What’s the best way to add a room to your home without a construction project? It’s by making a room out of your outdoor living space, including your porch, patio or poolside area. It’s by furnishing a patio or other outdoor hot spot that’s so inviting everyone will want to spend more time there. Here are some tips about selecting outdoor furniture to fall in love with.

Making Best Use of Your Patio Space

Before you start shopping, think about how big your patio is and how you plan to use it. Will it be mostly for cookouts and al fresco dinners? Is it next to a pool or garden where folks will relax and converse? Is there room for both a dining area and a lounging area? Patios can be set up in dining arrangements, conversational living room arrangements, lounging arrangements or a combination of these.

Most patio setups include a table, and it needs to be the right one for your space. A table for four will fit comfortably in 100 square feet. A larger table needs about 150. If you have a larger patio with more room, you might accommodate both a dining table area and a conversational area. Possibly you’ll have pieces that move from one side to the other. Your patio will look more orderly if it’s always clear when you’re moving from the dining to the lounging area and vice versa.

Ensure that the size of your furniture arrangement goes with the size of your patio. You don’t want it to look either crowded or empty. Don’t use an outdoor sofa or sectional unless it has some clearance. Also, make sure that it’s easy to slide chairs back from the table and to walk though the patio without feeling cramped.

As for style, some people will choose furniture that extends the style inside their homes, while others will prefer a patio or deck that has its own distinct look. Make the choice that pleases you.

Patio Furniture Materials

There isn’t a single best patio furniture construction type. There are attractive, high-quality tables and chairs available in a variety of materials.

• Metal continues to be that most popular option. Wrought iron is hard to beat for sturdiness and a classic look. However, cast aluminum offers some of the same timeless scrolled designs in a lighter material. There’s also lightweight extruded aluminum. Aluminum is usually powder coated for extra protection. Stainless steel is sometimes used as well.
• Wood furniture is beautiful, but it takes a lot of care for it to stand up under outdoor use. You’ll have to restain or repaint it periodically to preserve the color. Pine and cedar are popular, and teak and jarrah are longer lasting –sometimes 50 years or more – but more expensive.
• Wicker is unrivaled for a stylish, casual look that makes a patio or deck feel like a living room. Not all wicker is suitable for outdoor use; be sure to choose wicker patio furniture labeled as all-weather.
• Recycled plastic. The emphasis on sustainability keeps growing, and recycled plastic patio furniture gets better looking and more versatile every day. You can find it in everything from tables to chaise lounges to a variety of chairs.

When you’re choosing cushioned pieces and umbrellas, don’t forget to consider fabric. The best patio furniture brands use solution dyed acrylics, where long-lasting color is ensured by dying the fiber before it’s spun. This allows for a wider selection of colorful cushions—with less fading and wear over time. Outdoor polyesters and olefins are lower-priced but still durable choices.

Dining Furniture

A patio dining setup can be as small as a bistro set made up of a small round or square table and two chairs. On the other hand, some arrangements center around large rectangular tables that seat six or eight. These more sizable tables are often the focus of the patio.

Table tops are glass, tile, wood or metal, and metal is often scrolled with elaborate designs. Some people choose to buy a dining set with up to six matching chairs. Another option is to purchase four matching chairs and add others that are also suitable for conversational seating. These extras might be swivel rockers or slingbacks that are pulled up to the table only when they’re needed.

Another increasingly popular option is the high-top look. The average dining chair seat is 18 to 20 inches high, but counter-height chairs, along with higher tables, allow people a better view of what’s going on in the yard. They’re useful on decks to keep the railing below eye level.

A table doesn’t have to be accompanied by traditional chairs, especially if it’s a square or round four-person table where the emphasis will be on drinks, snacks and socializing. There could be wicker armchairs or even an outdoor sofa or sectional on one side of the table.

Lounge Furniture

With an attractive selection of lounge furniture, you can move an indoor party outdoors and experience that same kind of comfort you enjoy in your living room. This is where wicker stars with its substantial yet casual look. You can find outdoor sofas, sectionals, armchairs and even recliners. You can choose a complete set with matching pieces, or you might prefer to mix and match. It’s good to include an ottoman or two as well as coffee tables and side tables. It’s a bonus if some of these tables have storage.

For more of a poolside look you might populate this area with lightweight metal and fabric chairs and perhaps a chaise lounge or two. And when it comes to sharp looks and comfortable seating, few choices compare with an Adirondack chair.

There are a few things you can do on your patio that just don’t work in a living room. For example, most patio furniture is light enough to easily move around whenever you want a different configuration. Also, you can include outdoor-only furniture such as porch rockers and hammock chairs.

Fire Tables

If you want your patio to be a welcoming spot where the fun continues after the sun goes down, there’s nothing as versatile as a fire table. Most of these run on the same propane tank you use with your grill. Many have decorative rocks and a wind screen that not only prevents the fire from going out but also keeps little hands safe. You can spread out your beverages, hors d’oeuvres and s’mores fixings and keep the good times rolling as late as you like. There are fire table sets with a pair or more of matching chairs or lounge furniture to add even more comfort and style.

Patio Accessories

Tables and chairs are a great start, but it’s those extras that give a patio or deck the homey touch that makes people want to spend time there.

• Umbrellas. If you plan to use your outdoor space in the daytime, you’ll want umbrellas. It’s good to have an umbrella stand under your main table, and you may want some standalone umbrellas as well. Umbrellas with a solution-dyed fabric will retain their brilliant color for years.
• Rugs. All-weather rugs bring the comfort of the great indoors to your patio area. They look great, and they make a conversational furniture grouping feel like a real room. If your patio has both a dining area and a living room area, a rug draws the line between one and the other.
• Fans. When the weather gets sticky, a fan provides cooling relief. Free-standing fans are available if you don’t have an overhead structure for mounting a ceiling fan.
• Heaters. There’s no reason to call a halt to patio season when the weather turns nippy. Restaurants use outdoor heaters, and so can you. Choose from electric wall mounts and gas-powered free standers.
• Outdoor cooker. Charcoal and gas grills are always in vogue, but, if it’s time for an upgrade, consider the Big Green Egg. The Egg is not only a grill but also a roaster, slow cooker and outdoor oven. It’s easy to use, has world-class heat retention and is a cinch to clean up after use.
• Lights. It’s more enjoyable staying out late when there are lights. Illumination can be wall-mounted, strung overhead or mounted on a post. Solar lights are a fun energy-saving option for the patio’s perimeter. They soak up sun during the day and automatically light up at dusk.
• Pillows and cushions. If your chairs don’t come with cushions, you can increase the comfort factor by adding them. If there’s an outdoor sofa or sectional, gain a pop of color with a few outdoor accent pillows. As with umbrellas, there’s colorfast fabric that holds up to sunlight and the elements.
• Decor and plants. Any room is homier with decor, and an outdoor room is no exception. Tabletop sculpture and exterior wall art are fine choices, but a patio or deck really lends itself to planters and baskets with flowers and greenery.
• Protective covers. Once you’ve brought home your patio furniture, take the extra step to protect it. There are made-to-fit weatherproof covers for everything from tables to chairs to fire tables to umbrellas. These are especially important if you don’t have an inside location to store your furnishings in the winter.

A pleasantly furnished patio enhances your enjoyment of your entire home. Use some of these tips to create the perfect outdoor living space that you’ve always wanted.