Many people these days design their home to include a beautiful and relaxing outdoor area complete with comfortable outdoor furniture so they can entertain or have family meals outdoors if they want to. If you home doesn’t have one of these areas, it is easy to renovate the home to include a deck or verandah, or add a gazebo or outdoor dining area to the backyard.
The kind of furniture you purchase for this area will differ, depending on where it is and what your dining or relaxation area consists of. Basically, whether it is weatherproof or not. A veranda or deck that includes a roof and is enclosed on at least three sides can be considered mostly weatherproof.
However, a gazebo with a roof but no walls is not weather proof because the wind will blow rain straight in. Even if there are one or two walls and a roof it is still not exactly weatherproof from any but the lightest shower and that only when there is no wind.
This is important, because the kind of furniture you need for each will be different. Wicker furniture cannot withstand outdoor weather to any great extent. It will quickly rot if left outside to get wet all the time. But it is fine for the veranda or deck – or anywhere that is sheltered from the rain and has at least some shelter from the sun.
You have to remember that even on the veranda, having that one side open lets in all the dust in the atmosphere, moisture and dampness, especially in winter when there are fogs and mist. Wind blows leaves, pollen, smog, smoke and anything else from the air in onto the furniture. This means it will get much dirtier than furniture that is inside. It will also be likely to get bugs or rodents in or on it.
This means it must be of simple design so it is easy to clean. Anything with multiple crevices that are hard to get a brush into will the hard to clean – and attractive to dust and spiders, not to mention other bugs that like to hide.
Outdoor furniture must be able to withstand rain, sun, wind and frost – or even snow, if you live in an area where snow is likely. If you live on the coast, it must also withstand salt laden wind. Salt will cause metal to rust and is likely to play a part in bleaching the colour out if it is not colourfast.
So if you don’t want to be disappointed with the results, it is a good idea to take due consideration to what the curtain material, cushions and sofa in your new gazebo or outdoor area will stand up to, not to mention that little side table or carpet.
