Outdoor Rocking Chairs Buying Guide

Like all outdoor furniture items, rocking chairs need to be weatherproof, especially if you intend to leave them outside when it rains. Depending on your personal preferences, outdoor rocking chairs can be made of wood, metal, plastic or rattan / wicker. Each material has its advantages and drawbacks. For instance, I'm a big fan of wicker rocking chairs, but I'm aware that they don't last as long as the plastic ones, and they aren't as safe for your stockings.

Depending on the size, outdoor rocking chairs can be simple, for one person, or double, for two. However, the most popular ones are single ones, and that's quite easy to see why: different rocking rhythms may lead to chaos.

Depending on the rocking mechanism, we have the standard rockers, with bended feet, the swivel rockers, which swing thanks to the swivel mechanism, similar to computer chairs, and the coil spring rocking chairs, which are made of metal and which feature a coil spring that allows swinging.

When buying new outdoor rocking chairs for your garden, porch or patio, one has to pay attention to a few details like the following:

• If you already have the table and you want to buy only the chairs, get them in the same material and color shade as the table. You want them to look as a whole, after all, so if you have a wrought iron table, a set of rattan chairs may not be the best purchase.
• If you intend to place your rocking chairs on the porch, make sure they match the floor: a nice idea could be to buy them in a contrasting wood finish.
• Outdoor rocking chairs that are meant to be set in the gardeen, far from the house itself, need to be weatherproof, because you won't be able to get them inside quickly in case of sudden rain. Bamboo, rattan and wicker are suitable for this case, because these weeds like water and they become even more beautiful and more durable when soaked (I've read that in a home decorating book, so I can't be 100% positive rain won't ruin your chairs if you let them in the rain).
• Always ask about the return policy when buying, especially if you order online. Photos may be tricky and you may and up with a rocking chair you didn't expect to look like that. When receiving the package, the first thing you need to do is to inspect the items, to make sure that they arrived without any damage at all. 
  

If you want, you can buy a set of pillows for your outdoor rocking chairs, to make them more comfortable and to give them an original touch. Such special pillows usually come with a zipper which allows you to remove the covers for washing them when needed. If you're not in a huury with your purchase, you may want to seek for special promotions and buy your chairs at a discounted price. For example, I've found this special offer of two outdoor rocking chairs for the price of one, for the Dixie Outdoor White Slat Rocker. I'm not very fond of white chairs, but at this price I might reconsider that.