What makes an outdoor patio? Color schemes? Cleanliness? Design? While all of these do play a massive role in pulling everything together, the thing that makes an outdoor patio, well, easily enough is the furniture! Outdoor patio furniture is what makes lounging around in the cool summer breeze worthwhile. The furniture also makes for a great setting when food and drinks are involved as well. 

That being said, furniture is the cornerstone of any outdoor patio setting. Making sure that the right kind of furniture is selected to feature in the ensemble should be at the forefront of any future outdoor patio owner’s mind. The world and its regions have varying kinds of weather and climates. This entails that whatever setting a homeowner finds themselves furnishing their outdoor patio in, they should keep the prominent weather conditions in mind. 

This entails how the patio owner will store their furniture when the weather gets too extreme or how the patio owner will cover up their furniture if the sky is indicating high chances of precipitation. 

That being said, even preparation for extreme weather takes a second seat when looking for the right material of furniture that is built to last in everyday conditions. In some places, there is a good chance of rain a few times a week. And getting metalwork or woodwork furniture may be a bad and ill-advised decision if the proper research into the material is not conducted. 

Worry not, in this article we will be listing out a few of the strongest materials you can purchase for the outdoor patio furniture that will effectively combat deteriorating weather conditions and decrease the overall maintenance of maintaining the outdoor patio furniture you dream of attaining.

One top pick for a long-lasting outdoor patio furniture material is Wrought iron. This kind of material features the strength and sleekness of metal-style furniture types and also protects against deteriorating climates with heavy precipitation by being equipped with a layer of wax coating. This layer of wax coating serves to repel all forms of precipitation significantly decreasing its overall chances of heavily rusting, and consequently warping and bending as a result. 

While wrought iron is a great choice for a material to furnish your outdoor patio, let’s not cut out a few alternatives to materials you can use to create your ensemble. 

As the outdoor patio furniture market is extensively big, there is quite a long list of materials that have been known to be effective in creating a long-lasting outdoor living space. Whether or not iron is your preferred choice of material for your outdoor patio furniture there are other kinds of metal like steel that also provides exceptional quality protection and wooden materials that accomplish the same barrier to the elements.

Let’s get obvious out of the way really quick. Not all outdoor patio furniture materials are made equal. There are some things a patio owner should look out for when carefully making their selection, luckily enough we have compiled a few of the most important tips and tricks that will aid you in your selection.

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Wrought Iron

How is it made? Wrought iron is made from repeated molding and heating. It is one of the most durable outdoor furniture materials on the market as it is strong in its structure. If you’re looking for a non-flimsy material and hate the idea of loose, creaky sitting furniture any kind of metal should do you some good. 

Another plus for wrought iron is the ease of cleanability. When looking for any material that you want to furnish your outdoor patio with it is important to select a material that you won’t have to constantly clean. This factor alone can significantly take away from the furniture’s primary function in providing you with an easy-going outdoor living space. 

Wrought iron layered with extra coatings on top like wax and other hydrophobic ingredients will make it easy to wipe clean and greatly minimize the chances of rusting. 

Wrought iron furniture is metal furniture that is carved, molded, and styled by heating. Metals are long-lasting, durable, and most importantly, weather-resistant. They are considerably heavy and sturdy too. This type is easy to clean and maintain, which is a huge plus where outdoors are concerned.

Plastic Materials

For a definite reliable material choice, one can look to plastic to solve outdoor patio furniture needs.

The most reliable versions of plastic outdoor patio furniture include pieces made with Polyethylene and Polypropylene. These plastic furniture features great durability against harsh weather conditions be them dry and hot or cold and wet climates. 

It is recommended to note that typically speaking it will greatly depend on the type of plastic you use to furnish your outdoor patio furniture. While plastic shouldn’t be one of the first choices to pick as a furniture material since most of the plastic furniture on the market can be considered heavily cheap in build and structural integrity. 

The quality of these cheap plastics can be made transparent after a not-so-long period of sitting under the sun will begin to form cracks in the structure and even in more extreme cases begin to warp and melt under the conditions.

Cast Aluminum 

Now aluminum is a heavy hitter for strong and durable outdoor patio furniture material. Cast aluminum features properties that are strongly resistant to the sun, rust, and other deteriorating factors. 

Moreover, cast aluminum features a lightweight build that is easy to move around for the homeowners constantly looking to redecorate their designs and keep things fresh in the setting. 

Teak Wood

Wood lovers rejoice, the outdoor patio furniture market is not completely taken over by metals and even features high-end wooden materials that can give coated steel a run for its money in aesthetic and durability.

For a more organic and forestry look to the outdoor patio homeowners should look to something but the best wooden material there is featured in high-scale homes around the world, there is a reason that teak wood has the reputation it does within the market. 

There are three grades of teak wood you should look out for and only two of them will provide you with the long-lasting durability you’re looking for in your outdoor patio furniture. 

Teak wood is categorized in these grades:

• A
• B
• C

Grade A Teak wood features a natural coating of oils derived from the tree it was cut from. The specific cut of this kind of teak features the wooden material taken from the wood close to the core of the tree. These oils practically make it invulnerable to the sucky weather conditions that may be present in your area. Completely hydrophobic, and resistant to the deteriorating effects of the sun, rust isn’t even an issue, strong build makes it one of the most sturdy options available on the market.

Grade A Teak wood should be the only wood you check out first when making your patio furnishing decisions. It’s just that good. 

Grade B Teak is the second strongest form of teak wood. It is not as heavily coated with the protective oils found in grade A teak wood however still sports a formidable protection level against the elements.

Grade C Teak homeowners should avoid it whenever possible. Consider it to not even exist in the same subject as outdoor patio furniture. While it will make a great addition to an indoor furniture setting as it still does sport that wooden and classy look, it essentially has no natural protection from the elements. This kind of teak wood will most likely cause you some headaches as it can dry out relatively fast and the wear and tear from the elements will be made transparent sooner rather than later. 

Coated Steel

For the most reliable and cost-effective option on the market patio owners should look to furnish their setting with steel. Though teak features many of the same capabilities as coated steel options steel exceeds in its lightness, and longevity for the matter. 

Steel is easy to clean and provides a sleek modern look if that is what you’re going for while having practically zero effort in play to maintain. Coated steel materials are as close to a set it and forget material type as you can get when considering durable and stylish outdoor furniture materials. 

Coated steel can even be better than aluminum as in climates and regions where there are often stronger level winds, aluminum is so light that it can be picked up by these forces and tossed around like make-shift natural wrecking balls if it gets too severe. 

Coated steel on the other hand has a firm place on the ground and by the time a coated steel piece of furniture is lifted up by strong winds, the aluminum-made variants will have said hello to the entire neighborhood by this time. 

Conclusion 

Now we’re not saying that the steel furniture is too heavy to lift, we’re just saying that aluminum is that light. For a stronger metal even surpassing the durable capabilities of wrought iron steel is the optimal choice.

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