What Should I do with my Patio Furniture?

When you are looking for outdoor furniture, it helps to know what materials are going to withstand the elements and last through the years for you and your family. Patio furniture is manufactured in any material you could imagine, but that doesn’t mean it will be able to hold up to all the changes the weather brings. It is important when shopping for outdoor furniture to consider both durability and price. You don’t want to go out to your back porch to sit in your favorite rocking chair and think to yourself, “I just bought this chair last year and it’s already starting to look worn down.”

Well, with a small amount of care and effort, you can stay away from these problems and make your outdoor patio furniture last for years. An excellent choice for building materials is cedar. Cedar furniture is resistant to decay from bugs and weather. It is naturally resistant so it can be stained, painted, or left how it is. If it is left unfinished the cedar wood will turn a silvery grey color with a smooth surface. Unfinished cedar wood furniture is porous and can get stained if it is left outside and is exposed to a lot of moisture and rain. If it happens to get a stain it can be refinished to a smooth surface again even after years of neglect.

One possibility for the outdoor patio owner is to paint the furniture. Painting furniture has an unlimited amount of possibilites when you consider design and color. People have painted their patio furniture any way you could possibly imagine, often with elaborate designs or patterns. Painting will cover the natural grain and texture of the cedar furniture. This can give your patio a more modern look and will take away that rustic feel. Staining your furniture is another idea. When you stain a piece of furniture, you allow color and a protectorant to be applied without sealing in the wood, which causes cracking and peeling. It’s great for garden furniture that has an uneven surface or knots in the wood because the stain will highlight it and bring out all it’s natural beauty.