Holidaymakers love to spend time outdoors in the garden. As a result, holiday homes with an outdoor space can command a premium price.
Holiday home owners are redesigning their outdoors and transforming them from seasonal-only, to year-round entertaining spaces.
While considering outdoor decor, the first thing that comes to mind is what kind of furniture is best for the garden to weather all seasons. Today the markets are flooded with furniture in different styles, colors, and materials. This includes tables, chairs, seats, coffee tables, hammocks, sofas, lounges, picnic tables, or even bar stools.
Selecting the correct material for your garden furniture:
The number one consideration when you choose your furniture, is its strength and durability to withstand the range of environmental conditions like rain, wind, moisture, snow, sleet, hail, etc. Besides new environmentally-friendly options, some durable materials have been around for centuries. Some materials will be completely waterproof, some UV-protected and others substantially weighted (ideal for windy coastal locations).
However if the home owner chooses the right material, outdoor garden furniture can last as long as his indoor furniture.
Here are some of the materials that can be used as outdoor furniture:
Wrought Iron:
Wrought iron furniture has always been the first choice for outdoor furniture. A traditional material that has retained its popularity for good reason, its classic look adds instant style to even the most casual settings. Wrought iron furniture is highly versatile, stunningly attractive and extremely durable. Because it is weighty, it can withstand high winds particularly in coastal regions. Moreover modern wrought iron furniture is powder-coated so it is weather resistant and thus easy to maintain. It also provides a distinct look unmatched by any other outdoor furniture material.
However, wrought iron garden furniture is expensive. It is also heavy and cumbersome to move around. A chip in its powder coating will invite rust and other environmental damage, so regular re-painting is required to keep it rust-proof.
Aluminium:
Today’s retailers will try and convince you about to opt for aluminium outdoor furniture because it is extremely affordable, durable and attractive. Without doubt, aluminium is an extremely popular choice for garden furniture. You will notice that aluminium furniture happens to be a top pick for restaurants, bars, hotels, pools, and in short, any place with high traffic. For many, it’s a choice material for creating patio ideas inexpensively and quickly.
Aluminium outdoor furniture is usually powder-coated so it won’t rust and can be left outdoors without much maintenance. It is are also lightweight, easy to move around and store, and is available in a wide variety of styles and shapes. From a maintenance point of view, aluminium furniture is easy to maintain and cleans easily with soap and water. Moreover it is relatively inexpensive.
On the flipside, aluminium outdoor furniture will corrode easily if the powder-coating is compromised, and owing to its lightweight, it can be thrown easily in high winds.
Wood:
Many consider wood to be the ultimate choice. It’s luxurious in look and feel, and is naturally weather-resistant. Wooden garden furniture which is seasoned, naturally resists warping, splintering, rotting and expanding. In fact, if the owner chooses teakwood, the high content of silica makes it naturally resistant to fungus, mould and mildew and its high resinous oil content preserves and protects the wood, making it resistant to rain and sun.
However there are more cons to using wood. Firstly, it’s very expensive, secondly, it requires a lot of maintenance. If wooden outdoor furniture is not maintained properly (varnished or painted) it can give a very dull look to the outdoors of your holiday home.
Plastic:
The pros of plastic are many. It comes in an assortment of colors and designs giving you many choices to suit a theme or decor. It is not costly, and being lightweight, it is very portable. It is easy to clean, and can be stacked giving you more space for storage. Good plastic furniture usually weathers well, so it can be left outdoors for a longer period of time, except during winter where plastic may freeze and break. There’s also nothing like plastic when you have a tight budget. However interior decorators will tell you that although plastic garden furniture is inexpensive and practical, it’s good if you don’t intend to keep the furniture for a long time.
On the flipside, it’s not stylish, elegant or classy like wood and metal. It is cheap and often looks it, and if you place it next to any expensive decoration, chances are that plastic will dull the entire setting. Also some plastic furniture is extremely thin and easily breaks if handled carelessly. Replacing pieces over and over, might end up being more expensive than actually buying sturdy, more expensive furniture.
In conclusion, having a caretaker helps:
If you have a caretaker stationed on the premises of your holiday home, then your options of furniture used considerably widens. The caretaker can be instructed to take care of the furniture based on the seasons. For instance, if you are using non-waterproof furniture, the caretaker can keep it inside when there are no guests occupying the home. In the case of iron furniture, he can check for first signs of rusting and act accordingly.
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