
The basics
What to know about outdoor & patio furniture
Built to be rained on
Outdoor furniture is furniture built to be rained on, and that one demand rewrites every part of it. Frames have to shed water without rusting, weaves have to survive frost, fabric has to hold its color through five summers of direct sun. Cushions have to drain instead of soak. Heights stay familiar, since a patio dining table still stands 28 to 30 inches and a lounge seat still lands 16 to 18 inches off the ground once a body compresses the cushion. Everything below that surface has little in common with what holds up Sofas & Sectionals indoors.
Start with the frame
Frame material sets both the weight and the lifespan, so start there. Cast aluminum is poured molten into a mold, which yields thick legs and 25 to 40 pounds per chair, and aluminum cannot rust. It forms a dull gray oxide and stops. Extruded aluminum tube weighs a third as much and stacks for storage, and it crosses the yard in a strong gust. Steel buys the most strength per dollar and corrodes from any chip in the powder coat, a plastic finish baked on that is the only barrier between weather and bare metal. Teak makes the timber case, since oil held in its grain repels water and insects with no finish at all, and the surface fades from honey to silver gray within 6 to 12 months outside. Resin wicker contains no wicker: the strand is high density polyethylene with UV inhibitors blended through the plastic, woven over an aluminum frame. Cheaper weaves use PVC strand, which goes brittle and cracks through a first hard freeze.
Fabric and finish in year three
Two layers above the frame decide how a set looks in its third summer. Solution dyed acrylic has pigment stirred into liquid polymer before any fiber is spun. Color runs through the strand rather than sitting on it, and cloth made that way normally carries a fade warranty counted in years. Printed polyester lays dye on the outside of a finished fiber, costs far less, and goes chalky after one strong season. Foam is the second layer, and reticulated foam is worth paying for. Its cell walls are burst open, so water drains in minutes and air dries the core. Standard furniture foam wrapped in polyester batting holds close to a quart of water and breeds mildew in the middle, where no cleaner reaches. Sling seating sidesteps the argument by stretching coated polyester mesh across the frame, so rain passes through and nothing needs carrying indoors.
Let the patio size decide
Patio size picks the format before taste does. Balconies under roughly 40 square feet hold a Bistro Set and nothing more. Eating outdoors weekly justifies a Patio Dining Set, counted at 24 inches of table edge per person. Around 10 by 10 feet of paving suits a Conversation Set. By comparison, 12 by 12 and up is where Deep Seating Sets stop blocking the walkway. Pool decks need Chaise Loungers at about 2 by 7 feet apiece. A fire ring or a lawn edge is where Adirondack Chairs belong, since they carry no cushion to rescue when it rains. Climate narrows materials just as hard: within a mile of salt water, take aluminum with 316 stainless hardware, since ordinary 304 still pits in salt spray, and under desert sun a dark metal seat gets hot enough to burn bare legs.
Every cushion is one more to store
Comfort and upkeep trade against each other cushion by cushion. Each thick cushion added is one more thing to wash, dry and store, and the pieces from a single deep seating group fill a 120 gallon box. Weight runs the same bargain backward. A 30 pound cast aluminum chair stays put in a storm and takes two hands to shift for sweeping. An 8 pound tube frame moves with one finger and leaves a balcony in a gust. Steel asks the least money and the most maintenance, teak asks two to three times more and then asks for nothing.
Lift a chair by the front rail
Judging a set takes five minutes. Pick a chair up by the front rail with one hand and feel whether the frame twists, then look at the joints, because welds ground smooth outlast bolted corners. Any visible bolt should be stainless rather than zinc plated, which streaks rust down a leg within two seasons. Turn the chair over. Seat pans need drain holes and leg tubes need plastic glide caps, since an open tube end fills with water and splits in a freeze. Run a hand over resin wicker ends, where strands heat sealed into the frame stay put and stapled ends work loose and cut. Press a sling with your palm, which should sink about an inch without touching the frame.
Weather, not use
Weather finishes most outdoor furniture long before use does. Rinse frames monthly, since grit under a cushion sands through powder coat and corrosion starts inside that scratch. Stand cushions on edge after rain and carry them in for a wet week, because foam left soaked two days grows mildew in its core. Before the first freeze, tip every hollow frame to pour out trapped water and set the legs on blocks off wet ground. Choose a vented, breathable cover and strap it down instead of a plastic tarp, which traps condensation against the finish and grows mold in a week. Each spring, run a wrench around every bolt, as daily heating and cooling loosens outdoor hardware on that exact schedule.
Buyer checklist
Before you buy outdoor & patio furniture
Furniture has to fit the room, the route into it and the way the household lives. Dimensions and construction come before color.
01
Measure the delivery path
Check doors, lifts, stairs, turns and packaging dimensions as well as the final footprint.
02
Look beneath the surface
Frame material, joinery, suspension, cushion fill and fabric performance reveal more than a style name.
03
Check stability and safety
Review anchoring needs, weight limits, sharp edges and current recall information, especially in homes with children.
04
Read the warranty closely
Frames, mechanisms, cushions and upholstery may have different coverage periods and exclusions.
Tape out the whole footprint rather than the table. A dining set needs the tabletop plus 36 inches on every side for chairs to slide out with somebody in them. A 40 by 72 inch table claims a patch close to 9 by 12 feet.
Count dining seats at 24 inches of table edge each: a 48 inch round takes four, a 60 inch round takes six, and a 72 by 40 inch rectangle takes six with the ends left clear.
Leave 18 inches between a lounge seat front and the coffee table, plus 30 to 36 inches of walkway around the group, or people start moving furniture to cross the patio.
Match the umbrella by overhang: the canopy should reach 2 feet past the table edge on every side. This puts a 40 inch table on a 7.5 foot umbrella and a 60 inch table on 9 to 11 feet. Base weight runs near 10 pounds per foot of canopy through a table, and double that free standing.
Measure the route as well as the patio, since outdoor furniture usually arrives through the house. A deep seating sofa runs 30 to 34 inches deep and has to clear a 28 to 32 inch sliding door, a side gate or a stair turn.
Work out where the cushions go in winter before you buy them. Cushions from a four piece deep seating group need roughly 120 gallons of dry box, and six dining chair pads fit inside 50.
Care
Caring for outdoor & patio furniture
Rinse frames and cushions with a hose once a month, since grit trapped under a cushion sands through the powder coat and corrosion starts inside that scratch.
Stand cushions on edge after rain and bring them in for a wet week, because foam left soaked for two days grows mildew in the core where no cleaner reaches.
Touch up any chip in a powder coated steel frame the week you find it, as rust spreads sideways under the finish from a break the size of a pinhead.
Tip every hollow frame to drain before the first freeze and set the legs on blocks off wet ground, since water trapped in a tube expands as it freezes and splits the weld.
Use a vented, breathable cover strapped down rather than a plastic tarp, which holds condensation against the finish and grows mold underneath within a week.
Run a wrench around every bolt each spring, because daily heating and cooling loosens outdoor hardware on a yearly cycle and a loose joint wears its own hole oval.
Questions
Common questions
Which frame material lasts longest outside?
Teak and cast aluminum both run 20 years and beyond, for opposite reasons. Teak carries its own oil and needs no finish, while aluminum forms an oxide instead of rust. Resin wicker over aluminum lasts 8 to 15 years if the strand is high density polyethylene. Powder coated steel gives the least, since corrosion starts at the first chip and spreads underneath the finish.
Can I leave patio furniture outside all winter?
Frames in teak, cast aluminum or high density polyethylene stay out year round. Cushions never should, because foam that freezes wet breaks down and mildews. Take glass tops off and store them flat indoors, tip hollow frames to drain trapped water before the first freeze, and set legs on blocks so they do not stand in ice.
What is resin wicker actually made of?
Resin wicker is a plastic strand woven over an aluminum frame, and the plastic decides the lifespan. High density polyethylene with UV inhibitors mixed through it stays flexible in freezing weather and fades slowly. PVC strand costs less and cracks in the first hard frost. Check the strand ends too, since heat sealed ends stay in the weave and stapled ends work loose and scratch.
Why did my cushions fade after one summer?
Almost certainly the dye sat on the outside of the fiber. Printed polyester takes color on the surface, so one strong season strips it. Solution dyed acrylic mixes pigment into the liquid polymer before spinning, so color runs all the way through and cannot lift. Faded printed covers cannot be restored, though replacement covers cost far less than new furniture.
How big an umbrella does my table need?
Aim for 2 feet of canopy past the table edge on every side. A 40 inch round takes a 7.5 foot umbrella, a 48 to 60 inch table takes 9 feet. A long rectangle takes 10 or 11. Weight the base near 10 pounds per foot of canopy when the pole runs through a table, and double that for a free standing pole.
Do I need to oil teak furniture?
No, and oiling usually makes matters worse. Teak already holds oil in its grain, and an applied coat feeds black mildew that later has to be stripped. Left alone, the surface turns silver gray in 6 to 12 months without losing strength. To bring the honey color back, wash yearly with soap and a soft brush along the grain, then use a teak cleaner rather than oil.
Is aluminum too light for a windy deck?
That depends on which aluminum. Cast aluminum chairs weigh 25 to 40 pounds each and stay put in most storms. Extruded tube chairs weigh 8 to 12 pounds and travel. On a balcony or an exposed deck, either choose cast, or plan to stack and strap the light pieces, and never leave an umbrella open when you go inside.
How do I get mildew off outdoor cushions?
Brush the loose growth off dry, then wash both faces with mild soap and warm water and rinse until the water runs clear. Solution dyed acrylic tolerates diluted bleach, roughly one part to ten of water, where printed polyester does not. Drying matters most: stand the cushion on edge for 24 to 48 hours until the core is dry, since damp foam simply regrows it.
