Let's Go Shopping for Outdoor Furniture

To some, selecting the perfect outdoor furniture is an art form. But functionality is also important when it comes to choosing even the most fashionable pieces, according to the experts.

Before purchasing an outdoor sofa, chair or chaise, be sure to sit in it first—and not just for a minute or two—because while the aesthetics and fashions annually shift, one key ingredient remains the same: it needs to be comfortable.

“You know you’re going to spend a lot of time in it, and the last thing you want to do is go, ‘Ouch, this is really uncomfortable,’” said Randy Kolhoff, owner of Black Swan Antiques in Bridgehampton, which sells antiques and some new items too. “Once you sit in it for a little while, you know.”

Residence recently visited Mr. Kolhoff’s shop, along with three other local stores—Mecox Gardens in Southampton, East End Outdoor Supply in East Quogue and Thayer’s Hardware and Patio in Bridgehampton—to learn the do’s and don’t’s of outdoor décor.

But the salty East End environment, coupled with sun, wind and rain, does not make outdoor furniture shopping easy.

When it comes to wooden furniture, be sure

that it is made from teak or outdoor mahogany, Mr. Kolhoff warned, and treat it with teak oil and a water seal. If shopping for something to last, don’t buy pine or poplar; it will fall apart before the season is through, he said.

“What happens is the salt air breaks things down so quick that it’s worth the money to buy something that’s going to give you several more seasons worth of use,” he said.

He pointed to the Seaside Casual line, a collection of Adirondack chairs and chaises made from recycled polymers that he sells at Black Swan Antiques.

“These are my top sellers. A single is $485 apiece, but you just have to buy them once and that’s it,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about them again because you can leave them out year-round.”

Doubles run $780 and a chaise costs $930. They come in 10 different colors and sport 40 cushion options.

“It’s all about color this year,” Mr. Kolhoff said. “The greens and the obnoxious oranges are stylish this season. Bright, bold colors. I, myself, am a traditionalist. I like things white. I don’t steer too far from traditional colors and pieces.”

And for other traditionalists like himself, Mr. Kolhoff carries indoor/outdoor wicker furniture, all one-of-a-kind pieces that are restored and date back decades, he said. Before buying, look for breaks in the wicker, and store it someplace dry when it rains.

“People now see petroleum-based wicker and they forget that it was once all done by hand with actual wicker materials,” he said, lounging on a green, 7-foot sofa that costs $1,975. “It’s not fragile by any means. And this is a funky color.”

Winding through the outdoor displays at Mecox Gardens in Southampton, there is a furniture collection for a whole host of outdoor scenarios—from gardens and poolside lounges to sunny dining spots and shady terraces.

The trick is to match the furniture with the space, according to sales associate Kendall Williams. Put wood or concrete in a sunny area and metal in a shady area, she suggested.

“You don’t want a zinc tabletop in the sun,” she said. “It can get hot and may even burn you. Also, buy knowing what you can store during the winter.”

Much of the concrete collection—including a rectangular, 8-foot-long table for $6,800 and the wavy Candice chaise lounge, which retails for $4,950—can be left out in the elements during the winter, unlike a pot, certain woods and wickers.

“Concrete will last 10 to 15 years,” Ms. Williams said. “It should be a long time before something goes wrong. If it’s a good product, it will age, but it will age beautifully.”

Other popular items at Mecox Gardens include a modern Palm Beach outdoor chair, made with a high-density polymer wicker, for $1,200 and the Faux Bois collection. A club chair from that collection costs $2,025.

Across the canal, settled on Montauk Highway in East Quogue, East End Outdoor Supply owner Mark Saladino said he can’t afford to charge thousands of dollars for a chair and said he instead prices his products around the area.

“I’m not in Southampton Village. The prices are ridiculous. Take this chair, here, for example,” he said, pointing to a high-top chair in the Arboria line that sells in a pair with a table for $349. “In brand-name teak, it will probably cost $800. And this will last probably 10 years. So what’s the difference?”

Decorating an average backyard is all about taste, said Mr. Saladino. But he pointed out that a basic outdoor table and chair set is a quintessential ingredient no matter what.

“I could put that together for under $1,000,” he said. “But if you’re doing it on your own, watch out for a lot of cheap furniture out there. Look for the way it’s put together, the type of hardware that’s used. Make sure it’s fairly solid and doesn’t wobble.”

Slapping his hand on a post of a white cedar porch swing, which costs $299, he shook it to show it was sturdy. “They’re really cool, and we sell a lot of these,” he said.

Another best-seller at East End Outdoor Supply is the classic Hamptons picnic table, which Mr. Saladino gets from Amish country in Pennsylvania. The 3-by-6-foot treated fir table is sold with two unfixed benches for $325. A square table with four benches costs $425.

“Most of the furniture you see today have the fixed sides where the benches are part of the table and they weigh a million pounds,” he said. “Don’t have that problem with these.”

Even though outdoor furniture is meant to withstand the elements, it’s essential to clean it, said Roger Thayer, owner of Thayer’s Hardware and Patio in Bridgehampton.

“A good-quality piece of furniture can be handed down to the next generation if you take care of it a little bit,” he said. “It’s outdoor furniture, it can get wet. Don’t be afraid to hose it down. Just clean it. That’s the trick to all of this.”

Furniture quality is improving every year, Mr. Thayer said, from teak sets to vinyl and resin weaves, which are becoming increasingly more weatherproof. A 10-foot-long teak table can run $3,000 and a resin weave sofa costs about $6,000, he said.

And just like with fashion, there are definite trends in outdoor furniture, Mr. Thayer said, though he added that quality should always come first.

“Designs are constantly changing. It’s like women’s clothing,” he said. “The furniture gets more stylish. But don’t become enslaved to your furniture. Buy quality materials and you’ll enjoy it. If you buy cheap stuff, it is going to haunt you and fall apart. Just buy good stuff and go out and have fun!”