Patio Furniture

Summer brings with it memories of sitting out in the patio furniture and enjoying the sunshine. There is nothing like sitting by the pool or under a shady umbrella while sipping on a nice cold drink. To be able to enjoy this though the first thing you have to do is decide what type of patio furniture you want and this can depend on how you plan to use it. For some of us summer means entertaining in our backyard from pool parties to barbeques and dinner parties. The type of events you plan will have a direct effect on the style of patio furniture that you buy as will your budget. Some patio furniture like the solid plastic stuff you find at department stores and discount warehouse can be purchased very economically but in the end you get what you pay for with wobbly chairs and furniture that may not do your backyard patio justice.

It does have redeeming qualities however since it is very low maintenance and easy to keep clean. It also may not last long if you live in an area that is subject to extreme cold as this tends to make this kind of plastic tends to get brittle when it is subject to repeated exposure to the cold. Natural Rattan wicker has been the choice for patio furniture for years; the material is perfectly suited to outdoor use. Rattan is a type of bamboo that weathers relatively well and requires only a moderate amount of maintenance to keep it looking nice. Because it is made from wood it will absorb water when it rains which if not allowed to dry properly can lead to rot and mildew problems. To avoid these problems Rattan can be painted or stained a variety of colors which will seal the wood against the elements.

This should be done every few years depending on where the furniture is located and how wet it gets during the year. Within the last few years a new material has become very popular, synthetic wicker is now being manufactured that closely resembles the original Rattan material in many ways. It does however not soak up water in the rain and is not affected by the ultra-violet rays of the sun, making it last much longer. Synthetic wicker is made using a recyclable plastic so that when the time comes to replace your patio furniture with something new, your old furniture does not have to end up in a land fill. While the Rattan being used for patio furniture is a natural biodegradable material it is not renewable, new crops must be grown and harvested to make furniture. Today the demand for Rattan far outweighs the current ability to grow it meaning that more land must be stripped to grow the vines that Rattan comes from, which is not necessarily an environmentally sound practice.

So if you are looking for an extensive selection of modern synthetic wicker furniture take a look at the offerings from Babmar. A forerunner in the synthetic wicker industry Babmar manufactures the finest in hand woven synthetic wicker furniture for your patio or deck available.