Outdoor furniture: What works best and where?

Appealing outdoor space can turn an ordinary home into an extraordinary entertainer.

Whether your backyard is a concrete shoebox or a leafy expanse, the right furniture can create an inviting space where people want to linger.  Here are five tips on the practicalities of planning your backyard setting:

 1) Weather

The climate you live in will determine what you can and can’t get away with.

Salt air and wind-blown sand can accelerate degradation in some materials. If you live on the coast, rust-proof options are a must - even under cover.

Direct sunlight can fade and degrade, and make some surfaces piping hot.  If your chairs sit out under the baking Aussie sun, look for products with a high level of UV stabilisation and minimum heat absorption and susceptibility to aging.

Rain, snow and damp can all cause outdoor furniture to decay, so consider how your material reacts to moisture. If getting wet is on the cards, cushions should be waterproof and seating with perforations is preferable - it allows water and wind to flow, so speeding up drying.

 2) Wear

How you live is a factor: Will you wheel out the fancy furniture for display purposes only, or put it through real world punishment from sunscreen, foodstuffs, kids and pets?

Timbers and metals such as aluminium are old favourites when it comes to outdoor style, but they require ongoing maintenance (cleaning and oiling, etc) to ensure longevity.

Steel-framed and wicker furniture are the commercial experts’ least recommended products as they tend to rust and unravel with sustained use.

UV stabilised polypropylene provides excellent longevity and, while not as beautiful as some of its rivals, will not rust, fray or fade .

 3) Space

 What you want to use your outdoor space for, and how people move through it, is fundamental to deciding what settings work best.

Don’t overcrowd a small space - café-style table and chairs can look gorgeously chic and maximise use of a compact area without dominating it. Compact armless chairs which tuck easily into tables are also good for smaller spots.

In an expansive cabana-style setting, on the other hand, generous plump-cushioned lounge settings will better enhance the ambience.

 4) Cushions

These are the easiest way to transform a space without taking out a second mortgage.

Look for waterproof foam engineered specifically for outdoor applications which enables the cushion to dry quickly.

Cover-wise, acrylic canvas fabrics made from dyed fibres last longer in the sun than polyesters, which merely have patterns printed on the surface.

Ensure covers are machine washable and guaranteed mould proof: Mould and mildew will enjoy luxuriating on your lovely outdoor cushions as much as you do.

 5) Shade

Need a cover for your outside oasis but don’t want to build one?

Experts recommend umbrella shades with a centre post rather than cantilever models because physics dictates that the centre post provides a much stronger structure with the load shared.

Quality really counts here.  Weather-resistant materials, a solid structure and minimal moving parts like winders and tilt mechanisms (components most likely to fail) will ensure you’re sitting pretty in your dreamy outdoor oasis.