Your patio can be a great place for entertaining and outdoor dining. Having friends and family over to enjoy a good meal and just sit and relax is a great way to spend a day or an evening. When it comes to entertaining on your patio, there are a few essentials that will make your dining experience more pleasant.

1. AWNING

When you add an awning over your outdoor patio, you are able to entertain even when the weather is not cooperating. You can open up the awning over your dining area if it begins to rain. You can also get some shade on a hot sunny day, keeping things cool while you are outside entertaining.

2. FIRE TABLE

A fire pit table is great for your patio dining area as it serves multiple purposes. Your guests can gather around this unique fire feature to eat, and you can light the table to keep your guests warm. It is also a great way to add ambiance while you are eating. When you have a fire pit table, you can still enjoy your dining patio when the weather is cold.

3. GRILL

When setting up an outdoor dining patio, the grill is essential. Part of the reason people cook outdoors is for the delicious, grilled meals. There are various types of grills to choose from. The best types of grills are the ones that contain side burners. This allows you to cook your side dish outside as well, saving you the trouble of running in and out of the home to prepare your meal. A great idea to combine both grilling and entertainment is using a Firetainment Fire Pit Table. These unique fire tables allow you to grill up your favorite meal while being able to attend to your guests within an all-in-one centralized location.

4. REFRIGERATOR

Having a mini refrigerator is a great way to make your outdoor patio dining area more efficient. You can keep condiments, food that is waiting to be prepared and beverages outdoors. When you have everything at hand while you are eating and cooking, it is much more convenient.

5. STORAGE

Having a cabinet for storage is a great way to make entertaining in your backyard patio convenient. You can store plates, utensils and any other items that you need to prepare your dinner close by. You can spend more money installing permanently affixed cabinets in your patio area. If you do not want to spend the money, you can spend as little as $100 for a portable cabinet for your outdoor space.

An outdoor dining patio should not only be comfortable, but it should be practical as well. By implementing these 5 outdoor fundamentals, you can make use of your outdoor dining patio regardless of the weather. Need some help? Ask Firetainment to help you design your outdoor dream space.

As published in Consumer Reports

Consider maintenance

The furniture's material determines maintenance requirements. Routine washing with warm, soapy water works for most outdoor furniture. That's about all you need to do with aluminum pieces.

Hose down plastic outdoor wicker to remove airborne dust and dirt; that way, you can wash it with soap less often. However, it's a good idea to keep water away from genuine wicker.

Unfinished teak will weather to a silvery gray. If that's the look you're after, you need do nothing to achieve it. (Teak, a naturally oily wood, is used for ship decking and other marine applications; rain won't harm it.) But if you want to preserve teak's rich, golden-brown color, you'll have to sand the furniture and apply teak oil annually.

Steel and wrought iron need to be painted to prevent rust. You can cover the furniture to keep rain away; just uncover it when the skies clear so that condensation under the cover doesn't lead to rust.

Many furniture makers provide a small bottle of touch-up paint so that you can cover up chips in the finish. You may need to touch up painted aluminum, too, but only to preserve its appearance.

Some metal furniture is painted; some, generally higher-priced brands, is powder-coated. We've found that powder coating provides a thicker, more uniform coating than paint.

Check comfort

Sit in the chairs to get a feel for fit and comfort. Pull them to the table as you would for dining. Take note of the following:

• Does the seat height seem right for the table height? A table that feels too high or too low won't be conducive to relaxed entertaining.
• Is the table designed to give everyone's legs plenty of clearance, or do the legs seem to get in the way? Does the tabletop have an ample overhang to allow people to pull their chairs close?
• Are armrests matched to the table height, or are they so high that you can't pull chairs close?
• Are armrests designed for comfort? Wide, flat armrests are generally better, but that's often a function of style. Wicker, for example, usually has very wide armrests, while wrought iron may have very narrow ones. The crucial test is whether they feel comfortable to you.
• Are chair seats roomy side to side and front to back? Are chair backs slanted at a comfortable angle? Obviously, you don't want to feel as if you have to squeeze in between the armrests. But you also don't want to feel dwarfed by the chairs, unable to slide all the way into the seat to reach the chair back.
• How good are the cushions? Metal furniture usually comes with cushions; wood and resin typically don't. Be sure the cushions fit the seats well and have ample padding. 

Inspect in-store samples

Checking these details can tell you a lot about the overall quality of the furniture:

• Does wood furniture have closely fitted joints? It's not a good sign if you see gaps where table legs join the table skirt, for example, or if stretchers connecting the front and rear chair legs don't fit into the legs tightly.
• Are welded joints on metal furniture neatly done and unobtrusive? Better still are welds that have been ground smooth and coated to match the rest of the piece.
• Is the finish evenly and carefully done? Wood should be sanded smooth all over, not just on tabletops and armrests. Painted surfaces should be uniform, with no drips, ripples, or missed spots. There should be no sharp, unfinished edges on metal furniture; check under the edge of the table, where knees may touch, and the underside of armrests.
• Is the furniture designed so that nuts and bolts holding pieces together are hidden or capped? (The caps aren't just for looks; they help keep moisture away from screws and bolts.) If fasteners are exposed, are they made of stainless steel, which won't rust? If literature on the floor sample doesn't provide the information you need, ask a clerk or ask to see the assembly instructions.
• Are individual pieces rigid? Wiggle table and chairs to see whether they move. Slight flexing is OK.

With Spring right around the corner, you may need to do a bit of patio clean-up.

Mildew is greyish-white or yellow in color. If left untreated, mildew can damage your furniture so you’ll want to take some steps to prevent this problem.

First, you should always wash your patio furniture at least twice during the summer season by either hosing it down cleaning it with soapy water.

For tougher stains you can mix 1/2 a cup of white vinegar, with 1/2 a cup of Borax and 2-4 cups of hot water. Use a sponge to apply to the mildew blotch.  Try to rub with the grain of the furniture. Then, use water to rinse.

With the proper steps, your patio furniture will last for many, many summers of outdoor fun.