Lawn Furniture?

[tessaesque]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

 

[AlabamaPaul]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Do you want to keep it out year round or store it in the winter? Are you looking for cushioned furniture?

 

[WWGWD]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

Personally, I'm a fan of the wooden seating. It's easy to clean, you can through on an all weather coating, you can paint them whenever you get board at staring at them, and you can add a cushion easily if you get sore easy. Just whatever you do, never buy wicker!! lol. We had that once, and over time, it turns into a very treacherous, porky pine of a chair. Not fun. Especially when someone has been drinking and forgets that the chair pokes you.

 

[samsmart]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

Go to Wal-mart, Lowe's, or Home Depot, check out a few chairs, see what you like and feels comfortable to you, and get it.

 

[Mach]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.
With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.
What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

In Dallas, do not buy a glass top, unless you also plan on replacing it (which may be an option, just saying). The winds here in Dallas have destroyed countless outdoor tabletops.
Heavy is nice, but also expensive and a pain to stack or move. Something vented also helps with the wind (not a solid top).

A lot of the big box sets are really nice these days (home depot, lowes, etc.), i would not invest a lot in the first set personally. For cheaper I do like the mesh seating that's popular, they are often more comfy than the exepnsive sets to be honest, they just last 5-10 years rather than a lifetime (I don't want the same furniture for life personally!).

I got a fire pit last year with some nice new furniture and it didn't blow me away compared to our old, inexpensive set. And the firepit is neat, but the wind in Dallas will blow the smoke in everyone's face, it's not as cool as it seemed in my mind

Really anything other than those wobbly plastic Walmart chairs and you'll be in a good place. Contrary to liberal-propoganda, even if wages are flat, the quality of our lives keeps on going up, even the lowly lawn furniture is getting better. Jab jab.

 

[tessaesque]

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Do you want to keep it out year round or store it in the winter? Are you looking for cushioned furniture?

Would prefer cushioned, and it would probably be outside during the winter as I have nowhere to store it.

Not sure on cost. Boyfriend's mom recently offered to pay for it, and I haven't found out what my spending limit is yet.

 

[Superfly]

Lots of nice options at Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart - I like some of Target's furniture, too. I keep telling myself that I'm going to get new furniture but I just don't. I buy more plants, or do something else with my lawn. Something else to try - try Big Lots first if you aren't sure. Their furniture is inexpensive. But if mom-in-law is paying, go to Target. They have the nicest that I've seen but it's a little pricey.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Would prefer cushioned, and it would probably be outside during the winter as I have nowhere to store it.

Not sure on cost. Boyfriend's mom recently offered to pay for it, and I haven't found out what my spending limit is yet.

Initial suggestion is something like this set. During high winds place a concrete block on the glass table top (center) with a chair cushion (or cheap door mat) under it. The chair cushions can be quickly removed and stored in a box/tub to keep them clean/dry and protected from sun fading.

Mainstays Pyros 5-Piece Patio Conversation Set, Seats 4: Patio Furniture : Walmart.com

 

[AlabamaPaul]

Would prefer cushioned, and it would probably be outside during the winter as I have nowhere to store it.

Not sure on cost. Boyfriend's mom recently offered to pay for it, and I haven't found out what my spending limit is yet.

I would go with redwood or teak if either is within the price range, as both can be left outside with minimal care required. Once you have the foundation, the cushions become the decorative accessories and can be changed seasonally or as styles change, depending on preference...

 

[Lutherf]

You mentioned a coffee table and one of the simplest things I've seen that looks absolutely fantastic is just getting a big slab of flagstone for the top and then you can use pretty much anything else for the base. I've see individual decorative concrete cylinders used as well as copper, wood and other stone used for the base and it all looks good while allowing you to tie it to your other furniture.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Found these at Lowe's too:

Shop Garden Treasures Eastmoreland 39.75-in x 64-in Steel Rectangular Patio Dining Table at Lowes.com

Shop Garden Treasures Set of 4 Eastmoreland Steel Patio Dining Chairs at Lowes.com

 

[humbolt]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

I can't tell you where to buy it, or not. Look to teak, redwood, mahogany, cypress, spanish cedar, sipo, or sapele. Any of these will hold up well with minimal care. Avoid pressure treated stuff, aluminum tube, eastern cedar, ipe....

 

[Superfly]

Also, Tess - avoid those $20 Adirondack chairs from the big box stores. They are basically just plastic and after they get cold, then hot, then cold, then hot, the plastic breaks. I had a friend sit in on of my chairs that is only 6 months old, and it cracked underneath her, and she's not that heavy. I have another one cracking as well. That's $40 down the tubes, after only 6 months.

 

[humbolt]

I have never owned lawn furniture. I have never cared for lawn furniture. I have never purchased lawn furniture.

With that said: I'm in the market for lawn furniture.

What materials/styles do you prefer? What should I avoid? FWIW, I'm not looking for a table/chair set (dining style). I'm more interested in a casual seating style with a low coffee table. And where should I NOT buy my furniture?

I neglected to mention powder coated ferrous metals, which hold up very well. I'm prejudiced toward wood by nature.

 

[ttwtt78640]

I can't tell you where to buy it, or not. Look to teak, redwood, mahogany, cypress, spanish cedar, sipo, or sapele. Any of these will hold up well with minimal care. Avoid pressure treated stuff, aluminum tube, eastern cedar, ipe....

I agree with avoiding aluminum (and soft cedar) but powder coated steel is quite durable - more so than any finish commonly applied to wood. The worst material, by far, is vinyl as it suffers from UV exposure and quickly becomes very brittle. Pressure treated wood (typically southern yellow pine) is very durable, yet must "cure" (dry out) for at least a month before it can be painted/stained/sealed. I build a lot of picnic tables and "convertable" lawn/patio benches (backs hinged to form a picnic table top as required) out of #2 pressure treated lumber (selecting mostly center cut boards).

 

[humbolt]

I agree with avoiding aluminum (and soft cedar) but powder coated steel is quite durable - more so than any finish commonly applied to wood. The worst material, by far, is vinyl as it suffers from UV exposure and quickly becomes very brittle. Pressure treated wood (typically southern yellow pine) is very durable, yet must "cure" (dry out) for at least a month before it can be painted/stained/sealed. I build a lot of picnic tables and "convertable" lawn/patio benches (backs hinged to form a picnic table top as required) out of #2 pressure treated lumber (selecting mostly center cut boards).

Yeah, I had to go back and mention the powder coated stuff. I used to build chairs and table out of pressure treated yellow pine, but I've gotten away from it in favor of other furniture, in general. It's not so much that I don't like the stuff - it's that around here I can't seem to find any treated SYP worth a damn, and I can sell my other furniture for far, far more than I could ever command in the outdoor market. It's a preference I guess, but I have tremendous fun building the higher end stuff. If I looked as hard for the treated SYP as I do for other woods, I'd probably have more luck. Sounds like you're having fun too. Building things is so satisfying.

 

[sangha]

Something like this:

but newer

 

[Mathematician]

Anything from Restoration Hardware is well made. They have some nice new outdoor series.

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