If you are looking at buying outdoor furniture in Australia, you need to find furniture made out of materials that can last long enough in the harsh, hot Australian environment. A couple of factors to consider is whether you want to store them in winter, how much space you have to set up your furniture and what function you want the outdoor furniture to fulfil. You can buy furniture in all kinds of materials and designs, some of which are more durable than others.

Outdoor Dining

The most common form of outdoor furniture is an outdoor dining set. In an area with limited space, many people prefer the option to dine outdoors, to entertain more guests and the extended family, whether it is a Christmas BBQ or a family reunion. Outdoor dining sets come in many shapes and sizes, from the simple square or circle wooden table with folding chairs to the long rectangular steel and wood tables with comfortable benches, armchairs, and padded seats.

Outdoor Living Seats

Outdoor living sets are perfect for people who enjoy sitting down with a cheese platter and some wine in the afternoon sun with their mates. Less formal than the dining set, a living set is focused on providing a space where you can entertain your guests in comfort or bring out a board game and some chips.

Outdoor Reclining

Outdoor reclining sets are the go-to outdoor furniture set for people who want to sit back, relax, and finish a book or sip on their drink for a lazy afternoon. The ultimate outdoor comfort useful for both getting a tan and having a nap. The best reclining outdoor sofas have separate backs, so that each person can recline at just the right angle. In addition to an ordinary reclining set, you can get hanging egg chairs, perfect for falling asleep in the light breeze during a hot summer afternoon.

Materials

Wood is a very popular and generally inexpensive material for furniture. Softwoods however, such as pine, are not very durable and require significant maintenance for outdoor furniture. The most appropriate woods for outdoor furniture are teak and shorea, among others. This is because these woods are hardwoods, they are strong, resistant to weather and insects, and do not tend to crack or warp.

Metal is another popular material for outdoor furniture and is particularly useful in the frames of the furniture. Not only is it really strong, but it is also heavy which makes it harder to be blown around in the wind. Its main downside is that it heats up a lot in the sun, although if used as framing rather than the whole furniture this is not much of a problem.

Synthetic resin is perfect for furniture that has a wicker look. It is substantially more durable than real wicker and easy to clean. The only downside is that it is too light in most areas and may need to be fastened to prevent the furniture from blowing away.