Outdoor & garden furniture

Choosing outdoor furniture

Outdoor furniture in this part of Pakistan has to cope with a very hot summer, a monsoon, and a genuinely cold Pothohar winter, sometimes within a single year. Very little furniture sold as "outdoor" is specified for that range, so the material and coating information on a listing matters more here than in any other category.

For metal frames, the question is the coating rather than the metal. A powder-coated frame will hold up; thin wet paint over mild steel will bleed rust down a terrace wall within a couple of seasons. Listings name the frame material and its coating where the maker has supplied them.

For timber, be realistic about maintenance before you buy. Solid timber left uncovered on an exposed roof terrace will silver and will want oiling roughly once a year to stay looking new. That is a small job, but it is a job — if it is not one you will actually do, choose a coated metal frame instead and accept the different look.

Cushions and slings are worth checking separately: whether the covers come off for washing, and whether replacements are available. A faded cushion cover is a cheap fix if covers are stocked and an expensive one if they are not.