Garden furniture has been around for a long time. Once cultures around the world developed enough to give human beings leisure time, furniture for lounging was not far behind.

If you’ve visited the Acropolis in Greece or the ruins of the Roman Forum, you’ve seen some of the earliest examples of outdoor furniture. They’re fun for taking vacation photos, but we don’t think that the solid stone and marble benches look very inviting. Hopefully they had comfy cushions back in the day.

Archeologists have uncovered even earlier examples of outdoor furniture from ancient Egypt. It seems that wicker furniture made from Nile river reeds and grass was all the rage, well before the Greeks or Romans had time for relaxing outdoors.

Over the centuries, and across the continents, patio furniture has evolved into what we find in backyards gardens and on balconies and patios around the world today.

Medieval Outdoor Furniture

We were surprised to find that we have our medieval ancestors to thank for the use of grass in gardens. They loved it, and even turned it into turf benches. These turf-topped pots and short walls gave lords and ladies a place to rest while they toured their gardens.

This was apparently the preferred patio furniture style of the day. Who needs legs and seats and backs when a patch of grass will do?

Garden Furniture in the Modern Era

We’ve talked about the history of teak furniture in previous blog posts. It is worth repeating though, that while all of the other patio furniture trends were coming and going, teak was always there. From the 18th century English garden benches made of recycled teak from British Navy boats to today’s ultra-modern teak garden furniture and accessories.

Early American Garden Furniture

Cultivated gardens were loved by early Americans, including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Gardens in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were typically adorned with wooden benches that were made right on site. The benches were often copies of European benches, made using imported pattern books.

Victorian Era Garden Furniture

In the late 1800s, ornamental, cast iron garden furniture came into vogue. What it lacked in comfort it more than made up for in beauty, and the Victorian garden was all about beauty. You will still find examples of beautiful, white Rococo cast iron furniture in The White House gardens today.

While cast iron was used in gardens, wicker furniture was very popular for porches and small, less formal gardens.

Wrought iron was also very popular among the most wealthy Americans of the era. Artisans twisted and shaped wrought iron into delicate patterns. The laborious process was tedious and expensive, but the results were beautiful. Not surprisingly, these antiques remain in high demand even today.

Enter Industrialization

With the introduction of mechanical extruders and wire foundries, came inexpensive, sturdy and mass-produced wire furniture. The look of expensive wrought iron could be copied and spit out of machines at a rapid pace, so lounging in the garden in style was no longer just for the well-heeled.

Adirondack Chairs

No history of patio furniture would be complete without a mention of the enduring Adirondack chair, a true American treasure. Thomas Lee is credited with building the first Adirondack chair in Westport, NY around 1904.

The Adirondack has evolved over the past hundred years, but it is still a favorite of urban and rural garden dwellers coast to coast.

Motel Chairs

You may know these colorful stamped-metal lawn chairs as shell-back or tulip chairs. They became popular after World War II because they were easy and inexpensive to mass produce.

If you’ve got memories of your grandparents or great grandparents relaxing on the porch in a brightly-colored chair or glider, they were probably sitting in one of the original motel chairs. The chairs came to be known by that name when motels across America, including on the famous Route 66, began buying them en masse, and placing them outside guest rooms and around pools.

Enter The Plastic Garden Chair

Plastic chairs were considered revolutionary in the 1960s. New plastics technology allowed designers to design and produce patio furniture in styles that were previously unimaginable. Transparent, colorful, indoor, outdoor, stackable, modern, or traditional, there was really no end to the types of plastic furniture that could be produced.

While there are still many examples of beautiful and functional plastic outdoor furniture, the excitement and creativity of 1960s plastic furniture has, to a large extent, been replaced by the modern outdoor furniture we have a love-hate relationship with — the plastic resin patio chair. Stackable, cheap, and light, plastic resin chairs have invaded yards across the country. They’re more popular today than ever. You can even find Adirondack-looking chairs made out of plastic resin. But if you’ve ever gotten up from one to find that you’ve got a white resin stain up and down the back of your blue sundress, you understand why we say ours is a love-hate relationship.

Patio Furniture Today

In 2017 Teak Patio Furniture is really the king of all garden furniture. Nothing is more beautiful, durable and complimentary to any gardenscape. And with the introduction of sustainably grown and responsibly harvested Teak, there’s no reason not to make it your go-to for new garden furniture.

Wicker is one of our favorites too. Made with new durable, and environmentally-friendly materials, our wicker patio furniture is virtually indestructible. We’ve also got a great selection of stainless steel and metal patio furniture.

Our selection of outdoor furniture is always growing. So be sure to check out our online store and browse through our outdoor patio furniture catalog for all of the latest styles.