Aluminum and steel terrace chairs

On a resort terrace the chairs go out for breakfast, come in for a storm and go out again for dinner. Every one of these 44 metal chairs carries a patio listing, and 38 of them may serve indoors too. Most of them stack, so the first question is how many chairs your team can carry and store when the weather turns.

Stacks on the terrace

Thirty-two chairs in this group stack. On a terrace that closes at dusk, or whenever rain moves in off the water, that number matters more than any other: stacked chairs leave the deck quickly and take far less room under cover. Where a product page lists how many go to a stack, plan the storage space around that figure and the trips from deck to storeroom around the cart.

Frames and the bistro shape

Most frames are metal, with four in steel, four in aluminum and one in resin. Seats are metal on 31 chairs and resin on three. Twenty carry the Tolix style, the industrial metal bistro shape that looks right along a terrace rail at a beach property or a city rooftop alike. Nine have arms. One swivels. A row of matching metal chairs, all one color, makes a terrace read as set even before the cloths go on.

Seats against the table

Seats sit 17 to 18 inches off the deck, a match for patio tables at standard dining height. Measure the table before you order a full terrace. Then leave a clear 18 to 24 inches of floor at each chair's back, so a guest can rise without knocking into the next party, and about 36 inches between rows for a server with a tray. On a narrow terrace that last figure decides how many tables fit, so draw it before you count chairs.

Price, warranty and the next table

Single chairs start around $61 and reach $127. Compare a metal patio chair at $78 with the outdoor resin armchair at $102, then look at the metal dining chair at $116 for a third shape. Patio chairs carry a six-month warranty against defects in normal commercial use. Rinse them through the season, let water drain from the seats, and cover or store them once the terrace closes for the year.

Pair them with steel and aluminum patio tables, compare every frame in patio chairs, and save the terrace in a property plan beside the restaurant it serves.