We’re creating outdoor spaces with all the comforts of indoors, right down to the area rugs and chandeliers. Thank modern materials for that and, quite possibly, the high cost of housing.
“Americans are looking outdoors and saying, ¿Hey, I have a lot more room than I thought I had,'” said P. Allen Smith, a garden designer who has both a television show and a book titled “P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home.”
Creating a garden room, those homeowners reason, is a lot less expensive than adding on or pulling up stakes. With expansive choices and opportunities for customization, “you can get the same level of design detail for the exterior” as you could for the interior, he said.
Clearly, we’re past the day when unfolding a few lawn chairs on a concrete patio passed for outdoor living.
“Homeowners want the exterior spaces to reflect their style, just like their interior,” said Mary Eitel, who presented a survey on outdoor living preferences for Laneventure, a manufacturer of upscale outdoor furniture, at April’s International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C. Home decor ranked right up there with clothing as the primary ways the survey respondents expressed their personal style, and 61 percent considered it important to extend the personality of their homes to the outdoors.
Manufacturers are listening. They’re producing fashionable furniture and accessories that encourage us to take our leisure time outdoors, whether it’s to gather with friends, share a meal, read a book or catch a nap.
They’re also giving us choices. Laneventure, for example, recently partnered with Sherwin-Williams to offer a whopping 814 colors for its outdoor furniture frames, so homeowners can precisely match their patio furniture to, say, their shutters, company spokeswoman Sheryl King said.
Geared to comfort
One of the biggest trends of late has been toward modular gazebos, tentlike structures that can be erected when the weather warms or the need arises. They provide a cozy sense of enclosure in the expansive outdoors, an important consideration in creating a garden room, Smith said.
Typically a modular gazebo is constructed of a metal frame with a canopy made of a weather-resistant fabric. Many have curtains to block the sun, or either screens or netting panels to shut out insects.
These temporary shelters have trickled down to the mass market, so they’re widely available at discount stores and home centers. Home Depot, for example, carries several gazebos, including a generous 12-by-10-foot model for $399.
Comfort is also big in the outdoor-furniture business, which explains why cushioned furniture is making a comeback, said Susan Dovel, patio manager for B&G Fireplace and Patio in Jackson Township, Mo.
Technology has helped in that regard: Advanced filling materials and better cushion design allow seat cushions to dry faster, and acrylic outdoor fabrics and trims have been refined to the point where they can be as soft and lavish as their indoor counterparts. Customers have been known to run their hands over the chenille cushions on display in the B&G showroom and say, “You mean I can have that?” Dovel said.
High-tech materials
Yet those to-die-for fabrics are really diehards, able to stand up to sun, rain and cleaning products. Case in point: Allen and his staff once submerged samples of Sunbrella outdoor fabric and a standard cotton-acrylic blend in containers of undiluted chlorine bleach for three months. The blend dissolved, he said. The Sunbrella didn’t change.
As a result of those advances, furniture forms that mimic indoor styles are becoming increasingly popular. Instead of the traditional table-umbrella-chair sets, many consumers are opting for a cushioned love seat and a couple of deep armchairs cozied up to a coffee table, just like they might have in the family room.
Outdoor wicker remains one of the favorite styles for cushioned seating, Dovel said, particularly in the Midwest, where tastes lean toward the traditional.
Most outdoor wicker is woven from resin strands on aluminum frames, although one top manufacturer, Lloyd/Flanders, uses a twisted fiber made from Kraft Paper that’s protected by a weather-resistant coating. That process creates a wicker that’s close in appearance and feel to traditional rattan.
However, wicker is hardly the only choice. Cushioned furniture comes in a range of frame styles, from sleek stainless steel to elegant carved teak.
Still, even the most advanced cushions can’t dry as quickly as sling chairs, which are chairs made of a polyester-based fabric stretched taut over a metal frame with just enough give for comfort. That’s why sling furniture is the biggest seller at The Great Escape, a new leisure furniture store in Jackson Township, Mo., owner Michael Cortina said.
Going to new heights
Better manufacturers are paying attention to ergonomics, Cortina said, building in features such as lumbar supports to make sling chairs more comfortable than ever.
Those chairs, whether sling or cushioned, aren’t necessarily being drawn up to a traditional patio table designed for dining. The trend now is toward conversation or chat sets, chairs grouped around a lower, cocktail-height table just right for holding drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Some of those tables have depressions in the center designed for building small fires. They’re a big selling feature for midpriced patio sets this year, but Cortina said his store hasn’t sold many. Dovel said she fears the lower-quality steel from which some are made will deteriorate quickly.
Counter-height “gathering tables” are another option that’s moving outdoors. Those higher tables and chairs allow people who are seated to interact at eye level with others who are standing, an ideal setup for entertaining, said Bob Ryan, a sales representative for upscale outdoor furniture maker Brown Jordan. The higher chairs are also easier to get in and out of, he noted, which make them a good choice for less agile buyers.
Patio table shift
The look of patio tables is changing, too. Glass table tops are falling out of favor, replaced by materials including plastic laminate, all-weather wicker and resin fashioned to mimic such substances as hand-cut stone, tile and slate. A tabletop from Winston, a division of Brown Jordan, is made of granite set into resin to allow for expansion and contraction without cracking, Dovel said.
Perhaps the features that are really making outdoor furnishings feel homelike, however, are the accessories. Throw pillows, lamps and area rugs made for outdoor use are almost indistinguishable from indoor types, particularly at higher price levels.
Even at the mass merchandisers, you can find accessories that allow you to put your own stamp on your garden room. Target, for example, sells an outdoor chandelier for $129.99 that adds an unexpected touch of elegance over a table or seating group. Home Depot has outdoor throw pillows in a variety of patterns and colors, from tropical stripes to classic florals. Outdoor area rugs are widely available, although the less expensive choices tend not to match the softness of pricier options.
They all add up to outdoor spaces that are as welcoming and comfortable as the rooms inside our homes, rooms we want to stay in, at least while summer lasts.
How outdoor furniture fares
All outdoor furniture looks good in the store, but how good it looks after a year on your deck depends on what it’s made of and how it’s made.
Here’s some guidance on what to look for and what you can expect to find at various quality levels.
Low-priced
n What to expect: In the lowest price ranges (say, $300 or less for a five-piece table-and-chairs set), it’s hard to find pieces that can stand up to the harsh outdoors for long. Steel frames are typical, but you’ll need to touch up scratches and dings with paint periodically to prevent rust. Inexpensive molded plastic furniture continues to be a popular low-cost choice, and it’s now available in Adirondack chairs, Asian-inspired designs and other styles that are a bit more fashionable than the traditional white stacking chair.
n What to look for: Tags on inexpensive furniture don’t always specify exactly what materials it’s made of, so ask for specifics. Go with aluminum frames if you can find them, because they won’t rust the way steel will, but make sure the frames are sturdy. Ask about warranties, but don’t be surprised if there are none for the cheaper stuff. Wood furniture in this price range usually isn’t made of teak, redwood or other types of wood that can withstand the elements, so it’s probably not the best choice for exposed areas. Plastic furniture may be the best choice among lower-end furniture for its durability. Expect to replace other types of low-priced furniture every few years.
n Where to find it: Wal-Mart for inexpensive sets; import stores for some individual pieces; and home centers, discount stores and even drugstores and grocery stores for plastic furniture.
Mid-range
n What to expect: You’ll find more options and stylish choices than ever in this price range. The old reliable table-chair-umbrella sets are sharing space on the sales floor with bars, fire bowls and groupings of love seats, armchairs and coffee tables. Many of the retailers offer coordinating accents such as pillows and rugs, so you can customize your look to a degree. This kind of furniture is often imported and is rarely available from one year to the next, so getting replacement parts or matching pieces will probably be difficult.
n What to look for: Rust-free aluminum frames. Outdoor wicker made of resin. If you’re buying wood, look for durable, weather-resistant types such as teak, ipe, cedar, balau and pressure-treated pine, although the better quality woods are typically found at higher prices. Try to find welded joints or fasteners that are weather resistant, so they don’t weaken or leave rust streaks on your furniture. Check the warranty, and ask whether it guarantees you a new piece of furniture that’s identical to the old one, or just the replacement cost. Find out whether parts that typically wear out, such as vinyl straps or fabric slings, can be replaced and how hard it is to do.
n Where to find it: Discount stores such as Target and Kmart; home centers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s; import stores such as Pier 1 and World Market; and leisure-furniture shops such as Litehouse, The Great Escape and Patio Enclosures. (Look under Furniture-Outdoor in the Yellow Pages.)
High-end
n What to expect: Sturdy furniture that will last for decades, and elegant details such as carved teak and artfully designed frames. You’ll also have plenty of choices: Usually buyers in this price range are given options in frame styles, frame colors, fabric patterns and other features, and if you can’t find what you want in the store, a higher-end retailer can usually order it for you. Better domestic manufacturers typically keep a style around for a number of years and stock parts, so if something goes wrong, you can have the piece repaired or replaced.
n What to look for: Knowledgeable salespeople. They can tell you the pros and cons of the many types of furniture available, explain their construction and help you find the right match for your needs. Look for powder coating on aluminum for a tougher finish, and interior reinforcements of extruded aluminum chair arms and other parts.
n Where to find it: Leisure-furniture shops and some furniture stores. If you’re willing to take what you can get when the price is right, check off-price retailers. We recently spotted several pieces of high-end Lloyd/Flanders at a discount at a HomeGoods store.
