Eating alfresco is one of the great joys in life. What could be better than sitting outside on a glorious afternoon or beautiful evening and breaking bread with family and friends? Creating the perfect dining experience is an art — you need marvelous meals, delicious drinks, glorious guests, and fantastic furniture.
Although we can’t help when it comes to cooking up a storm in the kitchen, when it comes to the best outdoor dining furniture, we’ve got you covered. That’s why we put together this comprehensive guide to choosing the right table, chairs, and other furniture for the perfect dining experience.
Read on, and learn how to build the perfect space for your next alfresco dinner party.
Step 1 — Decide on the Right Table for Your outdoor aluminum dining set
The table is the centerpiece of your dining space, so it’s vital to get it right. Think about the type of dining experience you want to create. For more formal meals and dinner parties you might want a longer table, with rounded or square ends. For more informal gathering, a round dinner table could be perfect.
You will need to match the size of your dining table with the number of people you will want to serve. Don’t be shy — when word gets around of how great it is to dine at your home, family and friends will be begging for an invite! In other words, go a couple of place settings bigger than you normally would — even if you don’t fill the table every time, the extra space will make moving around, sitting, and relaxing that little bit easier.
Dining Table Form and Function — Points to Consider
Think carefully about the height of your dining table. Lower tables are better for relaxing and enjoying a casual soiree, while higher tables will mean people sit up a little more, better for slightly more formal gatherings
If you’ve got young kids you might want a slightly lower table so they can get in and out of chairs and reach their food more easily
Look at the placement of legs on the table — that will influence where you can easily put chairs and sit diners
Think about the overall size of your dining table and how much space you will need when it’s surrounded with chairs — make sure there’s enough space on your deck or patio to comfortable hold the table and chairs, while allowing people to move around easily
If you want to install a patio umbrella, look for a dining table with a center hole
Step 2 — Choose the Right Dining Chairs for Your Space
Your guests will want to relax into beautiful chairs as they’re enjoying their food. You can choose chairs designed to match your dining table or mix it up a little bit and go for eclectic, alternative designs.
We recommend buying dining chairs in sets of two — if you do that you could get a couple of one design and a couple of another.
For simplicity and ease you can easily buy a complete dining set — a table that comes with two, four, or six matching chairs.
Dining Chair Form and Function — Points to Consider
Choose chairs matched to the right height of your dining table, lest you get bashed knees!
Consider how much space you will need for people to easily move around and between chairs, and pick the right number and size of chairs accordingly.
Choose colors and styles that will both complement your dining table and your outdoor space as a whole.
Step 3 — Choose the Right Materials for Your Dining Set
Dining sets are available in a wide variety of materials — softwoods like pine, hardwoods like oak and teak, wicker, HDPE lumber, and aluminium are all available. When it comes to choosing the right materials for your dining sets, you’ll want to take several factors into account:
Durability — how well will your dining set last when it’s left outside?
Maintenance — how easy will your dining set be to look after?
Appearance — how will your dining set look over time?
Surfaces — how well will the surfaces resist food and drink?
Comfort — how comfortable and luxurious will your dining set be?
Weight — how easy is it to move the dining set around, and how resilient is it to weather?
Price — how much value for money will you get from the dining set?
Pine and Other Softwoods as a Material for Dining Sets
Although hardwoods are often more popular, some dining sets are made of pine or other softwoods. Softwoods are abundant and inexpensive, but are not great choices for an outdoor dining set, as they don’t tend to weather very well and don’t resist spills.
Softwoods — Points to Consider
Softwood isn’t very resilient or durable, it is easily scratched or dented, which can impact the appearance of your dining set
Softwood must be varnished and protected if it is going to stay outside. Even then, the elements can quickly impact how good the dining set looks
Hot plates and cups, and food and drink spills can all impact the surface of the wood
A softwood dining set will typically need to be restained or revarnished on a semi-regular basis
Softwood is an inexpensive choice when it comes to outdoor furniture
Oak and Other Hardwoods as a Material for Dining Sets
Hardwoods are a better choice that softwoods for a well-crafted, lasting dining set, but they are not without issues. Like softwoods, they need to be regularly maintained to look at their best.
Hardwoods — Points to Consider
Hardwoods are quite resilient and durable, and it is difficult to scratch, dent, or damage them
Hardwood must be varnished and protected if it is going to stay outside
Hot plates and cups, and food and drink spills can all impact the surface of the wood
Hardwood dining sets will typically need to be restained or revarnished on a semi-regular basis
Hardwood dining sets are more resilient to the elements and gusts of wind
Hardwood is a moderately expensive choice as a material for a dining sets
Teak as a Material for Dining Sets
Teak is a popular choice for outdoor furniture and dining sets. It is better than other woods like pine, oak, bamboo, or wicker.
Teak — Points to Consider
Teak is durable and resilient, as it produces its own oil. It’s a hardwood, so isn’t easy to dent or scratch.
It’s completely resistant to wind, water, and rust and can stay outside all year-round
Hot plates and cups, and food and drink spills can all impact the surface of the wood
It’s only available in one “color,” teak
It is difficult to maintain and needs to be regularly rubbed down and treated to avoid “silver patina
Teak is one of the pricier options when it comes to outside furniture
Wicker as a Material for Dining Sets
Wicker is sometimes used as a material in dining sets today. Although wicker can sometimes be a good material for furniture, it doesn’t really have the durability for outside use.
We also offer garden patio swing chair, Welcome to consult.