Outdoor Living Furniture

Let’s jump start Spring 2011 with these Williams Sonoma exclusive outdoor living furniture sets.
This year, they are featuring two very nice sets: the Bordeaux (Oak) and the Winchester (Teak). They also are selling the economical Newcastle (Hardwood Plank)

The Bordeaux collection consists of a hand made American solid oak rectangular dining table for $1,300. This strong, weather resilent table with an umbrella hole can seat six.
Wicker chairs (with cushions) priced at $300 each are part of the Bordeaux collection. These chairs are hand woven with imitation willow cords which really is strong synthetic resin made to prevent fading and warping. Finally, a large and sturdy polyester canvas umbrella for $550 completes the Bordeaux set.

The Winchester set comes with a beautiful Teak butterfly table for $1,700. With its two expandable leaves, the table can seat twelve. The table, of course, has an umbrella hole. It also has stainless steel reinforcement which provides the best durability and strength. Teak is the traditional choice for strong outdoor furniture for many, many years. Keep in mind, Teak naturally weathers to a grey-silver color. That’s what it’s supposed to do. So, in making this choice, envision the table as grey-silver and not what you see in the store or online. The Winchester collection has armchairs for $400 with cushions for $50 and side charis for $300 with cushions for $40. You can easily see that of the three Williams-Sonoma outdoor living furniture sets, the Winchester is the most expensive. Lastly, the Winchester umbrellas costs $600.

The most cost effective Williams-Sonoma set is the Newcastle. It features a round hardwood plank table with a dark green frame for $500. It’s got a good topcoat of oil to protect the wood and galvanized powder coated steel to protect the frame. The chairs cost $200 each and the umbrella is $300.

For an additional charge, Williams-Sonoma provides “white glove delivery” for all their outdoor living furniture sets in which they deliver the product, assemble it, and inspect it for quality.

(Reference: Williams-Sonoma)

Outdoor living furniture is great to have.  Table and chairs in your backyard are not just practical but they can also be attractive.  Ornamental pieces can enhance the atmosphere of your outdoor domain.  Still, there is a couple of issue that often gets in the way of sustaining that pleasant atmosphere.

Resilience Problems

Outdoor furniture is always more durable than indoor furniture.   Still, not all outdoor pieces are equal in their toughness and resistance to weathering.  As in most areas of life, you have to invest extra money if you want pieces that will stand the test of time outdoors.

Rain, snow, wind, and sunshine play into the equation.  Also, mildew, bugs, pets, and stains can wear your furniture down.   For durability sake, you should consider hard wood furniture such as Teak, Balau, or Ipe as opposed to softer woods such as Pine, Cedar, or wickered Palm.  Similarly, you should pick metal items like aluminum or wrought iron as opposed to cheap plastic furniture.     

Issues of Comfort

If you buy all weather resilient furniture, then often, you are now faced with how to make that furniture comfortable since it is so strong.

Cushions are the primary solution to make your outdoor experience comfortable.  However, you need to take precautions to ensure that your cushions are also resilient.  This means that they need to have reinforced stitching and well as being sealed with a water repellant coating.

Shade is another key component to be comfortable outdoors on your patio.  You will want to make sure you have umbrella or awning protection on those warmer sunny days.  A free standing portable umbrella is nice to have so that you can move it around as the sun goes across the sky during the day.

Taking care of comfort and resilience problems can really boost your desire to be outdoors at home.

There is a wide choice in the type of outdoor living furniture you can go with.  The key factors in the selection of the material are based on budget, durability, style, and comfort.   Many just cannot afford to invest a lot in their outdoor domain.  So, they usually pick plastic.  Others simply want low maintenance pieces that will last a long time.   Finally, there are the ones who want the perfect setting for their outdoor home recreation.  Let’s look more closely at the different material options available to you.

1)     Plastic – This by far is the cheapest route to go and is the most readily available.  Even local general stores carry stock of basic plastic chairs and other small pieces.   The down side is you give up durability and usually style.

2)     Wood – This is traditionally been the most common material used for outdoor furniture although plastic has really cut into the market during the last 20 years or so.  Often, wood is used to create a rustic atmosphere.   They is a wide range of the types of woods used (reference this post) and most woods used needs some form of a protective coating.

3)     Wicker/Rattan – Relative to wood is the stylish reed furniture manufactured in the wicker weave design.  Most people create a southern veranda feel to their outdoor area when choosing wicker.  The negative to wicker is that it is not very durable.

4)     Aluminum – This metal furniture is durable and economical.  It is also not a heavy material.  Aluminum, though, is prone to corrosion if not protected.  You usually sacrifice in style too.

5)     Wrought Iron – This is generally the classiest outdoor furniture material.  Wrought iron usually brings an elegance and prestige to your outdoor setting.  It’s also the most durable material of the choices.  Because of these qualities, wrought iron is expensive.   It’s also a very heavy  type of furniture.

These are your choices.  Pick the style that best suits your needs.

When it comes to wooden outdoor living furniture, there is a vast variety of woods to choose from.  There’s also a vast difference in quality between the types of woods.  If you’re getting wooden pieces, you can use the guide below to help you make the right choice for your needs.

5 star:  Teak, Balau, and Ipe

Teak has traditionally been the best choice for durable high quality outdoor furniture wood.  The problem is that teak has been over-forested due to high demand and now is on the endangered species list.  This has led to teak prices going through the roof.  Today, hybrid teak is grown on plantations but here’s the catch.  This modified teak has less resin and natural oil than the old teak and thus results in a lighter, weaker wood that is less weatherproof.

Balau is much better than teak for patio furniture.  Although not as popular, Balau is very dense with rich resins and tropical oils. Mechanically, it is about twice as strong as teak (working stresses greater than 1 ton per square inch according to the Malaysian TImber Industry Board).  Historically, Balau has been used for shipbuilding and other heavy construction.  The wood is very fine and even in texture and can weather well like teak.  What’s great too is that Balau is not on the endangered list and this has made it cheaper to buy than teak.  The foresting of Balau is managed well.  Let’s hope everyone learned the lesson the first time from over-foresting teak so that Balau doesn’t meet the same fate.

… twice the strength for less money … Go Balau if you have to choose between the two for your heavy duty furniture needs.

Ipe is the clear winner for weatherproof outdoor living furniture.  Ipe is 3 times harder and 40% heavier than teak.  Traditional it is used for decking and has been used for many famous boardwalks like in Miami Beach and Atlantic City.  Untreated Ipe can withstand termites more than 15 years.  Untreated Ipe can last outdoors for over 40 years before it starts to show wear.  It can last over 100 years if it’s treated !

Ipe is used for more than just decking.  There’s Ipe furniture out there on the market too.  The high quality of this wood, of course, comes at a high price.  Working with Ipe can really wear your tools down due to its strength.  (boo hoo)  Finally, it comes from South America and there are concerns of it being over-forested in the Amazon rainforest.  Hopefully, the powers in charge can get a handle on this to make sure Ipe is forested properly and not let it get on the endangered list.

So, Ipe gets the gold medal, Balau gets the silver, and Teak gets the bronze.

4 star:  Eucalyptus and Jarrah

Eucalyptus mainly comes from South America and has been traditionally a good wood to use.  You have to be careful though because shipments often now have quality control issues because lesser quality wood is getting mixed in. 

 Jarrah is basically Eucalyptus from Western Australia.  It has great durability and has a rich reddish brown color.

3 star:  Cedar (Red and White), Keruing, Kempas, Cypress 

Cedar – It’s great for repelling bugs but it’s a softwood and not too weatherproof.  Still, it has a rustic look to it that gives you a classic Americana feel.  If you seal it well, Cedar can be a good choice for your backyard.

Keruing – This is an evergreen with straight shallow interlocking grains. It’s comes pinkish brown to darkish brown.

Kempas – This is from Southeast Asia and is commonly used for flooring.

Cypress – This wood produces cypressene oil that naturally preserves itself so you don’t have to use harsh chemical sealants on it.  It’s has great bug and fungus resistance.  The only drawback is that Cypress is softwood and is not as durable as the top of the line woods.

2 star:  Pine, Nyatoh (Asian Pine), Lenga, Jatoba, Rubberwood

These are your economic softer woods that don’t weather as well over the long run.  Pine is very popular but remember, you get what you pay for.

1 star: Solid or Composite Hardwood

Hardwood may be okay for indoor pieces but please don’t use it outdoors.  It just won’t last.  Don’t even go there.

Here’s a great new concept for outdoor living furniture. Geitgey Amish Country Furnishings out of Dublin, OH has a new line of high density polyethylene pieces made from recycled plastics. This stuff wears well over time, is low maintenance, really comfortable, and very ‘green’. Check their video out: