Under one of central Ohio’s densest tree canopies, outdoor furniture in Upper Arlington, Ohio takes a beating most people don’t plan for. Winter ice loads the old maples until limbs come down on whatever sits below, summers stay humid from June past Labor Day, and the freeze-thaw that splits century-old brick terraces is just as hard on a cheap aluminum frame. Most of what we carry is HDPE poly lumber, molded from recycled plastic and fastened with stainless steel hardware; heavier dining and bar sets use Marine Grade Polymer (MGP), with powder-coated aluminum on select shaded lines. None of it rots, splinters, or needs the yearly sanding and restaining wood demands. On a shaded Old Arlington terrace, that means using the evening instead of working on it.
Upper Arlington yards change character street by street. In Old Arlington, the Period Revival homes south of Lane sit on deep, established lots with side porches and garden terraces that take a full dining set with room for a shaded sitting area nearby. The post-war ranches of River Ridge, several backing toward the Scioto bluff, have the wide, flat yards a sectional and a pair of Adirondacks were made for. Kendale’s 1960s ranches and split-levels favor a low back patio and a modular sectional you can rearrange when company shows up. The smaller bungalow lots near Tremont Center do more with a compact patio set or a porch swing than their square footage suggests. With 400+ color combinations, you’re not stuck matching trim to whatever a big-box store had in stock.
The local calendar decides how a yard gets used. Upper Arlington’s Fourth of July parade is a big day in the summer, and a patio dining set covers the cookout before and the crowd after. Through the humid stretch toward the Labor Day Arts Festival at Northam Park, a sectional or a pair of Adirondacks is where the evening finally slows down. Once Golden Bears football opens at Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium, a fire pit table keeps the backyard going past the first cold Friday night. A porch swing earns its keep on a quiet Saturday morning before the Mallway farmers market. A kids’ table beside the grown-ups’ set keeps Sunday dinner one gathering instead of two. Scroll the collections below and start matching pieces to your own backyard.