Outdoor furniture is exposed to conditions that destroy indoor materials, and the failures are specific to what it is made of.
What Actually Attacks It
Ultraviolet light, which breaks down polymers and fades everything. Water, which rots, rusts and freezes. Temperature swings, which stress joints. And in coastal areas, salt.
Nothing survives all of that indefinitely. The question is how long, and how much maintenance.
The Materials
- Woven resin: light, low maintenance, and it degrades in strong UV over years
- Powder-coated aluminium: does not rust, light enough to blow over
- Steel: strong, heavy, rusts wherever the coating is chipped
- Teak and eucalyptus: durable, silver naturally, need oiling to stay brown
- Plastic: cheapest, becomes brittle in sunlight
Ranges describing outdoor pieces as weather-ready with the material named, of the kind at signaturedesign-by-ashley.com, allow the comparison; weather-resistant without a material is not information.
Weather Resistant Is Not Weatherproof
The distinction that matters. Almost nothing sold for gardens is intended to sit outside uncovered through a winter.
Covers, or storing cushions and lighter pieces under shelter, roughly doubles the life of most outdoor furniture.
Cushions in particular should never be left out in rain, since foam holds water and grows mould inside where it cannot be seen.
Wind Is the Underrated Hazard
Light furniture becomes dangerous in strong wind. Parasols in particular are a genuine hazard: they act as a sail and have caused serious injuries.
Close and secure parasols whenever they are not in use, not only in bad weather. Weight bases properly, and bring light chairs in before a storm.
Fire Pits and Heaters
Never on a wooden deck without a proper heat shield, never under an awning or an overhang, and never brought into a tent, garage or any enclosed space.
Cooling coals and burners produce carbon monoxide, which kills people every year in exactly that situation.
Mould on Cushions
Store them dry and indoors over winter, and let them dry fully before storing.
Check the Fixings
Outdoor furniture loosens faster from thermal cycling, and a chair that fails while somebody is sitting on it causes injuries.
Clean Before Storing
Organic matter left on a surface over winter stains it permanently.
Buy for Your Climate
Not for the catalogue photograph.