Wherever you are in the world, the outdoor furniture you choose depends on the climate you live in. That’s why British holidays are associated with the deckchair – a light, portable, canvas and wood structure that’s perfectly suited for Britain’s changeable weather.
Here on Lanzarote, deckchairs are few and far between. If we’re going to relax in the Canarian sun, then we want to relax 100%, and will usually go for a sun lounger. But you still need to pick well if you’re buying your own furniture.
The first question is: how portable do you need your patio furniture to be? If you’ve got storage space, then you can afford to buy lighter, more portable items that can be moved in and outdoors at will. For most people, however, this isn’t necessary – the weather on Lanzarote is mild enough to let you leave most items outside all the time.
An easy solution is to buy pieces with removable upholstery, allowing you to simply fetch in cushions and fabrics to protect them against the extremes of sun or rain whenever necessary. It’s also worth ensuring that upholstery is washable, as one of the constants of Lanzarote’s outdoors is dust.
Changing fabrics is also one of the easiest ways of renovating your outdoor furniture and making it look brand new – but don’t forget that that slightly faded, sun- bleached look is also hugely attractiveandreminiscentof long, lazy summers.
The other constant is breezes, which can occasionally become seriously strong gusts and gales. Lighter patio furniture made of plastic or aluminium can easily go flying in these kind of conditions, so if you plan to use the furniture a lot it’s worth considering some more substantial items made of wood or steel.
But whether you’re shopping for your own property, or kitting out a rental apartment or villa, you need to take full account of outdoor living. Even if you don’t spend much time outdoors, your guests probably will.
