Picnic tables are great additions to any home outdoor scenery. Picnic tables incorporate an important part in all of our lives; eating. They can also be used for leisurely relaxing and they are great for a get together. Picnic benches come in a variety of styles and materials these days. Picnic tables are extremely useful in many situations and really the only question you have to ask yourself when buying a picnic table is what kind of style and make you want the picnic table to come to you in. Picnic tables can be ordered in the classic picnic table of the park look; they can come fully wheel chair accessible, extra wide, and even in a circular style. The most important decision in picking an outdoor picnic table, as it is with most outdoor furniture, is choosing the right material for it to be made from. There are many different woods, metals, and plastics that are used for modern day picnic tables. They all have there desirable qualities.

Popular woods include western red cedar, treated pines, cherry wood, teak, and even poly woods. Some woods are chosen for their specific colors and appearances and others are chosen for strength and durability. There are two of these woods that have all these qualities; those woods are cedar and teak. When choosing the right material for an outdoor picnic table, cedar and teak are the best routes. Both of these woods produce oils that are highly impervious to weather, scratching, insects, spills, heat, cold, and all other elements. Because they are naturally resistant to these things, they are not treated with any chemicals. Many families prefer these woods because they are not treated with chemicals. Parents like their kids to be as natural as possible. If you live in a colder climate, you will not have to worry about covering these woods up like you might with pine or some metals. The pines are more economical than that of cedar or teak. This is why pine remains as popular as it is these days. Pine is not as resistant or strong as cedar or teak, but with the right care it can last you just as long. Pine woods need treated regularly throughout the year, but still offers a great make for a picnic table.

Poly woods and plastics are also wonderful materials for picnic tables. These materials offer a more maintenance free ownership. This is one of the reason poly wood and plastic picnic tables are popular in the service and food industries. Poly woods are resistant to the elements and they are low maintenance. Poly wood cannot absorb moisture, which makes it ideal for the outdoors. Not absorbing moisture means that it will not crack, warp, rot, decay, splinter, or peel. If you are looking for tough and economical, look no further. The plastic polymer models are just as durable and resistant as the poly woods. These two materials do have their very desirable qualities when looking for the right picnic table material.


As a child, Kent Spade spent his summers working in his grandfather’s workshop building picnic tables. As he grew older, Kent began to develop his writing skills. Combining the two, he has gone on to write numerous articles about outdoor furniture. As long as he keeps on collecting outdoor patio furniture, Kent will always have something to write about.