Our outdoor table is on its last leg and must be replaced. We’ve had this old table for almost 20 years…wooden table top, heavy-duty metal frame…I’ve refinished it more times than I care to remember. I’d like to avoid such maintenance in the future. Our deck is in the direct sun and is as hot as Hades–a factor to consider when purchasing outdoor furniture. We use umbrellas to make it tolerable… Don’t want to buy a junky table that needs to be replaced in a year or two. Don’t want to spend more money than is necessary but they seem to be priced all over the place–very pricey to too, too cheap.
I’ve looked at Crate and Barrel–their selection is interesting but not I’m not sure their quality justifies the prices…although reviews seem to be pretty good for the ones I considered. I don’t want to be overly thrifty because I do expect to take care of it, store it inside over the winter and would like it to last for several years. Also found one on a web site (Wayfair??) made of ‘manufactured’ wood but wasn’t sure about quality, etc.
I’m wondering if anybody has been down this road lately and has words of wisdom–where to shop/what to avoid, etc.
OP mentioned that her deck gets scorching hot in the summer. A stone or metal table top will feel like a heated pan in such sun! It looks like the OP’s best choices would be wood or some sort of a composite material in lighter colors.
I have a metal frame with glass top table that I bought from Pier One in 1992 (and it’s been outside ever since). Still looks great. We also have a stone top table–it doesn’t get particularly hot in the summer.
We have a white spun fiberglass table with a glass top with matching chairs. (It looks like wicker furniture.) We’ve had it for 20 years+ on our deck and it has never been kept inside in the winter. When it gets dirty, we just clean it. No deterioration at all. It was a great purchase.
We have a dark green cheap plastic table we have owned for a long time. You need to decide which surface you want. Our table is currently under our Florida lanai roof . It amazing how much dirt manages to coat it despite the screened area and sheltered. Be sure to consider the days-after-cleaning appearance even if you would clean it before dining. You don’t want something that looks dirty all of the time. White, clear glass… anyone else know from experience how these look daily?
I would not put placemats or dishes with food on any outdoor table without wiping it down first. Long-term dirt accumulation during periods of non-use could be an issue. A tabletop of solid, non-porous, non-textured material is a breeze to clean: lightly brush with dish soap solution and hose the dirt off. Some plastics or other materials that have minimal texture to them need much more rubbing and brushing to get the dust and dirt out of it. I wash the glass panels of my deck railings using the brush/soap water/hose solution, and it is not a major chore. The plastic picnic table is a royal pain, OTOH, even though it has much less surface. Galvanized metal, white or other color, is also easy to wash.
Easy to sponge off out table, but just needing to do it, sigh. Keep a white 5 cubic freezer we brought with us out there (no room indoors or garage- and garage gets hot!) and really notice the gray layer- air seems clean but… Also noticed the same dirt on a deck for a north woods condo. Surprising how much dirt in nature- not just the Chicago city condo we used one weekend.
We have a glass table with aluminium frame on our deck. The aluminium is coated with something to make it white. It has been outside year round (our summers are very hot) for about 15 years and still looks great. No maintenance required other than washing off dirt and pollen.
Long-term dirt accumulation during periods of non-use could be an issue. A tabletop of solid, non-porous, non-textured material is a breeze to clean: lightly brush with dish soap solution and hose the dirt off. Some plastics or other materials that have minimal texture to them need much more rubbing and brushing to get the dust and dirt out of it. I wash the glass panels of my deck railings using the brush/soap water/hose solution, and it is not a major chore. The plastic picnic table is a royal pain, OTOH, even though it has much less surface. Galvanized metal, white or other color, is also easy to wash.