High-quality, handmade wooden garden furniture is a great place to start. Combine that with the ease and elegance of a glider, and you get the best of both worlds. Rocking chairs and porch swings are fine, but for the highest level of comfort, opt for a glider or glider swing. They look beautiful and will support you when you need it most.
What is a glider?
If you haven’t had the opportunity to own or even sit on a glider, then you’ve been missing out. That’s because sitting on a glider is like sitting on a cloud. Better yet, it’s the most comfortable seat around. and it moves, taking you to levels of relaxation you never thought possible. Gliders are modified outriggers in the sense that, unlike a rocker that moves in a fulcrum arc through two base outriggers, a glider has a fixed base unit, with a seat that moves forward and backwards on a hardware track. Because of this, they are less dangerous because no part of the chair base rises off the ground, while the movement of rocking chairs in a rocking chair can pinch cats’ toes and tails if care is not taken. That also differentiates them from a glider swing, the base of which is either fixed or never touches the ground. Plus, gliders work with minimal leg movement, so you’ll have less work.
But the advantages do not end there. Sliders are manufactured for both indoor and outdoor use. Indoor slippers feature plush upholstery, often in ultra-soft fabrics like microsuede, and in a range of colors to choose from. However, outdoor gliders can be just as comfortable and attractive, carved from beautifully finished woods like cedar and teak. You can also find reclining slider chairs and ones with matching ottomans. These matching ottomans are often sliders, meaning your legs can rise and slide in sync with the rest of your body, making for as smooth a ride as possible.
Okay, but then what is a Glider Swing?
To clarify, the term glider swing can be a little wave, and depending on who you ask, it can mean a few different things. First, there’s the glider swing, which basically resembles a cross between a regular outdoor glider and a bench. These are standalone models, much like normal gliders, and work in exactly the same way. The only visible difference is that it is wider as a bench so that two or three people can sit at a time.
The next type of glider swing is a bit more complex in design. This variation offers two separate benches that face each other, but run on an attached rail that connects the two at the base. There is often a matching canopy, which not only protects riders from sun and rain, but also helps stabilize the unit as a whole. These swings are great for social use, allowing four people to converse in a small space and everyone contributing to the sliding motion.
The last variation of the glider swing is the least similar to a typical glider, but ironically the most similar to a swing, as it resembles the second variation in appearance, but not in function. These swings also have a canopy, but a much more useful one that acts as a frame to connect the seats to the top via swing beams. Once again, the riders face each other, but the seats rock instead of slide and no part of them touches the ground. Choosing which type of glider swing is right for you depends a bit on space and budget, but it’s mostly a matter of personal taste.