Aluminum patio furniture shrugs off humidity, salt and dry heat, and it asks for no oil. This guide shows how two Tribù collections use the metal and how to keep the finish in good shape.
Aluminum patio furniture takes care of the problems wood brings to a terrace. The metal does not swell in a humid August or split in a dry one, and it asks for no oil. Tribù, a Belgian family house that has built outdoor furniture since 1966, uses aluminum in two different ways. Merckx & Maes cut it to the profile of a wooden chair in Illum. Studio Segers keeps it thin in Natal Alu and sets the cushion down inside the frame line.
Start with the metal
Aluminum does not rust. That settles the question on a Florida lanai or a dock in Maine, where bare wood would want oil and steel would want a service plan. Salt still matters, since the powder coat is the weather layer. Rinse the frames with fresh water at intervals of a few weeks if you live within a mile of the ocean, and the finish stays put.
Weight counts too. Aluminum stays light, so one person can pull a Natal Alu sofa module back from the rail before a storm. On a rooftop you rearrange the furniture for a party yourself, with no second pair of hands.
Illum: a wooden chair, cut in metal
Merckx & Maes took the plain, useful shapes of classic Scandinavian furniture and cut them in aluminum. Profiles taper, arms round off, edges soften, and from across the terrace the metal reads as carved wood. Up close it behaves like metal: no swelling in Houston humidity, no splitting after a Phoenix summer, no yearly oiling.
The collection has six pieces, and two of them are tables. One dining table carries a solid teak top on a sculpted aluminum base. The other stays aluminum through and through. An armchair and a bench pull up to either one, and a lounger and a lounge chair cover the pool side. Both pool pieces stay light enough for one person to move before a party. See the Illum collection.
Frames come in quiet shades, linen and clay among them. Pick a light finish if the terrace sits under trees or next to a building site: it hides dust and pollen between rinses.
Natal Alu: the seat inside the frame
Studio Segers set the seat inside a slim aluminum frame, so from the side a Natal Alu sofa shows as a line and a shadow. Tribù names it as its bestselling collection. The sofa comes as 13 modules, enough for a straight bench along a parapet wall, an L around a fire table or a U on a wide pool deck. A 1-seat sofa in the same profile, a meridienne for the corner and a low X-table finish the range. See the Natal Alu collection.
The frames come in two powder-coated colors, and Tribù offers over 100 outdoor fabrics against them. Order swatches and look at them outside. A grey that looks warm under a showroom light can turn blue under an open sky.
In one drawing
Four layers of an Illum seat
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Solution-dyed acrylic cover
Color runs through the fiber, so full sun fades it at an even pace.
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Quick-dry foam
An open-cell core that pushes water out after a storm.
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Sculpted aluminum shell
The seat surface itself, shaped the way a wooden seat would be carved.
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Frame finish
Muted coats such as linen and clay stand between the metal and salt air.
Care for the coat, then the cushion
Aluminum care comes down to three habits. Hose off dust and pollen. Rinse off salt before it dries on the frame. Keep the pressure washer away from the cushions. The all-aluminum Illum table wants soap and water and no sealer or wax. The teak top on the other Illum table wants oil twice a year, or you can let it weather to silver-grey.
Illum cushions use quick-dry foam under solution-dyed acrylic covers, so water runs out through the base after a storm. Wash the covers cold and dry them flat. Take the cushions in for the winter, and bring Natal Alu cushions in ahead of a storm.
To print
Aluminum care by setting
| Setting | What wears the frame | Habit | Tribù pieces to look at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coast, within a mile of the ocean | Salt drying on the powder coat | Rinse with fresh water every few weeks | Natal Alu sofa, Illum lounger |
| Gulf Coast humidity | Wet cushions left flat | Stand cushions on edge after rain | Illum armchair and bench |
| Desert sun | Dust and glare | Pick light frames and light fabrics | Illum in linen or clay |
| Garden under trees | Pollen and dust | Hose off, then soap and water | Illum dining table |
| Rooftop | Wind ahead of a storm | Pull light modules back from the rail | Natal Alu modules |
Pick by the terrace you have
Pick Illum if you want the warmth of a wooden silhouette with none of the upkeep, and a dining table that seats the family. Pick Natal Alu if the terrace needs a long, low sofa you can reshape as the years go by. Both frames stay outside through the seasons, and both come in finishes quiet enough to sit behind the planting.
Send us the size of your terrace and how close it sits to salt water through the form below. We reply with a layout, the frame colors, fabric swatches and a price for each piece. Tribù builds each order in Belgium, and we confirm the lead time when we quote.
