The Complete Garden Furniture Glossary: Rattan, Teak, Textilene & 70 More Terms

Most garden furniture disappointment in British gardens starts with a word rather than a product. Rattan is not one material, textilene is not a brand, and a cantilever parasol and a centre pole parasol behave so differently in wind that treating them as alternatives is a mistake. The vocabulary used on product pages is technical, inconsistently applied, and rarely explained.

This glossary sets out the terms we think a buyer genuinely needs, grouped by what they describe rather than alphabetically, so that related ideas sit together. The single most useful distinction in the whole list is between materials that weather and materials that degrade. Teak weathers. Untreated natural rattan degrades. Both change appearance outdoors, and only one of them is still furniture after three British winters.

Key findings at a glance

• Rattan on outdoor furniture almost always means synthetic rattan, usually a polyethylene weave over an aluminium or steel frame, and it is a different product from the natural cane rattan used indoors.
• Teak, acacia and eucalyptus are all described as hardwoods for garden use, but they differ in natural oil content, which is the property that decides how they cope with rain.
• Textilene is a woven polyester yarn coated in PVC, used for sling seats and table tops because it drains rather than absorbs.
• Powder coated aluminium does not rust, while powder coated steel can rust from any point where the coating is broken, so scratches matter far more on steel.
• Parasol stability is a function of base mass and geometry rather than canopy size alone, and cantilever designs need substantially more ballast than centre pole designs.
• The terms that cause most confusion at the point of purchase are modular, stackable, weatherproof and all season, none of which has a fixed industry definition.
• Almost every care instruction for outdoor furniture reduces to the same principle: keep water moving off the surface and out of the joints rather than standing on them.

Frame and structure materials

Natural rattan: the stem of a climbing palm, woven over a frame. Suitable for conservatories and covered spaces, not for open British weather. Synthetic rattan: extruded polyethylene or PVC strand woven to imitate cane. PE rattan: polyethylene rattan, the more durable of the synthetic options. UV stabilised: treated during manufacture to slow fading and brittleness from sunlight. Flat weave: a broad strand weave that reads as contemporary and is quicker to wipe clean. Round weave: a rounded strand closer in appearance to natural cane. Half round weave: a compromise profile with a flat back and curved face.

Teak: a dense tropical hardwood with high natural oil content, which is why it resists rot outdoors without treatment. Acacia: a hardwood used widely in garden furniture, harder wearing when oiled regularly. Eucalyptus: a fast growing hardwood with good outdoor performance when maintained. Kiln dried: timber dried under controlled conditions to a stable moisture content before machining. Silvering: the natural greying of exposed hardwood as surface fibres bleach. This is cosmetic, not structural. Patina: the accumulated surface character of aged timber or metal. End grain: the cut face across the fibres, the point where timber absorbs water fastest. Teak oil: a finishing oil used to slow silvering and restore colour.

Powder coated aluminium: a lightweight non ferrous frame with a baked on polymer coating. Does not rust. Anodised aluminium: aluminium with an electrochemically thickened oxide layer for corrosion resistance. Galvanised steel: steel coated in zinc to delay corrosion. Wrought iron: heavy decorative ironwork, stable in wind but prone to rust bloom where the finish is chipped. Rust bloom: the first orange staining that appears at a breach in a protective coating. Polywood or recycled plastic lumber: board made from recycled polymer, machined to look like timber slats, and effectively maintenance free. HPL: high pressure laminate, a dense compact board used for table tops that resists moisture and scratching. Tempered glass: toughened safety glass used on table tops, which breaks into blunt granules rather than shards. Ceramic top: a sintered ceramic surface, heat and scratch resistant, heavier than glass.

Seating, sets and layout terms

Bistro set: a small table with two chairs, sized for balconies and courtyard corners. Dining set: table and chairs at standard dining height. Lounge set: lower seating with deeper cushions, closer to indoor sofa proportions. Corner set: an L shaped seating arrangement, usually with a low table, designed to sit into the corner of a patio. Modular: individual units that can be rearranged, though the term does not guarantee that the units connect to each other. Sectional: the same idea with fixed configurations. Stacking: chairs designed to nest vertically for storage. Stacking height: the total height of a full stack, the figure that actually matters for shed or garage storage. Sling seat: a seat formed from tensioned fabric between two rails, with no cushion required. Sun lounger: a reclining frame for lying flat, usually with an adjustable back. Day bed: a wider lounging platform, often with a canopy. Egg chair: an enclosed woven chair, usually hanging from a frame. Hanging chair: any seat suspended from a frame or beam. Swing seat: a bench suspended from a supporting frame. Arbour: a seat with an integral overhead structure, usually timber and often planted. Rocking bench: a bench on curved runners or a sprung frame. Hammock: suspended fabric or netting for lying, requiring fixed anchor points or a stand.

Footprint: the floor area a piece occupies including seat overhang. Circulation gap: the clear space needed to walk past or pull a chair out. We recommend 75cm behind a dining chair to allow someone to stand and step away, and 60cm as an absolute minimum in tight courtyards. Levelling feet: adjustable feet that compensate for uneven paving. Glides: protective caps on leg ends that prevent scratching and slow corrosion at the contact point.

Shade, shelter and garden structures

Centre pole parasol: a parasol with the mast through the middle of the canopy, usually through a table. Cantilever parasol: a parasol with an offset side mast, giving clear space beneath. Crank: the geared handle used to open a canopy. Tilt: a hinge allowing the canopy to angle against low sun. Push up: a simple manual opening mechanism without gearing. Vent: the opening at the crown of a canopy that lets wind pass through instead of lifting it. Rib: the structural arm supporting the canopy fabric. Finial: the decorative cap at the top of the mast. Base weight: the mass of the parasol base. Ballast: any added weight, including sand or water filled bases and slabs. Parasol hole: the aperture in a table top for a centre pole. Canopy: the fabric shade itself.

Gazebo: a freestanding roofed structure, either fixed or pop up. Pergola: an open framed structure, traditionally for climbing plants, now often louvred. Louvred roof: adjustable slats that open for light and close for rain. Awning: a retractable shade fixed to a building wall. Garden screen: a panel used for privacy or wind reduction. Trellis: an open lattice panel for planting. Summer house: an insulated or lined garden building for seasonal use. Log cabin: a heavier timber garden building. Shed: a storage building, available in timber, metal or plastic. Log store: an open fronted, roofed store designed to season firewood. Planter and trough: containers for planting, with a trough being the long low form. Drainage hole: the outlet that prevents a planter or table frame holding water.

Fabrics, cushions and care terms

Textilene: PVC coated polyester mesh, used for sling seats and lounger beds, which drains and dries quickly. Olefin: a polypropylene fibre with good fade and moisture resistance. Solution dyed acrylic: fibre coloured during manufacture rather than after weaving, giving far better colour fastness. Colour fastness: resistance to fading under sunlight. Quick dry foam: open cell cushion foam that allows water to pass through and air to circulate. Reticulated foam: the same principle with an open cell structure that drains freely. Mould inhibitor: a treatment applied to fabric or foam to slow mildew growth. Seat pad: a thin cushion tied to a hard seat. Scatter cushion: a loose decorative cushion, usually not weatherproof. Piping: the corded edge detail on a cushion, and the first part to fade. Weatherproof cover: a fitted protective cover, which should be breathable and vented rather than fully sealed. All season: a marketing term with no fixed definition. Treat it as a prompt to ask what specifically can be left outdoors.

The table below compares the main material families on the factors that decide how they perform through a British year. The ratings are our editorial comparison based on material behaviour, not measured test results.

Material	Rain and damp	Sunlight	Maintenance	Winter storage
Synthetic PE rattan on aluminium	Good	Good if UV stabilised	Wash and rinse	Frame can stay out, cushions in
Teak	Strong	Silvers naturally	Oil only if colour is wanted	Can stay out, raised off ground
Acacia or eucalyptus	Moderate	Silvers naturally	Oil at least annually	Cover or store
Powder coated aluminium	Strong	Strong	Wipe clean	Can stay out
Powder coated or galvanised steel	Moderate	Strong	Touch in any chips	Cover or store
Textilene sling	Strong, drains	Good	Rinse and air dry	Store if possible
Recycled plastic lumber	Strong	Good	Wash only	Can stay out
Tempered glass or ceramic top	Strong	Strong	Wipe clean	Remove or secure in wind

What this means for UK homes

Read the frame specification before the weave or the finish. A synthetic rattan set on an aluminium frame will outlast the same weave on an uncoated steel frame, and the difference only becomes visible after a wet winter. If a product description does not state the frame material, that is the question worth asking.

Size the set to the paved area rather than the garden. A four seat round dining table needs roughly 2.7m of clear diameter to allow chairs to be pulled out, and a six seat rectangular table needs about 3.6m by 2.6m. Corner sets appear compact in a showroom and take up more patio than expected once circulation space is added. When comparing outdoor garden dining sets UK, measure the patio first and the table second.

Treat parasol stability as a wind question. A cantilever design puts the load off centre, so it needs a heavier and wider base than a centre pole model of the same canopy size, and it should be closed whenever it is not in use rather than left open on a breezy afternoon. Among outdoor garden parasols UK, a vented crown is worth having in exposed gardens because it releases the lift that tips a parasol over.

Store fabric, not frames. Cushions, seat pads and loose covers are what fail first in British weather. Most aluminium, teak and recycled lumber frames can stay outside all year if they are raised slightly off wet paving so air can circulate underneath. Sun loungers with textilene slings drain well but benefit from being stood on edge over winter so water does not pool in the frame. Our full outdoor garden sun loungers UK selection follows that same drainage first logic.

Finally, keep water moving. Clear leaves from between slats, check that table frames and planters have open drainage holes, and avoid draping a non breathable cover directly onto damp furniture, which traps moisture instead of shedding it. The wider outdoor garden furniture UK range at Furniture in Fashion is organised by material for exactly this reason: the material decides the care, and the care decides the lifespan.

Methodology

This 2026 glossary was compiled by our editorial team as a UK furniture retailer. Definitions reflect standard usage across British garden furniture manufacturing and retail, together with the established physical properties of the materials described. The clearance and sizing figures are standard furniture and circulation dimensions rather than statistics. The comparison table records our qualitative editorial assessment of material behaviour and is not the output of controlled weathering tests. The report contains no proprietary sales data, customer data or survey fieldwork.

Citing this report

Journalists and websites are welcome to cite this glossary, published by Furniture in Fashion in 2026. Please credit Furniture in Fashion as the publisher and link back to the original. The definitions represent common industry usage as we understand it rather than a formally standardised terminology.

Frequently asked questions

Is rattan garden furniture waterproof?

Synthetic PE rattan on an aluminium frame copes well with rain, provided the cushions are brought in or stored dry. Natural cane rattan is an indoor material and will deteriorate quickly if left outside.

Does teak need to be oiled?

Only for appearance. Teak contains enough natural oil to resist rot without treatment, and it will silver to a soft grey if left alone. Oiling restores the honey colour and needs repeating.

What is textilene and why is it used outdoors?

Textilene is a PVC coated polyester mesh. It is used on sling chairs and loungers because water passes through it rather than soaking in, so it dries quickly after rain.

How heavy should a parasol base be?

There is no single correct figure, and it depends on canopy size, mast type and exposure. The principle is that cantilever parasols need considerably more ballast than centre pole parasols, and that a parasol used through a table is partly stabilised by the table itself.

What does all season garden furniture actually mean?

It has no fixed definition. In practice it usually refers to the frame rather than the cushions. Ask specifically which components can be left outdoors through winter.