Outdoor cafe furniture

Tables out front tell everyone walking past that you are open. This department holds 287 pieces for outside: chairs, tables, bar stools, umbrellas and a couple of heaters. Read the usage line on each listing first, because patio use is what decides where a piece can stand, and a chair that belongs indoors will not last a season on the pavement.

What belongs outside

Only the pieces listed for patio use go out front. Metal, aluminum, resin and plastic teak cover most of the range, and a few pieces carry a covered-patio-only note, which means under an awning or canopy and never in open rain. Indoor chairs with wood frames or padded seats fade, swell or rust outside, and the warranty does not cover that kind of wear.

Even the right pieces need looking after. Rinse off grit and spilled drinks, let the water drain, and cover or store the furniture once the season closes.

Chairs, tables and stools

The patio chairs are the biggest group, and many of them stack, which matters when everything comes inside at close. The patio tables carry aluminum, synthetic teak, steel and resin tops. For a sidewalk rail or a high table, the patio bar stools sit at bar height. And the classic woven look of a Paris sidewalk lives in the French bistro chairs.

Frames run metal, aluminum and resin, some aluminum with a bamboo or wood look. Seats are bare metal, resin, faux rattan or plastic teak, with almost nothing upholstered, which is how it should be outside.

Shade, heat and the end of the day

Shade comes from the patio umbrellas, and an umbrella needs a heavy base under it, plus a pole hole in the table if you want it centered. The patio heaters stretch the season at either end, when the morning is cold but the regulars still want their seat in the sun.

Then plan the night. What stacks, what folds, and where does it all go after the last sweep? A stack of patio chairs by the back door is fine for a week; for the winter, the furniture wants a dry room or a proper cover, and drained tabletops that are not holding rainwater. Prices start around $58 a piece. Draw the sidewalk on your shop plan with the store room beside it, and the answer is on paper before the first delivery truck backs up to the curb.