When it comes to selecting Garden Furniture, or Patio Furniture, it is important to remember that it will probably be left outside in all weathers, so it must be able to stand up to extreme changes of temperatures. You may think that all Garden Furniture is built to last, but un-fortunately that is NOT the case. Buying cheap Garden Furniture is very often the most expensive choice! It will need to be replaced often! The old adage is also true, "you only get what you pay for".
Having established that we are now NOT going to buy the cheapest that we can find, what should we do next? The first step is to decide what type of Garden Furniture that you like. This you can basically separate into two categories:
Metal Garden Furniture & Hardwood Garden Furniture.
Metal Garden Furniture
If you want Metal Garden Furniture, and you want it to last, then you should select Metal Garden Furniture that is ONLY made of Aluminium. The reason for this is that Aluminium does NOT RUST, so will last in all weather conditions. Having decided on Aluminium, you then must look at whether to go for "Cast Aluminium", which is often solid and is made from Aluminium that has been Cast into a mould, or "Framed Aluminium", which although lighter, is normally equally as durable. So if your preference is to have Metal Garden Furniture, selecting any type of quality Aluminium Garden Furniture, you will be sure of getting many years of use from your purchase.

Hardwood Garden Furniture
This is my favourite, because no two pieces are "exactly" the same. The differences in the grain makes each piece unique. It would take a whole book to completely cover "Wooden Garden Furniture", because there are literally thousands of different options.
However after selling Garden Furniture for over ten years, my choice has narrowed right down to only one type, which is "Teak Garden Furniture".
The reason for this is very simple, it is the BEST there is to withstand all types of weather, including the often rainy UK summer climate.
Although it is certainly more expensive that most other types of wood, it is VERY hard wearing and will last for many years, with (or without) any treatment, so really does justifies the higher price. Teak is a natural product, that is from a slow growing hard wood tree. So when you look to buy make sure that you select from a supplier that has Teak Garden Furniture that has been made from "Plantation Grown" Teak, which is a renewable resource, and not from a forest that is being destroyed by de-forestation. Quality Teak Garden Furniture should last for 20 -25 years, so when you compare the life of it, to the cost, it is extremely good value for money.