When you are purchasing furniture for your outdoor pool, you want items that are good-looking and comfortable, of course. Pool loungers such as chaise loungers or a pool lounge chair as well as other types of outside chairs, outdoor tables and accessories are naturals for relaxing poolside and enjoying snacks and drinks. An outdoor bar, bar stools or chairs and other bar accessories might interest you if you like to socialize by the pool.
Naturally, you want to select pieces that fit the available space as well as the design scheme of your pool and your home. But since your pool furniture will be outside, you also need to think about the materials it is made of.
Teak, cedar, resin, aluminum and wrought iron: These are just some of the materials that you will see when you peruse pool furniture for sale. The extensive list of choices can seem bewildering at first. But really, picking the right pool furniture is not complicated. It really boils down to the types of weather conditions you typically experience in your area and how you plan to use your pool furniture. These handy tips from Outdoor Furniture Plus will help you choose the best outdoor furniture for your pool.
First and foremost, you will want to select furniture that stands up to the sun, because ultraviolet rays can damage some types of materials. Since you will be enjoying your pool on sunny days, the sun will be a constant companion for your furniture as well as for you, your family and guests.
Sun can be highly degrading to plastic. So if you choose to go with resin outdoor furniture, it is a smart idea to choose the highest-quality synthetic materials you can find. Generally, it is wise to pick high density polyethylene over cheaper polyvinyl chloride synthetics. Outdoor furniture made of HDPE not only looks great, it also stands up to the harshest sunlight. You can often find HDPE outdoor furniture made mostly of recycled plastic milk jugs, which means you are helping the environment while also helping yourself. One example of high-quality resin furniture available on our website is our Berlin Gardens Resin Casual Back Chaise Lounge Chair.
Wind can be a problem around pools. That is another place where HDPE resin furniture will outperform cheap PVC furniture. Chairs, tables and other pieces made of PVC can easily blow over or slide along the ground even in a mild breeze. HDPE furniture is heavier and more likely to stay put except in the fiercest winds.
Wooden furniture made of teak or cedar also makes sense if you live in a windy area and want to avoid seeing your pool furniture floating in the water on windy days. Besides boasting a beautiful natural color and intriguing wood grains, teak also contains natural oils that protect it against the elements and insects. Cedar is a less expensive alternative to teak. It has a rustic charm all its own, but in most cases it won't match the extremely long life teak pieces will provide.
Of course, if you are really serious about making your pool furniture stay put, nothing beats wrought iron as a material. Featuring classic, almost antique looks, wrought-iron pool furniture is heavy and won't budge in a breeze.
The downside of this metal, however, is that it can rust. So if you live near the ocean or in any other kind of salty environment where rust is a problem, you might want to consider wood or HDPE resin pool furniture.
When choosing your pool furniture, don't forget to examine the types of hardware used to fasten components together. Zinc-plated hardware provides some protection. But if you are in a place where rust is a major factor, then you should look for stainless steel. For the best protection from stainless steel fasteners, look for marine-grade stainless steel. Built for boats, docks and other uses in saltwater, this type of stainless steel is made of molybdenum-alloyed steel. Although it is not completely rust-proof, marine-grade stainless steel resists pitting corrosion better than other types of steel.
