Waterproof Outdoor Furniture

If you're looking to spruce up your backyard or add a little curb appeal, or you just need a comfortable place to lounge around outside, it's time to start thinking about outdoor furniture.

A quick online search will reveal that there's more outdoor furniture out there than you'll ever know what to do with. Exterior furnishings come in all sorts of cute shapes, colors, and layouts, but picking the most durable is a little trickier than just choosing the best looking.

Consider Climate

Patio furniture on the coast of California needs to be a little bit different than deck chairs on a cabin porch in Idaho. Different climates call for different materials. And while it goes without saying that all outdoor furniture needs to be weatherproof, you need to consider which elements you need the most protection from.

Outdoor furniture is made of a variety of materials. You can purchase things that are made of glass, metal, wood, plastic, or come with fabric components. Every component of your outdoor furniture needs to be weatherproof.

Lower quality outdoor furniture may entice you with something like weatherproof cushions, but the wicker back on the chairs might not have been treated and will quickly bleach and crack in the bright sunlight. So make sure that you're looking at every component of the furniture item before you buy.

Do a little digging on which materials work best for the climate that you live in. Look at where you'll be placing your gear, because the sun will impact it differently depending on where it sits. Considering your climate end location, you should be able to make some pretty good guesses about which kind of outdoor furniture will work for you.

Do It for the DIY

If you're looking to DIY your outdoor furniture, make sure you're using all weatherproof materials. DIY wood chairs or porch swings are a popular pick for outdoor furniture. And we can see why—they're beautiful.

But if you're going to take all that time to build something stunning for your yard, you need to make sure that you are appropriately weatherproofing the wood. Seal all the wood with a stain and sealant made specifically for outdoor use.

Make sure to use proper protection when using these chemicals because the fumes will likely be pretty strong.

It's also important to maintain and upkeep your outdoor furniture. If it's made of wood, for example, take some time to sand and reseal it every few years to keep it looking its best.

Outdoor Fabrics

If you want to make a few outdoor furniture DIYs, but you're not looking to carve your own wood Adirondack chairs, there are still a ton of fun DIYs you can make with weatherproof materials. We love upcycling items, and a lot of items you can upcycle for the outdoors can be weatherproofed.

One of our favorite easy outdoor DIYs is making our own pillows and cushions. You can purchase weatherproof outdoor fabric for this project. You'll need a special needle to sew through the thicker fabric, but sewing your own pillows and cushions gives you total freedom to create the look you want in your yard.

Don't try to cut corners on the material, though. Failing to use durable outdoor fabric will result in pillows and cushions that don't hold their shape, and will eventually mold when exposed to moisture. Outdoor fabric should be labeled at your local hobby store, but if it's not, just ask for help.

For an upcycling angle, you can turn an old outdoor rug into cushions and pillows to give it a new life.

Whether you're buying or DIYing for your outdoor furniture, consider purchasing some basic weatherproofing sprays to keep on hand so that you can maintain and upkeep all of your beautiful outdoor furniture throughout the years. A little bit of basic maintenance and upkeep once or twice a year will extend the life of your outdoor furniture in a big way.