Cast iron furniture

Cast iron products are manufactured by melting pig iron and pouring the molten metal into a mould, often formed by pressing a patterned shape into casting sand. It is a classic manufacturing procedure, dating from the industrial revolution.

Cast iron is a heavy and durable material. It is not suited to furniture which will be moved around but is very well suited to furniture which is intended to remain in one position. Since cast iron tends to be cold and lumpy, many manufacturers use cast iron for supports, timber for slats and marble for table tops. Cast iron is used to manufacture chairs, benches, tables, urns and planters.

The most famous cast iron items are the fern bench and the nasturtium bench, originally made by the Coalbrookdale Company. Few modern furniture designers work in cast iron but there is a lively trade in antiques and in reproductions of antique cast iron furniture designs.

Our sister site CrinkleCrankle sells a beautiful range of iron planters.

• over 1 year ago Bau Outdoors said

  We are seeing an increase in demand for classic cast garden furniture. Many of our customers lovingly restore Victorian homes, retaining the original features only to find that contemporary garden furniture looks out of place in a period property.
  
  We stock both cast iron and cast aluminium furniture and cast aluminium is the most popular, based on the fact it is much lighter and looks exactly the same. The manufacturing process is very similar and the designs are identical, so they represent a good modern alternative.
  
  Our Victorian cast furniture can be seen at www.bau-outdoors.co.uk/Furniture/Traditional-cast-furniture
  
  The two and three seat benches are our most popular item at present.