Atlantic from Argos (Argos Garden Furniture)

Member Name: Lools_24

Product:	Argos Garden Furniture
Date:	08/06/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value, wide choice of products available

Disadvantages: Bulky packaging

In a few of my previous reviews I may have mentioned once or twice that Mr Lools and I have started a large project in our garden, planting, digging add a decking area, with patio heater and decking lights. I am pleased to say that the gardening project was finished two weekends ago. The garden; in particular the decking area looks fantastic. Unfortunately our 3 years old green plastic patio set looked extremely out of place on the decking and we had to look for a replacement.

After shopping around in a number of DIY stores stocking garden furniture Mr Lools and I called upon the trusty Argos catalogue. We were looking for a patio set more stylish than the plastic resin furniture but not too expensive i.e. under £100, which would last us a few summers at least.


------Choice----------------------------------
After browsing the Argos catalogue there were 4 possible sets which fitted our criteria. In comparison to other retailers such as B & Q, Focus, Tesco, Asda Living this was a much wider choice. Top marks for Argos! After some deliberation we opted for the Atlantic 6 piece Patio Set.


------Price--------------------------------------
The Atlantic six piece patio set cost £79.00. If you want the product delivered there is an additional £5 delivery fee on top of this for standard delivery.


-------Delivery/ Availability -----------------
The Atlantic patio set is available for store pick up and home delivery. The product was in stock at our local store so we were able to pick this up on.

The weight of the product is 34.5kg. The patio set comes in two boxes. A 20kg box and a 14.5kg box. Due to the amount of packaging the boxes are very bulky. The product comes in two boxes about 1.5m long by 1.5 metres wide.

If you have a small car then you are not likely to fit the boxes into the car. Similarly if you go to collect these on your own you may need to ask for help to get the boxes to your car. We managed to fit the boxes into my medium sized car (and Audi A3) but this was a squeeze and the back seats of the car had to be put down.

The website advises that if you want to opt for the home delivery option the product is available within two days subject to availability.


-------The Product-------------------------------

The Atlantic 6 piece patio set includes a square glass top table, 4 high back black foldable chairs and a parasol
The table and chairs have a stain proof and water proof covering.


Table size (H)71, (W)81, (D)81 cm.
Parasol size (H)204.5, (diameter)199cm.
Chair size (H)90, (W)55, (D)65cm.


***Assembly***

The patio table is flat pack but it is very easily assembled. It is recommended that 2 people assemble the table. One person can assemble the table in fact as long as they are able to hold the centre pieces of the table and attach the screws into the metal centre pieces. All instructions, screws and an allen key is also included in the pack.

The chairs and parasol come fully assembled and are folded up. The chairs fold up for storage. The table legs can be removed for storage too.


***Look***

The table and chairs together look very neat. The table is large enough for four people without it appearing too bulky but still a practical size. The silver and black chairs match the parasol very well so the set looks modern, and a lot more attractive than our old green resin patio set.

Personally I would have preferred the glass on the table to be clear or frosted rather than a bumpy frosted glass but that is only a simple gripe. The table legs are thin and the metal framework is very light giving a contemporary look. The table is very sturdy however.


***Quality***

For the price, the quality of the patio set was much better than I expected. The table, chairs and parasol are very sturdy. Last weekend we had a BBQ in which a fair amount of alcohol was consumed therefore Mr Lools, myself and our guests were not particularly careful. On the metal legs there are a few small scuffs but nothing noticeable and you have to look very carefully to see. The patio table had a few drinks spilt on it but after a wipe down the glass had no scratches on and looked like new.

If you compared the overall quality of the product, to a more expensive patio set, the set from Argos would appear to be of a lesser quality, but this should be expected for £80 in comparison to a £250 set. Looking at the Atlantic patio set from Argos when it is set out on the decking in my garden, it does look a good quality set and not cheap and tatty like some of the less expensive sets in B & Q looked like.

The table legs can also be adjusted so the table stands sturdy on uneven surfaces.


***Overall***
If you are after a patio set then I would definitely recommend Argos as a contender. Based upon the choice available, overall look of the product and value for money and cost five out of five!

Summary: Reasonable garden furniture at decent prices