The right garden furniture is essential for creating your ideal outdoor sanctuary, helping you break down the separation between indoor and outdoor living spaces. High-quality outdoor furniture can elevate the appearance of your home, provide ample space for entertaining guests, and be the perfect place to relax and soak up the sun during the summer months.
Since this furniture is so vital to making your garden a livable space, you need to ensure it can stand the test of time. While luxury garden furniture is designed with the weather in mind, proper maintenance can help you extend the lifespan of your furniture and keep it looking its best. Covering your garden furniture with waterproof, UV-resistant fabric when it’s not in use can therefore help you get the most out of your purchase.
But do you really need garden furniture covers, or is this just an extra purchase you can skip? As garden furniture specialists, we’re here to help you decide.
Benefits of garden furniture covers
Even if you’ve bought weatherproof garden furniture, your outdoor tables and chairs can still face adverse effects from being left out in the elements – especially since British weather is notoriously unpredictable! Here are some of the main advantages you can expect from using garden furniture covers:
1. Protection from harsh weather
High-quality garden furniture is typically designed to be weatherproof, but this doesn’t mean it’s built to withstand extreme weather conditions on a yearly basis. Consistent exposure to heavy rain, frost, snow and strong winds throughout the year can take its toll, with furniture becoming rusty, mouldy or exhibiting signs of wear and tear such as ripped fabric and unravelled rattan. This wear and tear is considerably worse for natural rattan furniture and other wooden materials, which are particularly prone to the growth of mould from being left in wet conditions. However, even durable PE rattan garden furniture can look shabby without proper maintenance.
The use of waterproof garden furniture covers will significantly reduce the impact of adverse weather conditions on your furniture. By completely covering your garden furniture with a durable material like polyester or vinyl, you can keep rain and frost off the furniture to keep it looking pristine and prevent the growth of mould over time.
2. UV resistance
Even during spells of good weather, it’s important to cover your outdoor furniture when not in use to protect it from strong UV rays, which can bleach furniture over time and make it look old and tired. Again, natural rattan garden furniture is particularly susceptible to becoming damaged, as wooden materials can easily become sun-bleached from prolonged UV exposure. However, even durable synthetic materials like PE rattan can start to look shabby more quickly if they are consistently left in direct sunlight over a long period of time.
In addition to being waterproof, high-quality garden furniture covers also use UV-resistant material to block UV rays from reaching the furniture and causing issues like bleaching and fading. Overall, taking a few moments to cover your furniture when you’re not using it is worthwhile if it means your garden furniture stays looking as good as new for much longer.
3. Saves money
Buying outdoor furniture covers is a much smaller investment compared to buying new garden furniture. By protecting your garden furniture from the elements with these covers, you can prevent wear and tear and keep it looking pristine for much longer. On the other hand, if you don’t protect your furniture at all, you may need to buy an entirely new set in just a couple of years, which can be very costly. Therefore, buying garden furniture covers represents a long-term investment in the longevity of your outdoor furniture, helping you save money over time by allowing you to keep your current furniture set for many years to come.
4. Reduces cleaning and maintenance
Regularly cleaning your garden furniture is essential for maintaining its appearance and preventing future wear and tear. However, many of us forget to clean it often enough, or you may simply not have the time to stay on top of garden furniture maintenance.
Garden furniture covers are extremely helpful in this respect. Your covers will collect all of the rainwater, dust, debris (such as fallen leaves), dirt and insects that would’ve fallen on your furniture, keeping your chairs, tables and sofas cleaner for longer. Your furniture covers are also much easier to clean thanks to their smooth, wipeable material, so all you need to do is rinse and wipe down your covers when they start to get too grubby.
Are PE rattan garden furniture covers necessary?
One of the main criticisms of outdoor furniture covers is that they’re an unnecessary additional cost. Garden furniture, and especially durable PE rattan garden furniture, should be designed for outdoor use, and should therefore be able to withstand typical weather conditions like sunshine and rain. For example, synthetic rattan is designed to be very strong and difficult to pull apart, and the powder-coated aluminium frames are designed to resist rust and bleaching.
It’s true that synthetic materials like PE rattan are very hardy and long-lasting, but this doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time to protect them further. Protecting your garden furniture from adverse weather conditions can help you prolong its lifespan as much as possible, and keep it looking its best throughout. Plus, winter covers make furniture maintenance easier by reducing how often you need to clean your furniture.
You also need to consider the features of your garden. Is it particularly exposed and therefore vulnerable to strong winds and sunshine? UV-resistant furniture covers with ties will protect your furniture from sun bleaching and stop your furniture cushions from being blown away. Even a very sheltered garden can face its own issues, such as a lot of falling leaves and debris during the autumn months. In this case, outdoor furniture covers would keep this debris off the furniture itself, which is harder to clean. Instead, the debris would collect on the easily wipeable covers.
Winter cover materials
So, what kind of furniture covers do you need? Good covers should be waterproof and UV-resistant, and it’s also very useful if they’re easy to clean and store. Here are some of the types of covers you should look out for:
Polyester
Polyester is one of the best furniture cover materials because it’s waterproof, UV-resistant and durable. It’s also very lightweight, which makes it easy to quickly cover your furniture, uncover it, and fold and store your covers when not in use.
Vinyl
Vinyl is another waterproof and UV-resistant material used in garden furniture covers. Vinyl is also very durable, lightweight and easy to use.
Custom Alexander Francis covers
While both vinyl and polyester are great covering materials in a pinch, the best option is to purchase garden furniture that has its own custom winter covers. Here at Alexander Francis, all of our garden furniture sets have their own corresponding covers, which feature three layers of waterproof, UV-resistant, anti-tearing and breathable fabric for the best protection possible. This means they can keep out rain and frost whilst also allowing trapped-in moisture to escape, which is essential for preventing the growth of mould.
By choosing furniture covers that perfectly match your furniture, you can maintain your garden’s luxurious appearance whilst ensuring your furniture is well protected. We have beautifully designed and stain-resistant covers for all of our rattan furniture collections, including our ultra-weather-resistant Sunbrella range. And when your covers aren’t in use, you can easily store them in the bags provided.
Discover our luxurious collections and furniture sets on the Alexander Francis website, including sofa sets, daybeds, dining sets and more, all made from durable, high-quality PE rattan. You can also check out our blog for more advice on cleaning and maintaining your garden furniture to get the most out of your outdoor space.
