Central Oregon Exterior Design | Patio & Outdoor Furniture

Outdoor Furniture

IF FURNISHING YOUR DECK means installing a basic round table and plastic chairs, take it from local experts: This furniture won’t cut it any more. It’s time for an upgrade.

“When I moved to Bend many years ago, outdoor furniture consisted of two stumps with a 2-by-12 nailed across them,” says Scott Holmer, owner of Patio World. “Now, people are developing outdoor rooms and furnishing them as you would a room inside: with deep-seating chairs and couches, fire pits and built-in fireplaces, outdoor kitchens with cocktail bars, even spas.” For a good quality table with four chairs, you can expect to pay $600 or more, says Robert Vann, manager of Powder House Ski and Patio. “If you spend $300 to $400 on an outdoor furniture set, you will replace it every three to four years,” Vann says. “You can double that amount and keep it for 15 to 20 years. From the curb, you can’t tell the difference, but you can once you sit in it and use it for years to come.”

Like most specialty patio stores, both Powder House and Patio World offer five- to 15-year warranties on the furniture they sell. Customers can choose from a variety of construction materials. Wrought iron and cast aluminum are immensely popular, because they can withstand a fair amount of abuse and neglect. Neither is affected by the cold, so they can be left out year-round, making them ideal for second homes and commercial buildings. (This is also ideal if you don’t have room to store summer furniture.)

For some people, only wood furniture will do. Both teak and jarrah are beautiful and appropriate, but the maintenance—sanding and sealing—scares many homeowners away. Wicker and rattan are also popular, but they don’t last as long as wood or metal. A synthetic version of rattan is a waterproof alternative.

“It looks like the real thing, but it is a resin. It holds its color and doesn’t break down in moisture, so it has a much longer life than natural cane or rattan furniture,” says Vann.

Beyond the basic table and chair set, fire pits are increasingly fashionable. “Most subdivisions don’t allow wood fi re pits, so we sell natural-gas fi re pits with slate, mosaic or rock tops,” says Vann. For those who live in outlying areas, Powder House also sells fire pits that can be hooked up to propane.

At Patio World, Holmer has been selling “chat tables” with a substantial rim around the outside and a fire pit in the center. About the same height as a coffee table, a chat table offers a casual place to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while sitting around the embers. Thanks to new advances in outdoor fabrics, seating has become more comfortable than ever. Holmer says deep-seated cushions make outdoor furniture just as comfortable as the living-room couch, and the cushions won’t soak up and retain moisture.

“Outdoor fabrics have really come a long way,” says Vann. “Cushions are becoming popular again because you don’t have to run out and bring them in [when it rains]. The new fabrics hold their colors better, they stand up to weather, and they’re quick-drying. You can be sitting on a cushion a couple of hours after a thunderstorm.”