Cool Outdoor Benches to Enjoy Pleasant Weather

Consider the fun and romance of well-made outdoor benches next time you’re upgrading your patio furniture at Ivan Smith. When the summer days are waning as they are now, there’s nothing like snuggling on a park-style bench in your own yard to share the sunsets as the crickets sing. You might even see a deer or two depending on where you are. Lucky for you, you can get your choice of fine outdoor seating at Ivan Smith for less. Your selections include both the park style and the fun dining benches optional in many outdoor furniture sets. Kids seem to take a big liking to these sturdy picnic-style benches so they can resume playing after enjoying your barbecue, or dry off poolside! The possibilities are endless with well-chosen outdoor benches from Ivan Smith.

Traditional Wood Outdoor Benches Perfected

If like us you’re a big fan of the look and feel of classic wood outdoor benches, our selection of park-style models made of solid hardwoods have a coat of lamination applied on top of the finish to keep mold and other threats to natural wood at bay.

Extra Protection: Polywood Outdoor Benches

Throughout Ark-La-Tex, Ivan Smith customers looking at outdoor benches are saying, “Hooray for Polywood!” This patented material takes the ruggedness and weather resistance of polymers to the next level. No matter if you prefer a traditional or contemporary design, your new Polywood outdoor bench is guaranteed for 20 years with no cracking or other weather damage. Better still, Polywood is made from all recycled plastic so your new park-style bench, while man-made, is earth-friendly!

Check out the outdoor benches in-store and available on order from our Tyler, TX furniture store and all our other Ark-La-Tex Ivan Smith locations, where savings are a given!

Your Cantilever Umbrella: A Sunny Spring Guide

Here’s why a cantilever umbrella is a fantastic idea for your deck or patio this season. Spring’s here, so the sun’s out more and there’s the scent of flowers in the wind. You want to stay outside longer, maybe even firing up the grill on the first balmy weekend. We get a lot of those nice days in Ark-La-Tex. But you need shelter from the oppressive glare and rays, especially on our famously humid afternoons. Plus with our famously turbulent weather, fierce pop-up storms and all, don’t let a rain squall put a damper on your festivities. So here’s Ivan Smith Furniture’s handy guide to choose the ideal outdoor umbrella for the next big alfresco party at your house.

How Cantilever Umbrellas Work: Cool Engineering

With cantilever umbrellas, the fabric shade is suspended on a yardarm attached to a pole and counterweight, unlike a typical table umbrella in which the pole is central. It can also be affixed to a sturdy wall. With our giant free-standing umbrellas, the counterweight is often sand in the base. That makes sure a strong gust will never topple your new umbrella or send it flying across the yard! Best of all for you and your guests, you get maximum room underneath without a pole in your way.

Some Cantilever Umbrella Features to Consider

We recommend a free-standing rotating cantilever umbrella if you’re on your house’s deck at different times of the day. As the sun takes its course overhead, you can adjust these outdoor umbrellas easily because they rotate 360 degrees. To facilitate this, some high-end models give you a foot pedal. A ginormous cantilever umbrella can easily do what two or more ordinary patio umbrellas can! If you go the wall-mounted umbrella route, your purchase will be able to rotate 180 degrees.

Our selection of cantilever umbrellas are square or octagonal. Your shade coverage ranges from 9 to 13 feet. As big umbrellas cost less per square foot, that’s likely your best option.

If you plan on opening your cantilever umbrella when the sun is close to the horizon, say, for sunset dinners, consider buying a tilting model to best shade your gathering.

When you need to upgrade your deck furniture and accessories affordably, our Tyler, TX store and the Ivan Smith website are here to serve you!