Lawn furniture

It's that time again.  Every few years I apply a fresh coat of rustoleum to my lawn furniture.   I have metal benches that are old enough to vote and very comfortable without needing cushions.   I also have a lot of large rocks that sometimes serve as seats, stands for potted plants, or occasionally tables. None of these require special seasonal storage or replacement.  Some of them are nice enough that they are used inside almost as often as outdoors.

Why is the current fashion for wicker, wood, and upholstery outside that all requires extra effort and has to be replaced relatively frequently?  I don't remember the last time I saw a recommendation for something durable except maybe tiling a space. Are there special maintenance techniques for wood that I just don't know about? I doubt it would be easier than paint 2 or 3 times a decade (usually 2)

We do have an outdoor rug for the cement slab in our backyard during the summer, but that is a practical necessity.   That exposed cement slab can get hot enough to blister your feet.  Even if we weren't a primarily barefoot household, we have animals that need to cross that slab.  Even wooden decks get painfully hot in full sun here. We do roll that up to store during cold or wet seasons.

After a couple of popular TV show showed wealthy people eating outdoors, "outside rooms" became a fashion statement. Fast Fashion in clothing is extremely hard on the environment, and the outdoor furniture version is no different. It's pretty much all short-cycle artificial fabric full of artificial foam.

If you have, or can find, *any* sort of outdoor chair (or indoor chair that won't be hurt by rain/dew/sun) that fits you comfortably without any cushions, that is awesome. I, for one, am not so lucky. All my outdoor furniture is a compromise for my body, as is a friend's who I often dine outdoors with. When she replaced her cushions due to them wearing out after 15+ years, she bought a matching throw cushion for me to put behind me so that I'd be able to sit with them to eat. "Too deep" is common for me and "back support" in exactly the wrong place or simply totally lacking is equally common, but both problems can be fixed with the right size and shape of cushion behind me.

There's a whole thread full of cool ideas of how to refurbish outdoor chairs that had some sort of strapping on them. The OP was amazed at all the great ideas and decided to try more than one of them.  https://permies.com/t/178119/suggestions-refurbish-older-lawn-chairs

At the very least, permies know they can build better than what the fashion people insist you need in order to "keep up with the _________ " . Learning to ignore ads and subtle "promotion" is a life skill many of us struggle with. Many permies are winning that struggle!

Hi,  Lets not forget the built in obsolescence factor.  Gotta keep people buying new, otherwise we are out of business.  Look at  the light bulb.  Did you know there are some light bulbs that have been on and are still working after 100 years? Think the bulb business would be gone by now if we all had 100 year bulbs.  So too with outdoor furniture.  It definitely cannot be made to last. even the plastic chairs become brittle and break easily.  

And then our part is to figure out how to make it last.  Actually I did rescue a plastic set from the trash one.  Used a paint designed to bond with plastic and probably doubled it's lifespan.  Still too short to be worth it though. It's hard to beat my metal pieces.  

I vaguely dream of someday learning some basic welding to make more metal structures in the yard.  I have many wonderful trellises because neighbors throw away cheap decorative gazebo panels after a wind storm tears the connectors and fabric apart. If I had the skill I could remake these into better permanent structures... actually maybe I should talk with my neighbor who is a professional welder and see if I could hire him.  That is definitely a local resource I haven't tappped.

We recently bought new outdoor furniture from an Amish store nearby.  It is made from that same composite material that deck "boards" are made of now sometimes.  The metal parts are all stainless steel.  They were expensive, but I expect them to last longer than I will.  They don't have cushions, but are very comfortable.  That may change after sitting on them for more than a few minutes, but they seem really nice so far.  They are on order and won't be here for a month or so, but I'll be able to update this with more information and pictures then if people are interested.