tips to select your outdoor furniture

Your best bet when deciding on the right materials for your outdoor furnishings is to evaluate how you plan on using your furniture and how much time you want to spend maintaining it.

Here are a couple of examples: A lightweight aluminum or plastic chair will be rust-resistant and easy to move around if you plan on dragging it into the front yard for the annual neighborhood block party or stowing it in the shed come October. It won't have the heft and stability of an iron or stainless steel piece, but it might be stackable (or collapsible) so you can hang it on a wall in an out of the way spot when you aren't using it.

On the other hand, a cedar loveseat will be very sturdy and feel more like the kind of furniture you're used to indoors. It will require added maintenance though, like a coat of sealer every couple of years, and moving it from place to place to catch some shade (or sun) could be a problem, too.