Best Materials For Patio Furniture

There are a variety of excellent materials from which to choose: Wicker, Log (twig, willow), Wood, Rattan, Bamboo, Metal, and Plastic.

Wicker
Wicker is one of the most charming of materials. After all, it is nothing but elaborate basketwork and long ago was favored by the poor because it was essentially free. If you happened to live near a river where willows grew like weeds, and you knew what you were doing, you could weave your own baskets, chairs, trays, shelves, headboards, fences, pony carts, even use weaving techniques in house building! Alas, few people know how to weave their own furniture anymore. And it sure isn’t cheap these days! Woven furniture is made out of a lot of different materials now, too. Plastic-coated wire is used in patio pieces that are practically indestructible, and for use outdoors is probably a better bet than willow. The real stuff is made of split willow that has had the bark removed. Old pieces can be fragile, so be careful with it. A genuine piece, old or new, should be used in an area protected from the weather, like a covered porch, a sunroom, a bedroom, even a casual living area.

Log (twig, willow)
Equal in charm to wicker, twig furniture has made a come-back too. It also had a stigma of poverty until wealthy people started using it in their rustic (but luxurious) vacation ‘lodges’. Most often made of whole green willow or some other very flexible twigs and boughs, it has the bark left on.

Wood
Wood furniture has an extremely wide quality range from the cheapest pine to the priciest of rare exotic woods. Our forests are in such a state of depletion that it behooves us to explore more quickly renewable sources of materials for new furniture. Trees take a long time to grow and are vital to the health of our little planet. The dear things make oxygen for us. We can’t do that ourselves but we do need the stuff pretty much every day. If you want to buy wood, first look around to see what you can get used. A lot of older furniture is made of better quality wood, and is better made in general, than much new furniture. The beauty part is that it’s usually cheaper, too!

Rattan
Real rattan is made of a jungle vine. It’s a good choice for an informal lifestyle. It’s light and quite strong. It’s also very versatile; you don’t have to use ceiling fans and jungle prints if you don’t want to.

Bamboo
Bamboo is rapidly becoming a material of interest for much more than furniture. It is one of the most versatile of traditional building materials and, as with so many other things, we are beginning to recognize the value of the old ways. It has been traditionally used for everything from building beams, gutters, fences, scaffolding, to flooring, furniture, and basketwork. Bamboo is one of the earth’s real treasures, and is now enjoying a new appreciation.

Metal
If you go in for very modern furniture, you may want a chrome-frame couch or bedstead. There are retro-style outdoor chairs, too. Or you might prefer a little metal mesh-top bistro set. This is just as cute in a little kitchen as on a balcony. It’s your home, if you want to use patio furniture indoors, do it.

Plastic
Petroleum products tend to smell like………petroleum products. Molded plastic chairs are so cheap, for now, that they are great for people on the teensiest budgets. But they do smell when they’re new. If you can smell it, it’s gassing out and you are inhaling that petroleum. Put it outdoors until it doesn’t smell anymore if you plan to use it in the house. If all you need is a place to sit down and all you can afford is a plastic chair—go for it. Of course, there is plastic and there is plastic. There were novelty acrylic chairs way back when, but they weren’t really designed to be sat in. They weren’t cheap, either.

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