How to Stop Rattan Furniture Blowing Away?

The Practical Answer

Stop rattan furniture blowing away by lowering its wind profile and adding weight where it counts: tuck chairs fully under the table, stack lightweight pieces against a solid wall, remove cushions, fold parasols away, secure furniture to a fixed point with a strap or ground anchor, and use a weighted base for anything upright. Synthetic rattan is light because the weave is hollow and the frame is usually aluminium, which is excellent for moving furniture around and precisely why it travels in a gale.

The most effective measure costs nothing: put the furniture somewhere sheltered when wind is forecast. Everything else is a way of managing what cannot be moved.

Why Rattan Moves So Easily

Wind acts on furniture in two ways. It pushes against surfaces, and it lifts under them. Rattan seating is particularly vulnerable because a woven back panel behaves like a sail, while an open base gives wind somewhere to get underneath and lift.

The weight makes it worse. A synthetic rattan chair on an aluminium frame might weigh only a few kilograms, and a cushion adds surface area without adding meaningful weight. Add a smooth patio surface with little friction and a modest gust is enough to slide a chair across the paving. A strong one will tip it over a low wall.

Understanding this points to the solution: reduce surface area, remove lift, add mass, and create friction.

Everyday Habits That Prevent Most Problems

Tuck Chairs Fully Under the Table

This simple habit prevents a large share of wind damage. Chairs pushed right in shelter behind the table and lose most of their exposed surface. Interlocking them tightly also means they brace against one another instead of moving individually.

Take Cushions Indoors

Cushions are the largest sail on most rattan sets and they hold water, which is bad for both the cushion and the weave. Bringing them in after each use protects the furniture and removes surface area at the same time. A storage box beside the patio makes this realistic rather than aspirational, and our garden storage UK sale range includes boxes sized for cushion sets.

Stack and Position Sensibly

Stackable chairs are far more stable as a stack against a wall than as individual pieces on open paving. Position stacks in a corner where two walls provide shelter, and place the heaviest piece on top rather than the bottom if the design allows.

Close and Store Parasols

An open parasol is the most likely thing in a garden to be damaged or to damage something else. Close it whenever you leave the garden, not only overnight. Weighted bases help enormously, and our modern garden parasols UK range includes designs with substantial bases suited to exposed gardens.

Adding Weight and Anchorage

Where furniture must stay in place, there are several practical options.

Sandbags and Weight Plates

Discreet sandbags placed inside the base of a rattan chair or under a sofa seat add mass exactly where it is useful, low down. Weight plates designed for gazebos work well under corner sofa modules and are easy to remove for cleaning.

Ratchet Straps to a Fixed Point

A strap run through the frame and around a downpipe bracket, fence post or wall fixing holds a set together as one heavy unit. Pad the strap where it touches the weave to avoid abrasion. This is the quickest way to secure a set when a storm is forecast.

Ground Anchors and Eye Bolts

For permanently sited furniture on paving or decking, screw in ground anchors or resin fixed eye bolts give a proper tie down point. Combined with a short strap, they hold furniture firmly with minimal visual impact. Check the fixing depth suits your surface before drilling.

Non Slip Feet and Pads

Rubber feet or non slip matting under legs increase friction considerably and stop the slow creep of furniture across smooth paving in ordinary breezy weather. They are inexpensive and also protect the paving from scuff marks.

Linking Modules Together

Many corner sets include clips or brackets that join modules. Use them. A linked corner sofa is far heavier and far more stable than three separate pieces, and it will not drift apart into an untidy arrangement over the summer.

Working With Your Garden

Placement often matters more than hardware. Wind accelerates through gaps between buildings, along the side of a house and through solid fence panels that create turbulence on the leeward side.

• Position seating in the lee of a wall, hedge or building rather than in an open corridor
• Prefer permeable screening such as slatted panels or hedging, which slows wind rather than deflecting it into a swirl
• Avoid siting furniture at the end of a narrow passage between buildings, where wind speed increases sharply
• Watch where leaves collect on a windy day: that is where the wind is strongest, and it is the worst place for lightweight furniture

Planting is a long term solution worth considering. A hedge or a row of shrubs filters wind more effectively than a solid barrier and improves the garden in every other respect too.

Choosing Furniture for Exposed Gardens

If your garden is genuinely windy, coastal or on a hillside, weight should be part of the buying decision rather than a problem to solve afterwards.

• Heavier hardwood or steel framed furniture stays put far better than lightweight aluminium
• Solid seat bases and lower backs present less surface to the wind than tall woven backs
• Bench seating is inherently more stable than individual chairs and stores more compactly
• Lower profile lounge seating catches less wind than upright dining chairs
• Look for sets with linking hardware and for designs that stack neatly

Our garden benches UK sale range suits exposed sites well, and our garden dining sets UK selection includes designs that tuck away tightly. You will find the full outdoor range at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.

Covers: Useful, With a Caveat

Covers protect furniture from rain and dirt, but a poorly fitted cover becomes a sail of its own and can drag furniture along with it. Choose covers with drawstrings, straps or elasticated hems, and fit them snugly rather than loosely. Breathable fabric matters too, since sealed plastic traps condensation against the weave.

In sustained high winds, a cover on lightweight furniture is often more of a liability than a help. If a storm is forecast, the better plan is to move the furniture under cover and leave the covers off entirely.

Before a Storm: A Short Checklist

• Bring cushions, throws and small accessories indoors
• Close and lay down parasols, or store them flat in a shed
• Stack chairs and strap the stack to a fixed point
• Tuck dining chairs under the table and strap the table if it is lightweight
• Move anything small enough to lift into a shed, garage or against a sheltered wall
• Clear the area of plant pots, lanterns and anything that could become airborne
• Remove or firmly secure covers rather than leaving them half attached

Frequently Asked Questions

How much wind can rattan furniture take?

Lightweight synthetic rattan can start sliding in moderately strong gusts, especially on smooth paving with cushions in place. Once cushions are removed and chairs are tucked in or stacked and strapped, the same furniture copes with much stronger conditions.

What is the easiest way to weigh down rattan furniture?

Discreet sandbags or gazebo weight plates placed low inside the frame add mass exactly where it helps. Non slip rubber feet are a cheap additional measure that stops gradual creep across paving.

Should I strap garden furniture down permanently?

Only if it stays in one place. For furniture you rearrange through the summer, a ground anchor plus a strap that can be clipped on when wind is forecast is more practical than a permanent fixing.

Do covers stop furniture blowing away?

No, and a loose cover can make matters worse by acting as a sail. Use fitted, breathable covers with straps for weather protection, and move lightweight furniture under cover when storms are expected.

Is heavier garden furniture always better in windy gardens?

Weight certainly helps, but shape matters too. A heavy chair with a tall solid back can still tip, whereas lower profile seating with an open frame catches far less wind at the same weight.