If you want to bring comfort and style to your outdoor space, consider adding good quality and stylish garden benches. Benches are useful seating solutions that can help you relax, unwind and enjoy some moments of peace and quiet in your own garden. They can also fit easily in parks, yards, cozy porches, or in front of commercial buildings and add comfortable seating while enhancing the appeal of the area they’re placed in. But how do you choose the best bench for your needs?
Things to Consider Before Buying an Outdoor Bench
To make the right choice for your patio and ensure that you will end up with an outdoor furniture bench you’ll be happy with, you should consider its material, colour, and style and determine whether it will suit your outdoor space.
Choose the Right Material
Wood Vs. Metal
When it comes to picking the right choice of material, wood and metal are some of the most popular options for making garden benches. Although there are some other types of materials that are also used such as plastic, resin, and wicker, we’ll concentrate on these two as they’re the right choice for most settings.
Wood
If you want to stick to natural materials, wood is one of the most aesthetically pleasing options that will immediately spruce up the look of your patio giving it a cozy, warm and comfortable look. Wood also has good thermal properties which makes it the perfect material option for fluctuating temperatures. Moreover, some types of wood such as teak, eucalyptus, or acacia are more hardwearing and durable than others due to their naturally occurring oils which makes them especially weather resistant. However, this is not the case with some other types of wood, which require constant tending and maintenance of their colour to preserve their appearance as they can succumb easily to the weather elements.
Wooden outdoor furniture benches also don’t dry easily after rain causing soggy bottoms which can lead to discolouration and damage over time. Moreover, they are more pricey than other types of materials. Still, this depends on the choice of wood. For instance, hardwood such as pine, cedar, and teak are much pricey than softwood, as they are more durable. A hardwood outdoor furniture bench can literally last you for generations when properly cared for.
Metal
Benches made from metal are sleek and modern pieces of outdoor furniture. Aluminium and iron are some of the most common types of metal used for making beautiful decorative designs. For instance, some types of iron benches feature incredibly ornate designs that depict the Victorian era’s style accurately.
Moreover, they’re durable and much less susceptible to damage when exposed to weather elements. However, they don’t have the natural appearance of the wood, so you will also need to pay attention and pick a design that matches well with the rest of your outdoor furniture. Still, even though this material doesn’t warp or rot, it can rust over time so it may require regular maintenance from time to time.
Use Colour to Make a Statement
If you want to make a statement in your garden try adding some colours. For instance, colourful pieces of outdoor bench seats are always a great choice if you want to bring more liveliness to your outdoor area. You can even paint them yourself in every colour you wish. Depending on the season, you can pick your favourite colour that matches your mood to create the perfect ambience. For instance, October is the perfect month to choose dark red or orange colours and decorate your garden with lots of pumpkins. Paired with the fallen leaves, and a hot cup of cocoa, you can make your place look magical and lovely.
Maintenance
The maintenance factor is crucial when it comes to choosing outdoor furniture that will last you long. As we already mentioned, some types of materials have certain advantages over others. For instance, metal beaches need much less maintenance than wooden ones, as you can clean them easily with a hose. As with every type of material, after a few years’ time, the metal starts to deteriorate when subjected to harsh weather elements, such as rain, cold temperature, and harmful UV rays. This can lead to corrosion. In recent years, tremendous technological advances have been made in the coatings that are now applied to a metal bench. This feature helps to extend the life of the outside bench.
Wooden benches require better care when it comes to preserving their look. However, they don’t need much to keep them clean, as you will only need soapy water and dish soap to brush up their surface, rinse it afterwards with a garden hose, and leave it to dry.
Consider Your Budget
Finally, you need to consider your budget and how much money you are willing to spend. There is a saying buy cheap buy twice, and this is certainly true when it comes to buying a bench. After all, you want to choose a design that will last you many years so you won’t need to replace it often. However, the price is mostly dependent on how intricate the designs are which involves the size and shape, and of course the choice of material that dictates how much you’ll pay.
