Outdoor patio furniture can come in many styles and arrangements. The best outdoor furniture materials are the ones that are weather resistant, sturdy and good looking. Common outdoor patio furniture materials include:

• Cast aluminum patio furniture
• Wicker patio furniture
• Wrought iron patio furniture
• Teak patio furniture

Outdoor Patio Dining Furniture

Outdoor Dining Furniture sets typically include a patio dining table, a set of 4 patio chairs and a patio umbrella. Other patio sets can include a love seat and chairs with matching side tables. Outdoor patio bar furniture can also liven up and outdoor space. If you are just getting started with your outdoor patio furniture a single patio bench is a good piece to begin with. Place just right in the yard or patio it can become quite the back yard destination place.

My favorite piece of outdoor patio furniture is my hammock and hammock stand. They are perfect for spending a little time in the shade on a lazy summer day.

Don’t forget outdoor patio cushions to add some of your personal style to your outdoor living space. There are lots of choices when it comes to patio cushions so don’t be shy.

Outdoor patio furniture covers are a good idea to have if you live in a climate where the weather changes often or if you don’t have covered storage for your outdoor patio furniture in the off season.

Wood is a great natural choice for your patio furniture. Teak and cedar are both weather, rot and insect resistant so they are the most common wood materials used in outdoor furniture. Teak is the more exotic of the two and is often significantly more expensive. Both teak and cedar can be treated with sealers to maintain their original fresh cut wood colors or allowed to age naturally to lighter coloring. Cypress is another wood that has all the right characteristics for outdoor furniture but it isn’t as common as teak or cedar.

Wicker is a common material and it was originally made from natural plant material such as reeds or willow switches. Plastic fibers are also a common material used for outdoor wicker furniture. Wicker is light and sturdy and this allows for it to be easily moved. Cushions often come with the wicker furniture to provide added comfort. Wicker is most often left a natural brown color or white but it can be spray painted to match any color choice.

Aluminum is an interesting choice for a furniture material because manufactures use is for both high end pieces and less expensive ones. The higher quality furniture items are made from cast aluminum and they are very durable, light weight and can be painted any color. The thickness can be any size so they can be very solid pieces. Thin walled aluminum tubing is used on the other end of the spectrum. It is very light weight and it can be used to make foldable chairs for easy storage and portability. The down side to aluminum tubing is that it can be easy to bend the tubing rendering the piece scrap aluminum ready for recycling.

Plastic resin is another material that is used primarily for the low cost end of the market. This material is easy to clean, it is light weight and plastic resin chairs and side tables are often designed to be stackable for easy storage. The negatives of plastic is that it is often made with minimal amounts of material so the pieces aren’t very sturdy and if they take a heavy blow they can bend and end up in the scrap pile in a hurry.

Wrought iron patio furniture is a classic choice and it is a very durably material. Wrought Iron is a general descriptive term that originally referred to the type of low carbon iron that was created prior to steel making. Wrought iron is a fibrous material that has a little bit of a wood grain texture on its surface. Items that are referred to as wrought iron today are most often made of mild steel. Wrought iron patio furniture is strong and durable and takes on color through paint or powder coating. Wrought iron patio furniture is often matched with glass table tops that create an intriguing contrasting look.

With all of the different types of outdoor patio furniture materials there is sure to be an option that will meet your style and budget goals. Once you have a general idea of the type of outdoor patio furniture you are interested in, starting thinking about other additions and add-ons and how well they will match your material choice. The more durable materials choices should last you for many years of outdoor lining enjoyment.

Wicker is very tough and is therefore ideal for patio furniture when combined with the right materials. Most outdoor wicker furniture is made with heavy gauge aluminum which is shaped to the desired design and then powder coated, a style known as Synthetic Wicker Furniture or Resin Wicker Furniture. Aluminium frames should always be preferred as natural rattan is absorbent and steel can rust.

Wicker patio furniture can often be some of the most beautiful and decorative. It is also more practical to move around as it is often lighter than wooden furniture. When you sit on a wicker-style chair you can feel the quality and see the care and labor that has gone into the weaving process.

Choosing wicker furniture will be dependent on your own personal preferences and how it weights up in price against teak wood furniture or iron products. Wicker furniture may be best for patios where there is cover as cushions will get soaked if it rains.

We have wicker furniture at home in our back yard. It stays outdoors but there is a roof overhead to protect it from the rain. It works well when we have guests over as they can enjoy the fresh air outside on the wicker furniture or move to an inside entertainment room, which is also used to house the food on special occasions.

Wicker furniture can also be used indoors and provides an old school type of feel for a room. It may not be the material of choice for young home owners, but it’s certainly worth looking at for your outside patio. Of course, it just depends what you think looks good and what doesn’t.

You can also find wicker desks, television stands, wash baskets, trunks, beds and coffee tables sp the options are endless. It’s just a matter of personal preference. Remember, wicker furniture is strong, sturdy and dependable. You won’t go wrong having it on your outside patio, even if it does rain (provided you remove any cushions), or inside your home for more practical purposes.

Wrought iron is malleable, ductile and easily welded so it is an ideal material to use to make patio furniture. The iron is heavy so it can be a deciding factor if you are buying a patio furniture for a windy area. Because it won’t move easily in the wind, it is ideal to buy decorative furniture made from wrought iron.

When deciding on what to buy for your new entertainment area or patio, remember that it is important to keep the surroundings in mind. Nobody likes to see a furniture set in a location where it stands out like a sore thumb. Pay attention to space, shape, size and color so that you don’t regret it afterwords. And also consider the comfort if it will be used for dining or relaxing.

Your patio or front garden is probably the best place to house wrought iron furniture. This is of course if you don’t really plan to use it as a dining area. The types of products manufactured from iron lend themselves more to being for show rather than function.

The most common wrought iron furniture you will see on somebody’s patio is probably one table and two to four chairs. It serves well as a center piece in a tiled outdoor area with a garden perimeter.

One of the best uses I’ve seen for iron furniture is as a wine rack or magazine rack. Because of the heavy weight, the material is best used for objects that are not going to be moving around a lot or which are expected to stay still and sturdy.

Plant holders and plant stands are other great examples where wrought iron is best served for patio furniture. Some bigger plants need a stable and dependable base to keep them in place. Umbrella holders, blanket racks, towel racks and CD racks are all other indoor scenarios where wrought iron products are a good option.

Keep in mind that wrought iron furniture is often recycled materials and you will be doing good for the environment by purchasing goods made from these materials.