Garden furniture

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Garden chairs and table, England Garden chairs and table, Birkenhead - DSC09774.JPG
Garden chairs and table, England
A bench in a public park Wood and cast iron bench in Copped Hall Kitchen Garden, Epping, Essex, England.jpg
A bench in a public park

Garden furniture, also called patio furniture or outdoor furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather-resistant materials such as aluminium which is rust-proof. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Sketch from the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, September 27, 1896. Women relax in garden furniture. 1896.09.27 STL Globe HParty.jpg
Sketch from the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, September 27, 1896. Women relax in garden furniture.

The oldest surviving examples of garden furniture were found in the gardens of Pompeii. Around 1840, Janes, Beebe & Co. produced one of the earliest products of mass-produced cast-iron seating manufacture in America. [3]

Types of furniture

An area of typical patio furniture, including umbrellas, in Taiwan, 2007 2007Computex NYNY Intel Umbrellas.jpg
An area of typical patio furniture, including umbrellas, in Taiwan, 2007

Seating

Garden furniture is often sold as a patio set consisting of a table, four or six chairs, and a parasol. A picnic table is used for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors. [4] Long chairs, referred to as chaise longue , are also common items.

Temperature control

The British 'garden parasol' or American 'garden umbrella' is the term for a specialised type of umbrella designed to provide shade from the sun. Parasols are either secured in a weighted base or a built-in mount in the paving. Some are movable around outdoor tables and seating, others centred through a hole mid-table.

Patio heaters are used to enable people to sit outside at night or in cold weather. They can be permanently mounted on eaves and patio roofs, or portable and self-supporting. They can operate on electricity, propane, bottled butane (small units), or natural gas. The latter can be plumbed into permanent locations or attached to 'quick-connect' outlets.

Modular outdoor fire pits and portable fire bowls have become widely available in many materials to extend outdoor living. The tall clay Chimeneas of North America are an example.

Accessories

Current garden accessories include items like birdbaths, plant stands, planter boxes and trellises to add detail to an outdoor space.

Materials

Green plastic garden furniture, Czech Republic, 2009 Green garden furniture from plastics in Czech Republic.jpg
Green plastic garden furniture, Czech Republic, 2009

The most commonly sold types of patio sets are made of plastic, wood, aluminium, wicker, and wrought iron.

Wooden garden furniture can suffer through exposure to the elements and therefore needs to be periodically treated. [5] Teak is a commonly used material for outdoor furniture. It naturally contains silica, which makes it resistant to fungal decay, many of the effects of water (such as rot, swelling and warping), as well as chemicals. It is also resistant to fire, acid and alkalis. [6]

Wicker outdoor living furniture was originally made from the stems of any one of 600 species of palms predominantly found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. [7] These vine-like palms, belonging to the subfamily Calamoideae, were harvested for their pliable yet sturdy stems, which were then tightly woven into interlocking panels to form various furniture pieces. [8] The palm stems were tightly woven into interlocking panels, and formed into the desired structure. Modern wicker furniture is often made from synthetic resin or other plastic which is moulded to resemble real wood or wicker.

See also

References

  1. "A Material Guide to Outdoor Furniture". www.nationaloutdoorfurniture.com. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  2. "Outdoor Furniture".
  3. Snyder, Ellen Marie (1985). "Victory over Nature: Victorian Cast-Iron Seating Furniture" . Winterthur Portfolio. 20 (4): 221–242. doi:10.1086/496238. ISSN   0084-0416. JSTOR   1181091. S2CID   111228848.
  4. Hogue, Martin (2018-05-23). "An Illustrated History of the Picnic Table". Places Journal (2018). doi: 10.22269/180522 .
  5. Kotradyova, Veronika; Vavrinsky, Erik; Kalinakova, Barbora; Petro, Dominik; Jansakova, Katarina; Boles, Martin; Svobodova, Helena (19 September 2019). "Wood and Its Impact on Humans and Environment Quality in Health Care Facilities". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16 (18): 3496. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16183496 . PMC   6766028 . PMID   31546873.
  6. "Growing Teak in the Top End of the NT" (PDF). 27 November 2002.
  7. "DNA barcoding and conservation of rattans in trade | Kew". www.kew.org. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  8. Anderson, Anna Elise (2023-12-28). "Rattan 101: Everything You Need to Know". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2025-05-08.

11. outdoor furniture, sun shades, and garden accessories