Admit it: You have owned them. We all have owned them – white, plastic outdoor stacking chairs, the ones usually available at garden centers, home stores and even neighborhood pharmacies for less than $10 each. Right out of college, I had a set of six that served as my dining room chairs for a few years. I am a wee bit embarrassed to share that I actually thought that application was “cool” at the time. (I was young.) Bright white, lightweight and easily cleaned with a garden hose, they seemed the best outdoor furniture available in my twenties. Over time, however, my taste thankfully elevated, as did the styling of outdoor furniture.
For many, outdoor furniture is synonymous with those iconic plastic chairs, intricate wicker sets, classic picnic tables, sturdy Adirondack chairs or those heavy, ornamental white wrought iron groupings that grace front porches in many a suburb. For years, these were the staples of outdoor furniture. I am happy to share that outdoor furniture has now evolved to a point where style and comfort do not have to be compromised for ease-of-cleaning and weather resistance. As the realms of home furnishings, fashion and industrial design continue to intersect, outdoor furniture – now called all-season furniture – has benefited from both an injection of high design as well as an introduction of incredible new materials.
For decades, wicker was the “go to” material for outdoor porch sets. Typically composed of a settee, two side chairs and a low table, these natural beauties weathered poorly. After a few seasons, many were painted to protect the wicker from the elements. Beautiful weaving details became lost under layer after layer of paint, applied season after season. Material innovations have now produced modern synthetic wickers, flexible plastics that mimic the look of wicker that require little or no maintenance. The wicker look has also been updated, with new shapes being very contemporary and streamlined.
