Residential outdoor furniture has to survive a family. Hospitality outdoor furniture has to survive a season of strangers, a housekeeping team moving it twice a day, and a general manager who will call you personally if a chair fails. The specification is a different exercise. Here is the checklist we work through with designers and procurement teams.
1. Define the exposure before you look at a single product
Three questions determine most of the specification:
- How much sun and salt? A shaded courtyard in Charleston and an unshaded rooftop in Los Angeles are different material problems.
- How much wind? Rooftops, beachfronts and anything above eight storeys need weight or tie-downs. Lightweight aluminum is a gift to housekeeping and a liability in a squall.
- Who moves it, and how often? Furniture that gets restacked nightly must actually stack, and it must survive being dragged rather than lifted, because it will be.
2. Check the hardware, not just the frame
The frame is what gets photographed; the hardware is what fails. In coastal and pool environments, specify 316 stainless — the marine grade — rather than 304. It costs marginally more and it is the difference between furniture that looks correct in year seven and furniture streaked with rust in year two.
Ask the same question about the fasteners inside cushions, sling frames and umbrella mechanisms, not just the visible bolts.
3. Understand what "commercial grade" means from your supplier
The phrase is unregulated. What you actually want to know:
- Has this exact SKU been used in a comparable commercial installation, and can you see it?
- What is the warranty for commercial use, as distinct from residential? Many manufacturers quietly halve or void coverage the moment furniture goes into a hotel.
- What is the replacement-part policy in year four — individual slats, sling replacement, cushion covers — and are those parts held?
Long-term parts support is worth more than a discount on the initial order. The second is a line item; the first is the difference between refurbishing and re-buying.
4. Specify cushions for how they will actually be treated
Deep-seat cushions on an exposed deck need quick-dry foam and drainage, and they need a storage plan and the staff time that plan implies. If neither exists, specify sling or mesh seating and stop fighting it.
For anything upholstered, order attic stock in the original order — enough to re-cover a share of the pieces from the same dye lot. Trying to match a fabric two years later is at best expensive and at worst impossible.
5. Get the dimensions into the layout early
Two numbers cause most of the on-site problems: seat height and arm height relative to table apron. A dining chair whose arms will not slide under the table forces a different layout, a different cover count and a different revenue model for that terrace. Check them on the drawing, not on delivery.
For modular seating, confirm that the seat height is consistent across every module in the collection — it is not always — or your L-shaped arrangement will have a step in it.
6. Plan the schedule backwards from opening
Made-to-order outdoor furniture commonly runs 8–12 weeks in production, and lead time varies by SKU. Add freight, add customs where relevant, add site access and installation, and add a buffer for the one item that gets held.
Where the schedule is genuinely tight, mix the specification: quick-ship or in-stock pieces for what has to land first, made-to-order for the hero pieces that define the space. A good supplier will tell you honestly which is which. Ask for stated lead times in writing, per SKU, at the quote stage.
7. Ask who actually makes it
Whether the company you are buying from controls its own manufacturing determines how much of the above they can honestly answer. A brand that owns its factory relationships can change a fabric, alter a dimension, hold parts and tell you why a lead time slipped. A brand that resells someone else's catalogue can only forward your email.
We build direct from our own factories, which is why we are willing to be asked all seven of these questions.
Prado Outdoor supports designers and procurement teams through our Trade Program and Contract Program — trade pricing, design support and commercial capability, from one residence to a full resort. Applications answered in under 24 hours.
