In my last article I wrote about furniture and the way it says a lot about the way we live. I thought I will share with you some more thoughts:

Location

Where you live dictates the type of furniture suitable for the place. You’re not going to be buying a furry carpet to be laid in your house in the sea side. Instead, you would use something that won’t retain all the sand you’ll be dragging in from the beach.

Climate & geography

Climate shapes our lives. For example, if you live in an earthquake prone area, you probably will not be buying heavy furniture which will become a hazard in case of tremors. You would go with furniture “built-in” or the Japanese way with rice paper partitions and minimalist low furniture.

Life style and customs

Of course, other factors to  consider are customs and life style of each region in the world. Although it’s becoming less and less important for many reasons which may be a subject of another blog!!

In a recent project, I was asked to choose some furniture for an Al-fresco restaurant. It was not so much the task of finding the type of furniture although the devil was indeed in the details. I had to take into consideration 3 main points: location, climate, and suitability.

The humid climate of the tropics and al-fresco dining are not particularly compatible. In addition to the design aspects and the look and feel, it was imperative to ensure that all technical specifications of each components of each piece of furniture was checked for suitability.

Here is a list of typical specifications and what it all means

Main aspects for outdoor furniture that need you careful attention;

The frame:

Aluminium  — a metal that can be moulded, bent, melted to form shapes. It is highly corrosion resistant which means no rust and is 100% recyclable.  Long lifetime with heavy duty use for outdoor use.
(Source: European Aluminium Association)

The main body , in this case plastic rattan;

Locally-made, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is used as plastic rattan to cover the aluminum frame. With this material, we requested more specifications to ensure the right material for the right job.

The fabric:

Must be suitable for outdoor use, stain resistant, flame retardant and UV resistant. Well all these are coating onto the fabric.

Now, you are ready and well informed to go shopping for outdoor furniture! Make sustainable decisions!