What Patio Furniture Should I Buy?

Buying patio furniture for your garden can seem like a difficult task with so many different options on offer, but once you know what to look for and what will work for your outdoor space, it’s a breeze.

When choosing patio furniture, you should consider your specific needs such as space, style, comfort, what type of furniture you want and of course your budget.

Elevating your outdoor space with the right patio furniture

Your garden is an extension of your home and you want to get as much out of it as possible.

Whether that’s cooking round your fire pit set or enjoying nature in your hanging chair, we’ve packed this guide full of useful hints and tips to help you create your perfect outdoor oasis.

How do you choose patio furniture?

When buying luxury outdoor furniture, the first thing to think about is your garden itself, think about where you will put your furniture and the space you have available.

Before shopping for outdoor furniture, we would advise you to measure your space and get the footprint measurements for where you want your furniture to go.

Beyond this, there are a few more things to consider when buying outdoor furniture such as colour, material and maintenance. We’ll go into more detail below.

How do I choose the right size patio furniture?

Whether your garden is big or small, there is patio furniture available for every outdoor space.

When you choose outdoor furniture, also think about where you want to place it. Is it to go on your patio or a raised decked area? Or maybe on your lawn?

Maybe you want a large garden corner sofa set for entertaining or a garden bistro set for an unused corner of your garden. 

Measure your outdoor space

Regardless of what you’re looking for, you need to measure your space. Take a look at your garden and decide where you want to put your furniture. Next, get the measurements, at the least we recommend getting footprint measurements.

When measuring for a dining table, it’s important to ensure that you leave enough space for chairs to be pulled out as well.

How many people are you hoping to seat?

What do you want your garden furniture to be used for? Outdoor dining? Is it throwing large gatherings or chilled family meals?

Thinking about this helps narrow down your patio furniture options as well as help you determine the size of your set - you might find you need a bigger set than you thought.

If you’re wanting to use your garden furniture for entertaining, you might want to consider gas firepit sets or large 8 seat dining sets. Whereas if you want your furniture set to be used for lounging and relaxing maybe look at garden sofa sets, outdoor hanging chairs or corner dining sets.

What colour is best for outdoor furniture? 

Colour is a personal preference but the most common choices for outdoor furniture tend to be either grey, brown or sand.

If you need help deciding, think about your garden and the colours already there. You could match your furniture to your decking or patio. For example, if you have a grey fence and tiles then you could complement that with grey patio furniture.

Accessorise your patio furniture

Choosing the right patio furniture in a neutral colour also means that you can accessorise in any colour you wish without the risk of it looking odd.

If you have existing furniture and you’re looking to add to your collection, then go for something similar to keep your garden looking consistent and stylish.

What is the easiest patio furniture to keep clean?

Garden furniture made from materials such as PE rattan, aluminium and rope are really easy to keep clean. Patio furniture is designed to stay outside regardless of the weather and the majority of garden furniture out there is low maintenance. 

Rattan and rope can be jet washed or use warm soapy water and a clean cloth. Gently clean powder coated aluminium furniture with warm soapy water and then use a soft cloth to wipe over the furniture.

Garden furniture is designed to be hard-wearing and you’ll find that most are built around a rust-resistant aluminium frame. We all want fuss-free furniture and that’s why outdoor furniture is designed to be low maintenance.

So, what garden furniture material should I choose?

There are some great choices when it comes to garden furniture material types and some of the most popular ones are rattan, wood and aluminium. 

The type of material you choose can definitely change the overall look of your outdoor furniture and your garden, so making sure it complements your space as well as meets your needs in terms of durability is vitally important.

Rattan, wood or aluminium?

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t really need all that much maintenance then look at PE rattan furniture or aluminium garden furniture. The amount of maintenance wood furniture needs is down to how you would like it to look, if you leave it, it will mellow to a stunning silver.

rattan garden furniture is low maintenance, weather resistant and specifically designed to stay outside all year round, making it a perfect choice for those that aren’t able to store garden furniture away during winter. 

The synthetic polyethylene resin weave is hand woven around a lightweight aluminium frame to create elegant and stylish furniture that replicates that of natural wicker rattan.

There are a few different weave styles available such as flat weave, half round weave, curved weave and full round weave. Premium brands tend to use a mixture to ensure maximum levels of durability.

Wooden garden furniture is a little more needy, requiring a bit of maintenance if you want to retain its original look. If you don’t treat the product, hardwood will naturally age and change to a pale silver.

Using a wood treatment every so often can improve the lifespan of your wood furniture and we would recommend doing this if you’re not too fussed about going for the aged silver look.

Hardwoods such as oak, acacia and teak have been used to create wood patio furniture for many years and this is because of how long lasting the natural material is. 

More recently, teak furniture in particular has become a much more a popular choice for patio furniture.

Teak is being used more often to create on-trend pieces of garden furniture such as outdoor coffee tables or statement dining tables due to its striking colour, circular grain and its natural oils mean it’s also water resistant.

Durability

When you buy garden furniture you want to know that it is long-lasting and weather resistant, especially as our weather is so unpredictable. Durability should always be one of the most important factors when purchasing outdoor furniture.

You can check out our blog on what kind of patio furniture is most durable for more information on the most durable materials and how to get the best out of each of them.

Brand

Not all garden furniture is created equal, so choosing a garden furniture brand with a solid reputation for quality will not only ensure you’re buying a consistently good quality product, but that you can rest assured your furniture is fully guaranteed, too.

It’s important to know that if anything should go wrong, you have peace of mind you’re fully covered for a repair or replacement by the manufacturer.

Over the years, we’ve come to learn which brands offer the best quality garden furniture as well as the highest level of customer support. For both of these reasons, the brands we and our customers favour most tends to be Bramblecrest, Maze and 4 Seasons Outdoor.

Bramblecrest is a well known premium garden furniture manufacturer and they offer a huge range of products too, creating high quality pieces from dining sets to hanging egg chairs.

Bramblecrest

Bramblecrest manufactures its furniture using durable, sustainable eco-friendly materials such as PE synthetic rattan and powder coated aluminium frames - which are not only ideal for leaving outside all year round, but can be recycled too.

Maze

Maze is a leading garden furniture manufacturer and prides itself on creating luxury garden furniture at affordable prices. Maze garden furniture has a wide range of furniture available, from traditional rattan dining sets to fullyoutdoor fabric furniture, providing something for every garden and style.

4 Seasons Outdoor

4 Seasons Outdoor is another premium outdoor furniture brand with a strong reputation. Their furniture is created to the highest standards using luxury materials such as Hularo wicker. The clue is in the name, 4 Seasons Outdoor furniture is specifically designed for every season.

Is it worth investing in outdoor furniture?

Absolutely! With adequate care, your outdoor furniture can be a well-used part of your outdoor space for many years to come, making it a very worthwhile investment. 

Your garden is an extension of your home and over recent years we’ve all found ourselves spending more time outdoors, with many choosing things like bifold doors to open up a wall to create a much more integrated living space. So, it’s only right that we want somewhere comfortable and relaxing to lounge outside, right?

With outdoor furniture available for any budget, it is entirely up to you how much you choose to spend.

With that being said, choosing high end patio furniture that's pre-assembled as opposed to flatpack patio furniture that you need to build yourself, could mean increased durability and is likely to last longer - but that does come at a price. 

If you have a lower budget the furniture you get will still be of high quality - just make sure to look out for some of the things we mentioned earlier.

Does patio furniture have to match?

Choosing matching patio furniture is entirely down to personal preference and the overall look you want to achieve.

If you want your garden to have consistency, then we would recommend choosing similar colours and materials as well as a similar style to that of your existing outdoor furniture.

If you have an ultra modern aluminium garden sofa for example, you probably won’t want to choose garden furniture with a more traditional appearance such as a high back rattan dining set to go alongside it. 

You could even choose different types of garden furniture that are all from the same range if this is something the manufacturer offers.

To mix-and-match, or not?

Matching outdoor furniture sets can definitely make a garden seem well thought out and elegant. Matching furniture also makes it easier when choosing outdoor decor and garden accessories, as you know they will look good regardless of where you put them.

However, that isn't to say mix-and-match outdoor furniture doesn't look good, you can easily match modern grey rattan furniture with anthracite or black aluminium furniture for example. If you have a larger garden, the mix-and-match effect is great for creating different “zones”, too. 

As trends and styles change we can’t always afford to update our current garden furniture. Maybe you’ve been saving for your dream set but it doesn’t match your existing furniture. As mentioned before it is entirely up to you, so if you want a change… go for it!

Patio furniture with or without cushions?

The majority of patio furniture sets out there include cushions made from outdoor fabrics as standard, but you might be wondering if you need them.

Cushions add comfort and allow you to sit outside for longer. Without cushions, you’ll just be sat on the rattan weave or aluminium frame, which is fine but not exactly comfortable as these types of outdoor furniture sets are often designed to allow for cushions.

Outdoor cushions need to be brought inside or stored during winter months, so you will need to account for this when buying your patio set, but they don’t need any maintenance really - unless you spill on them.

If you think outdoor cushions require a lot of care and maintenance that really isn’t the case.

Overall, cushions will both enhance the look and improve the comfort of your outdoor furniture set.

Finding your perfect garden furniture

Choosing the right outdoor furniture for you is all dependent on your unique needs.

Whether it's for outdoor entertaining, or you want small patio tucked away full of lounge seating, outdoor sofas and a fire pit, make sure you think about everything we’ve mentioned and you’re bound to make the right decision.

When buying patio furniture, think about what you want to get out of your outdoor space and how you want to use it.

If you’re still not sure or you’re torn between two patio furniture sets, don’t worry! We have a great team of experts available to help either in-store, via email or via chat on our website, just get in touch!

-------------------------

Further Reading:

What Kind of Patio Furniture is Most Durable?

What to do with Patio Furniture in Winter

What is PE Rattan Garden Furniture?