Furniture shopping is fun, but it can also be overwhelming. The abundance of colors, designs, styles and sets can make it confusing to choose which furniture will work best for you and your family, or for your business.

In 2019, Americans spent $114.5 billion on furniture and bedding, according to Statista. How much of that was spent on replacing low-quality sets or furniture that wasn’t the right fit?

Before you shop for furniture, know what to look for to make your outdoor furniture purchase last. Outdoor furniture helps create relaxing and social spaces. It enables you to dine, lounge, congregate, read, enjoy the pool view – whatever you want to do. But when you’re constantly having to replace worn-down pieces due to elements like weather or poor design, that puts a damper on the mood.

Another consideration you might be interested in when shopping for all season patio furniture is sustainability. According to a 2020 report by Barron’s, nearly 70% of consumers in the United States and Canada value brands that are eco-friendly or sustainable. Shoppers like yourself are interested in decreasing their environmental footprint by endorsing and purchasing products with local or US origin made with recycled content. 

If you’re in the market for outdoor furniture, use these tips so you know what to look for. Consider outdoor furniture that will be impervious to whatever type of environment it’s in, that you and your guests will see as stylish, and that’s sustainably produced and or made from recycled materials to lessen the burden on the planet.

Why Is All Season Patio Furniture Important?

There are rarely constants when it comes to climate. Everywhere in the U.S. is subject to changes in weather, moisture, sunshine, dust, you name it. When you shop for outdoor patio furniture, you’re likely to find a mile-long list of cleaning and maintenance instructions or no instructions whatsoever. Isn’t outdoor furniture supposed to bring you joy and relaxation, not stress and hassle?

The wrong outdoor furniture can result in rot, mold or mildew. That’s gross, whether you’re at home or you're trying to keep customers happy at your business. Unsightly rust or fading can quickly make new furniture seem outdated and unappealing.

What about furniture that breaks easily, or even worse, blows away? Flimsy furniture that’s designed and crafted poorly can result in broken seats and furniture that needs to be replaced. When you have to get rid of outdoor furniture that doesn’t work, if it’s not recyclable, that adds to environmental waste.

When you’re shopping for furniture, keep the following elements in mind to find your perfect match.

• Seasonal climate considerations: What kind of weather will your outdoor environment experience throughout the year? Of course, water and snow will impact furniture, but so will elements like sunshine, salty air, aridity and dust storms.

• Location considerations: Where will your furniture be located? What kind of use is it going to endure? For furniture at a beach house near the sea, you’ll need to think about how salt water can affect it. For furniture that’s at a snowy ski resort with hundreds of guests using it every day, it will need to be highly durable.

• Functional considerations: What kind of guests will be using your outdoor furniture? Are young kids going to be jumping on it after they’ve had a dip in the pool? Will it be used for diners at a restaurant?

• Maintenance considerations: Cheap or low-quality furniture will typically require more maintenance compared to high-quality furniture made from durable materials. As you shop, you’ll want to realistically consider how much time you have to devote to maintaining, cleaning and storing outdoor patio furniture. If you want to save time and energy, outdoor patio furniture that requires less maintenance will be a better choice.

• Sustainability considerations: Finally, you might be interested in the sustainability of the materials used in the furniture. If you care about how your purchases impact the planet, you’ll want to choose eco-friendly outdoor patio furniture.

If you’re like most people, you don’t like wasting money. Furniture is a significant investment for many families and business owners. You’ll want to choose furniture that lasts, is beautiful, always in style, comfortable and sustainable in order that you can enjoy your outdoor patio furniture over a lifetime.

Save costs, time and hassle in replacing poorly constructed furniture. Purchase all season patio furniture that checks all the boxes.

All Season Patio Furniture Considerations

Sun, dryness, wind, rain, hurricanes, snowstorms and freezing icy conditions can all affect your outdoor furniture. Here’s how seasonal elements can make an impact.

• Rain: Water can cause furniture like metal and aluminum to rust. It can seep into porous materials like wood and cause rotting or expansion. It can also make furniture and cushions moldy or mildew-covered.

• Snow: Snow impacts furniture similarly to water. It also adds significant weight to furniture, which can cause brittle or flimsy furniture like cheap plastic furniture to crack, warp or break. If you forgot to move the cushions off of your woven resin, wicker, or metal/aluminum furniture, they’ll get soaked and will be prone to mold and mildew.

• Sun and heat: Sunshine can cause fading for furniture like wood and for cushions covering metal, aluminum and wicker pieces. It can also make metal furniture scalding to the touch. Heat can also cause cheap plastic furniture to warp and fade.

• Wind: Wind can whip around lightweight furniture, including a variety of plastic or aluminum furniture. For businesses, flying furniture can injure customers and increase liability. At home, outdoor furniture that moves around can damage your house or things like flower planters and window siding.

• Ice: Freezing conditions can cause moisture to freeze inside the frame of patio furniture like wicker, causing the frame to crack and break your furniture. Ice can expand and contract furniture, leaving its shape warped and damaged. Freezing weather can also lead to mold and mildew.

• Aridity: Really dry conditions can also damage furniture. For example, dryness can cause wood furniture to split or crack, which is difficult to repair.

• Dust storms: Dust storms are dirty. Ever hear of a haboob? It’s when a curtain of desert sand envelops everything in its path. That results in dirty cushions and particles that can scratch and damage furniture.

If you’re using outdoor patio furniture in a place that experiences a variety of weather, you’ll want to choose a type that can withstand all the diverse elements, clean easily, so you can cut down on maintenance and save on repair or replacement costs. After all, outdoor furniture is an investment that should deliver long-lasting value. Make sure you read the manufacturer’s warranty to ensure it reinforces the product marketing claims with durability and value.

Location Considerations

In addition to weather, where you position your furniture will also affect it. Furniture that’s used near beaches, ski resorts, pools, fire pits and other type of external elements will need to be durable for those conditions.

If you're shopping for lounge chairs that will sit by a pool, they’re going to get wet often. If the furniture is going to be on an uncovered patio at a restaurant in the desert, you’ll want pieces that won’t burn your guests. Salt water can cause significant corrosion to furniture frames or hardware. Think about elements beyond weather that may impact your outdoor furniture.

Functional Considerations

You’ll also want to consider how you’ll be using your furniture. If you plan on covering it most of the year and only using it for special occasions, that may influence your decision on what type of investment to make. If hundreds of people will be using the furniture every day, you’ll want to make sure it's properly crafted to withstand weight and wear from each use.

Maintenance Considerations

If you use your furniture often, it will be exposed to more potential wear and tear – which means more maintenance for you. If your time, money and resources matter, you’ll want furniture that stays in great condition with less maintenance.

Sustainability Considerations

Sustainability is more than just the materials that make up the furniture. It’s a consideration from the sourcing of materials, to production, to end of life use of the furniture piece.

You may be interested in purchasing from a company where sustainability touches every part of the mission, from the marketing materials the company uses, to the environmental footprint of sourcing materials. That's Breezesta!

Also, be aware that not all recyclable furniture comes from recycled materials. Plastic furniture that’s made with virgin plastic may or may not be recyclable, but it doesn’t come from recycled materials.

Also, some recycled-content furniture may have a significant carbon footprint due to where the recycled content or other materials were sourced - the further away, the larger the carbon footprint. You may want to research the sustainability missions of furniture companies you’re considering before purchasing. Since practically every house and many businesses have or need outdoor furniture, what you choose can have a significant impact on the environment.

What Type of Outdoor Furniture Works for All Seasons, Climates & Locations?

Outdoor furniture is made from all different types of materials. You’ll likely encounter a variety as you're shopping and comparing options. Before you shop, know the pros and cons of common furniture types like these.

Wicker

Wicker furniture consists of natural materials, like cane or rattan. The material is woven over a metal frame for shape and sturdiness.

Whether it’s natural or man-made, wicker can be eaten by animals when it’s left outside. Even scarier, spiders can nest inside it, posing a threat to your family, guests, or patrons.

Wicker can also easily blow away because the furniture is typically light. If the wicker hasn’t been treated for outdoor use, it’s also easily damaged by snow and rain and can break down.

If you use wicker outdoor furniture, you’ll need to store it during weather like rain or snow. You’ll also have to apply a finish or sealant to protect it from the elements, which will require more maintenance.

Aluminum or Other Metal Furniture

Aluminum furniture is often very light and can blow over and dent. Also, the paint on this type of furniture easily chips. Aluminum and other metal furniture such as iron can also become rusty depending on the elements it’s exposed to, like rain and ocean salt water.

You’ll have to work to maintain metal and aluminum furniture by applying a wax to it so it doesn’t rust. If it does rust, you’ll have to scrub away the rust and apply a finish or paint to repair it.

This type of furniture typically isn’t a good idea to use in warm climates.  Metal in hot, summer temperatures can burn your skin. Whether in a residential or business setting, scalding furniture should be avoided.

Also, since aluminum and other metal furniture may shift or entirely get moved around in wind, storms and hurricanes, it could pose a hazard to your family, home, belongings and/or guests.

For both wicker and metal furniture, you’ll typically need cushions to make it comfortable. That means you’ll need to properly store those cushions so they don’t fade, get damaged by rain or snow, get stained, grow mildew or get dirty during dust storms and hurricanes. You’ll also need to clean them regularly so they stay in top condition.

Wood Furniture

Teak and other wood furniture fades and will need a significant amount of maintenance. Many types of wood furniture also rot, chip and peel. Water and snow can easily damage wood furniture. It’s also prone to getting infested by insect pests.

To maintain wood furniture, you’ll have to regularly stain it using a protector or oil. Otherwise, sunshine and elements can cause it to fade over time.

If sustainability is important to you, you’ll want to consider that wood furniture requires cutting down trees, which sometimes results in deforestation. Wood is natural, but when it has been varnished, it’s not recyclable. Old wood furniture may end up filling a landfill when it’s disposed of.

Cheap Plastic Furniture

Cheap plastic furniture is just that - cheap. It won’t cost as much as other types of outdoor furniture, it won’t look as nice if you’re interested in style, and it will not endure the seasons. If the cheap plastic furniture you get is made from virgin plastic, that means fossil fuels were burned to create the plastic. Cheap plastic furniture may not be sustainable.

Cheap plastic furniture is typically going to crack and become wobbly with use. It’s normal to have to replace it at least annually if you want furniture that works and looks good.

Also, cheap plastic furniture is lightweight. It might blow away or get destroyed in storms and hurricanes.

HDPE Plastic Furniture

HDPE an abbreviation for High Density Polyethylene plastic furniture is made from either virgin (new) plastic or recycled plastic.  HDPE is often referred to as “poly” for short and easy reference.  It is sometimes recyclable if the hardware is removed, which makes it the most sustainable option for all season patio furniture.

Focusing on the eco-friendly recycled type, HDPE recycled plastic comes from no. 2 plastic, such as gallon-size milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles. When consumers recycle these bottles with their trash, they’re sold to recycling facilities. Breezesta’s recycling facility, Trigon Plastics, cleans and melt the bottles down in a proprietary process that ultimately forms plastic material with a wood-like texture called poly wood.

The poly wood can then be crafted into, among other things, outdoor patio furniture. HDPE plastic has an incredible strength-to-density ratio. It’s non-porous, meaning it’s not susceptible to absorbing moisture, expanding or growing mold, thus making it ideal for outdoor furniture!

HDPE can be mixed with colorant, creating any color. If UV additives are used in the HDPE poly mixture, it will be fade-resistant, looking like new for many years.

HDPE plastic outdoor furniture can be designed not just for durability but also comfort. There are plenty of low maintenance, cushionless styles to choose from, so you don’t have to worry about buying, cleaning and storing cushions.

It’s truly all season outdoor patio furniture. You can leave it outside from winter to summer. It’s very heavy compared to other types of furniture, so the risk of blowing away even in a hurricane is greatly reduced.

From pool lounge chairs, to beach house swings, to dining tables for large parties, recycled HDPE plastic outdoor furniture is a sustainable, stylish solution that’s built to last. It comes in a multitude of colors and can be even customized with 2-tone color options.

Breezesta: The Best of All Worlds – Sustainable, Durable, Comfortable & Stylish

Breezesta all season patio furniture has everything you need: durability, strength, style and sustainability. With Breezesta furniture, life is a breeze! Maintenance is minimal. You don’t have to carry it inside to store it or worry about it being outside. For non-deep seating sets, there’s no need to purchase, clean and store extra couch cushions to make your furniture comfortable.

Breezesta furniture works for every climate, every season and every location. It’s wind-resistant and stays in pristine condition near water, snow and everything in-between. Recognizing the value that Breezesta furniture represents, we even receive requests to create HDPE plastic beds from our Caribbean customers who want a safe place to sleep after the storms ravage their homes and blow or float away their rest of their furniture.

Breezesta HDPE plastic furniture is made from recycled materials. We source recycled materials and convert them into poly lumber boards just miles away from our Breezesta furniture manufacturing plant. All Breezesta furniture is created in the U.S. and sustainability is built into our brand.

Don’t compromise on your outdoor furniture. Breezesta furniture comes with a limited lifetime guarantee, so you know every piece is high quality and offers you peace of mind and protection for your investment.

Check out our collection of premium recycled outdoor furniture or find a Breezesta retailer near you: