Commercial Outdoor Furniture

Patio Furniture Umbrellas – What You Need To Know

If you’re one to use your patio or sun room in the day time or on a lazy afternoon, why wouldn’t you want to accessorize your patio furniture with patio umbrellas? It’s just incomplete without them.

Umbrellas flaunt an aesthetic look to the surroundings apart from shading you and protecting you from skin cancer.

TIP: You can acquire multiple seating arrangements in your patio by putting up many umbrellas!

Patio furniture like benches, tables, chairs, swings, hammocks, chaise lounge, sofa sets or couches, recliners and rockers would all look far more dressed with simply an addition of umbrellas.

The great thing about patio furniture umbrellas are that they come in almost any color, pattern or design you can imagine. And if nothing that you find seems to fit your taste, they are easily custom-made as well.

Types of Patio Furniture Umbrellas

Irrespective of the fabric used, whether ordinary vinyl or UV protective – umbrellas are classified on what their pole and ribs are made out of.

• Wooden Umbrellas
These are opened and closed with a pulley system.

• Plastic/Stainless Steel Umbrellas
These are manually operated and have a spring – clasp fit.

• Metal Umbrellas
These umbrellas are opened with a pulley system.

Most umbrellas are featured with tilting options, so along with the height of the pole, you can adjust and tilt the umbrella to shade yourself against the angle of the sun without having to get up.

Umbrellas are generally round or hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal or rectangular. Choose one that gives you the most coverage so keep in mind the chairs or benches or furniture that you’re buying the umbrella(s) for. Make sure they match together. Umbrellas go great as a style statement for all your patio furniture

Maintenance Needs

Patio furniture umbrellas require very little time and effort of maintenance from you if you’ve bought smartly. All you have to do is clean and repaint the poles at least once a year, an occasional wiping or hose down and that’s it.

The life span of a good patio umbrella is 7-8 years in outdoor, typical weather conditions.

Just remember that patio umbrellas are designed for protecting you from the sun. They aren’t made to withstand rain, you really wouldn’t be sitting on your patio in the rain, although…that could be a fun change of pace for once.

Once you’ve outgrown your umbrella or even if it gets damaged, instead of selling it or throwing it away there a tons of stuff you could do to recycle them like:

• Remove the cloth and the pole and make an instant trellis for your plants and garden – a cute look, actually.

• Rip off the cloth and plant the pole in a sturdy pot and you’ve got yourself a support for climbers like grape vines or other plants, if not that, then it can double as a clothes line. Go green on your dry cycle – save some green in the process.

Your options are only limited to your imagination, and only of course if you have the time or desire to do so.

A good, smart and stylish patio umbrella that covers a table of 6 with UV protection costs $100-$250 approximately, though the price can vary widely depending upon the manufacturer and features.

Patio Furniture Umbrellas For Every Situation

If you want to try out an umbrella to suit your needs, consider the following suggestions. Written in a format of “If you have this, then get that umbrella.”

Hammocks – A single, small sized umbrella

Benches/Rockers – Rectangular umbrellas

Round table and chairs – Hexagonal / octagonal depending on the table capacity.

Concluding thoughts:

Once you’ve decided on the color and pattern, make sure the size of the umbrella is large enough. Buy a UV protected umbrella if it’s in your budget or if not, you can find some protective spray such as a sealer made for outdoor furniture that should do the trick. Make sure you ask your dealer when purchasing your furniture what he or she suggests.

If you live near water, plastic patio furniture umbrellas are a good option but have a life span of 2-3 years, so I personally recommend the metal umbrellas for those on a budget. Not only are they more durable, they simply get the job done without costing an arm and a leg.