For outdoor area styling purposes, furniture placement is a highly functional and equally decorative solution. Whether it’s a patio or deck, a gazebo or pergola, a garden or backyard, or a balcony or terrace, sofas are the most comfortable addition to your exterior places. For sofas, there are various options available in the market involving synthetic and natural construction materials.
If you are planning to incorporate a sofa in any outdoor area, you must be considerate of the humidity, sun exposure, comfort, and maintenance requirements as all these aspects collectively contribute to enhanced longevity. In this guide, we’ve put together different sofa material options considering all the potential and environmental factors in mind.
Uncovering #5 Durable Materials For Your Outdoor Sofas
Sofa sets for outdoor areas are constructed using various padding armrests, backing, upholstery, and supporting materials. To create the most comfortable seating outdoors that will offer long-lasting elegance and serviceability, go through these materials options that are used to craft high-performance outdoor furnishings.
1. Metal Or Aluminum
Metal will complement your taste perfectly when your concern is to invest in long-lasting essentials. Furnishing elements for outdoors can be engineered with metal framings and supporting materials, offering excellent resistance against moisture and daily wear and tear.
In addition to that, aluminum is another durable material that is known for its great tensile strength. This material is highly resistant to rust and corrosion which is why your luxury sofa Upholstery will maintain their pristine condition for the long term. They offer exceptional resistance against wind, rain, and UV rays, providing you with maintenance ease and the best value for your investment.
2. Natural Wood
Wood is the go-to material choice to pick for your outdoor sofa sets, adding a natural feel and warmth to any space. The best thing about wood material is that you have extensive species options to choose from including teak, cedar, maple, mahogany, oak, redwood, Acacia, pine, and walnut.
Each of these species features a unique appearance, texture, layouts, and finishes, offering style individuality. These softwood and hardwood species make the entire framing of your sofas and are then tufted with other upholstery materials to create a sustainable and comfortable piece. For areas with humid conditions, it is advised to choose teak wood which is the most durable option.
3. Wrought Iron
With a very low carbon content, wrought iron is another high-performance material to build your sofa’s structure and framing. It is the most sturdy and durable option that can withstand heavy use while sustaining its appearance, finish, and quality.
Due to its resilient and waterproof nature, it is widely used to make garden, lawn, and patio furnishings. A little more vulnerable to the elements, it’s a great and long-term solution for your sofas. From metal and aluminum, it’s a way cheaper option to pick for your outdoor furnishing.
4. Wicker Or Rattan
Constructed from natural or organic palm stems, sofas made from rattan material add an inviting appeal to your spaces. If you want to invest in a budget-friendly, lightweight, flexible, and comfortable piece for exterior styling, rattan material is the ultimate pick for you.
Made from lightweight materials, rattan is another popular pick for outside furnishings. Despite being lightweight, it is the most affordable and durable option for outside essentials because it can withstand extreme weather conditions such as temperature variations, rain, and humidity. Also, it is naturally resistant to insects which makes it the perfect choice for your furnishings.
5. Vinyl Or Rayon
Vinyl is a synthetic material that is made by polymerizing vinyl chloride monomers and is used to create sofa fabrics. These fabrics are resistant to water, easy to clean, and super durable. This upholstery material is cheap and offers toughness, hence, the suitable choice for your sofas on balconies, gazebos, and pergolas.
Made with a combination of wood pulp, bamboo, cotton trash, or other natural fiber by-products, rayon is the most sustainable fabric choice for your sofas. This fabric is eco-friendly and, hence, best for individuals who are sensitive to any sort of allergies.
Additional Tip | Popular Upholstery Fabric
Outdoor sofas can be made from different types of upholstery fabrics involving natural and synthetic materials. To style your balconies or patios, the most versatile option is to pick acrylic, olefin, polyester, suede, Sunbrella, and tweed.
For upholstery, different types and styles of cotton, linen, silk, velvet, and brocade materials are available to pick from. In addition to that, you can pick real or faux leather with different color options for your exterior furnishings.
The Bottom Line!
When it comes to styling your outdoors with furniture, there’s a broad range available in terms of styles and shapes and upholstery to supporting materials to pick from. However, the material choices can be narrowed down when you are more concerned about the durability and longevity of your sofas than design and visual appeal. To make your selection easier, we’ve listed some of the durable synthetic and natural materials for your sofas.
When you don’t want to compromise on style along with longevity, you can pick from polyester, leather, acrylic, Sunbrella, suede, and hemp for your outdoor furnishings. For long-lasting serviceability, you can decide between metal, aluminum, wicker, teak, wrought iron, stone, laminate, and rattan materials. Also, plastic is the best option when you are looking for an affordable material option for furniture.
