Have you got wooden garden furniture which looks good after multiple winters in the NW of England?

[onflic]

If so…where is it from and what is it made of?

I am pulling my hair out trying to find something well reviewed for lasting a long time. We can’t bring in over winter but we can cover up.

Looking for a table & chairs/benches, sun loungers and a standalone bench.

No I don’t but my neighbours do, and the reason it looks good is because they sand and treat it every year. Personally I couldn’t be bothered. On a lovely sunny day I have to listen to his sander going all day.

I echo the point of the last user, there is no way round it you have to put the hours in. If that’s not your bag, metal and glass and man made materials are the way. I have a glass and metal table and the dining chairs are metal and man made fibre for the seats, just pressure wash them in the spring. My wooden bench just looks erm rustic!

I am not up for yearly sanding. I’ve been looking at metal ones - maybe with some cushions. Or even the big industrial recycled plastic ones they have in schools.

@onflic
if you are looking at metal ones, I thoroughly recommend Black Country metal works.

I have a six seater table and chairs, it looks really good and sits uncovered all winter.

https://www.blackcountrymetalworks.co.uk

Powdered coated aluminium pieces have worked well for us. Almost no maintenance - just pull off the covers and I clean with a cloth and a standard kitchen spray. Wish I’d thought of it many years before when we struggled with wooden stuff not weathering well.

No. They were very expensive and I sanded and teak oiled the bastards every year, covered them all winter, etc. They cracked and rotted.

I now have sort of woven plastic rattan things that stay out all year and just need a hose off to start using again.

I would not go back to wood

Our garden furniture is made out of this material. It looks like wood but is so durable. We just hose it down - no other upkeep needed.

Sorry, the link didn’t work - I’ll try again.

I couldn’t add a link - hopefully this will be 3rd time lucky with a photo!

I have up on wood...My rattan one has managed 5 lousy years now the plastic is failing.

https://www.bpsbuildit.co.uk/nassau-sage-green-95cm-square-dining-set-for-4--1

We have these nassau chairs and i really rate them.

You definately can buy this - people like National Trust have it in their cafes and some upmarket pubs. I am following as I want some too. We have an old bench we got with our house when we bought it it is 17 years old and still serviceable - the stuff we have bought since has been rubbish and all rotten/ broken. Saw some at Chelsea Flower show but the prices were “very Chelsea” - there is no way previous owner of my house will have spent £5000 or whatever it was on a bench.

i think you have to get a cover, tbh

Not in the NW, but we also gave up on wood - and tried powder coated aluminum but that flaked off after a while.

We eventually got a Gloster faux rattan table/chairs set which is now eleven years old - it survived six wet Welsh winters uncovered! - and still looks like new.

We've also had a faux rattan corner sofa from FeatureDeco for four years and that's wearing well too. The seat cushions are incredibly deep which is why we chose it.

Neither were cheap, but it was worth paying for quality imo.

Two expensive teak benches that were a wedding present 20 years are still going strong. We didn’t varnish them they just weathered grey.

A powdered metal and glass table that’s probably 25 years old is fine. 2 rattan chairs that are powder coated metal, plastic rattan are going great, never been inside or under cover in 25 years.

4 expensive plastic rattan chairs from La redoute last year, under cover all winter, are fucked.

Not NW, but I got someone’s old wooden furniture from FB Marketplace. Lasted 30 years with them and is going strong after 4 years with us. I just treat it every few years.