Your garden, terrace or yard shouldn't just be a waste of space next to your home. With the right furniture, you can transform unused space into an important part of your lifestyle. In fact, a well-crafted outdoor space can serve as much purpose in your home as any indoor area. The perfect outdoor furniture set makes it easier to enjoy the outdoors and can be a great space for entertaining. However, when you start shopping, you will find it easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of different materials used to make your outdoor furniture. Metal, wood, plastic and rattan furniture are the most common outdoor furniture. If you don't know much about the characteristics of these materials, it means that the furniture you buy will depend more on your personal preferences and ignore issues such as its quality and maintenance difficulties. Therefore, a thorough understanding of their properties is the only way to ensure that you choose high-quality furniture and add the perfect color to your outdoor space.

Factors to consider for outdoor materials
Undoubtedly, when choosing outdoor furniture materials, besides appearance and beauty, weather, maintenance difficulty and cost are the main factors that need to be considered most.

1. Weather: In the outdoors, the weather factor is an unavoidable problem. Heavy rainfall or areas of high humidity can directly affect the life and durability of outdoor furniture. At the same time, sun exposure and UV rays can be a problem. They can affect the shine and durability of furniture. Due to constant exposure to UV rays, materials can easily fade and sometimes become brittle when they are exposed to heat or become cold, due to changing weather conditions. Therefore, it is important to choose a material that can withstand changing temperatures and is not exposed to sunlight.

2. Maintenance: Each type of material needs special care and attention. However, different types of furniture have different maintenance difficulties. Some materials only need to be maintained once a season or less, and they are also very convenient to clean. Some materials need more time-intensive care. If you can't do this, materials that are easy to maintain will be a wise choice.

3. Cost: The price of outdoor furniture varies greatly, depending on the type of material you choose. Therefore, choose the most cost-effective piece of furniture for different budgets.

Materials suitable for outdoor furniture
We will discuss some different types of available materials. And introduce the characteristics and advantages of the furniture made of them, so that you can better understand how to choose the right outdoor furniture.

Rattan
Rattan is a traditional material, which became a popular furniture choice in Europe and North America in the Victorian era. Now almost all rattan outdoor furniture is made of synthetic rattan. Synthetic rattan is also more durable than most other materials on the market. It can withstand ultraviolet radiation. Even if exposed to sunlight, it will not fade or break. At the same time, this material can also resist other natural forces, such as humidity and rain. Because of this, rattan outdoor sofa set and rattan garden dining furniture made of it are very popular in the market.

Metal
Metal is often the strongest and most durable material for outdoor furniture. Whether you choose aluminium, stainless steel or wrought iron, metal furniture can bring a contemporary feel to an outdoor space. But the most common types used for outdoor furniture construction are powder-coated aluminium and steel. Due to its weather resistance, furniture made from it is virtually impervious to blowing away in storms. Metal can also withstand extreme temperatures and resists heat and sunlight very well. This is the same as with rattan outdoor furniture. However, most metals conduct heat, heat up in hot weather and they can be uncomfortable when kept hot.

Wood
The materials of outdoor furniture can be made of cedar, pine, teak, eucalyptus, oak, etc. The advantages of wood lie in its strength, design and appearance. Wood does not retain heat like iron or aluminum, which is another advantage. However, the disadvantage of wood is the high maintenance cost. Wood must be sealed with a dresser to keep as much water as possible, because wood is a very porous material. If wet, the wood will rot, warp or lose color. Therefore, as outdoor furniture, it takes time to maintain wooden furniture in order to better maintain its service life.

Plastic
Plastic can be molded into a variety of shapes and used to create unique pieces of furniture. Plastic can even be designed to have a rattan-like appearance. Some poor quality rattan style furniture can be made from plastics that are not durable. Plastic is usually affordable, lightweight and environmentally friendly. It is also waterproof, so you don't have to worry about bringing your furniture indoors or moving it to a covered area if it rains. However, the downside of plastic is that it is not durable, so it can easily break and crack.

After reading the above information, I believe you have a clear answer in mind. Choose outdoor furniture made of good materials, which can be used in your daily life for many years. And make the time you spend outdoors will be more relaxing and enjoyable.