We live in the lakes area in central Minnesota
The neighbors that live next to us are looking to replace their deck furniture also. They have had their present set for many years. They have been very happy with their furniture and for the length of time that it has lasted. We arranged that we would go shopping for patio sets together. My husband has a truck and trailer so we would be able to transport the patio sets home. We told them that first we were going to take a tour of the neighborhood and look at the neighbors furniture.
Many of our neighbors were sitting out on their decks on the Saturday morning that we took our walk. We would wave to them and then approach their decks and explain that we were in the market for new patio furniture and we wanted to see what others have and if they like it. We were given many good pointers about what people liked and what people wished they had. Generally most people agreed that it was great to have some sort of heater on the deck so that they can be used longer in the fall and earlier in the spring. Several people had ceramic fireplaces and propane fireplaces on their decks.
We were given very good ideas and we saw several patio sets that we liked and we also saw some furniture that we knew we would not purchase because we saw how poorly it lasted through the years. We decided that we would invest more money up front in our patio furniture so that we would not have to purchase new patio sets each year.
After our tour and informal survey of the neighbors we went shopping with our next door neighbors for our new patio sets. We each found sturdy furniture that met the needs we were looking to fulfill. We have enjoyed getting together and sitting on each others decks and playing cards and sharing dinners sitting on our new patio furniture.
