Outdoor furniture here lives through 45-degree heat, months of direct sun, salt in the air near the coast and dust that arrives on the wind. What a piece is made of decides whether it still looks right after one Dubai summer or after a decade of them.

This is a look at what lets the Dantone Home outdoor range take that sun, and at the simplest thing you can do to protect it while you are away for the summer.

Dubai asks more of outdoor furniture than most places do. The sun is direct for most of the year and ultraviolet light is what fades fabric, greys untreated wood and turns cheaper plastics brittle until they crack. Daytime heat warms every surface. Near the coast there is salt in the air. And for much of the year there is dust, fine and constant, that settles on everything and works its way into weaves and joints.

Furniture built for a milder climate tends to show this within a season. The Dantone Home range is built instead from materials chosen to take it.

The point of each material is how it behaves in sun and heat. The Taormina frames are powder-coated aluminium, which doesn't rust in the humidity and holds its colour under months of sun, where a sprayed finish would chalk and fade.

The range uses two woods: the teak in the Corfu, Capri, Marieta and Riviera pieces is dense and full of natural oils, so the heat doesn't dry it to cracking, and left untreated it weathers to a silver-grey. And the acacia in the Tulum range is oil-sealed against the sun to hold its warmer tone.

The Cobble, Lima and Manila tables are cast concrete, and the Barth tables terrazzo – both heavy enough to take the sun without warping.

The seats and cushions face a different test, which is fading. The woven seats and backs use anti-UV rope that keeps its colour and tension through direct sun. The Taormina cushions are Olefin performance fabric over quick-dry foam. Solution-dyed, the fabric resists fading rather than bleaching out, and it sheds water rather than holding it.

Between June and August, much of Dubai leaves for cooler places. The furniture sits through the hottest, dustiest stretch of the year with no one using it. A little preparation is the difference between coming home to furniture that looks as it did and furniture that needs work.

1. Start by bringing the cushions inside or into a dry box. Fabric and foam both last longer out of months of direct heat.
2. Then cover the larger pieces, and the type of cover matters here. A sealed plastic sheet traps heat and moisture underneath, which is how mildew starts and how some finishes get marked. A breathable cover does the opposite, letting heat and humidity escape while still keeping rain and dust out.
   Dantone Home's furniture covers are made this way. Breathable mesh panels let the air move. A PVC inner coating keeps water and dust off. They are sized to the piece rather than generic: the Double Lounge cover (188 cm, AED 210) fits a two-seater; the Triple Lounge cover (245 cm, AED 250) fits a three-seater.
3. Heavier pieces like the concrete tables can simply be left: they handle the heat without trouble. And whatever you do cover, give it a rinse first, since dust trapped underneath can rub against the surface over a long summer.

Yes. The aluminium, teak, concrete, rope and stone tops are all built for it. The cushions are the one thing to think about: they last longest shaded or stored through the peak summer months and brought in or covered before rain.

Aluminium and concrete warm up in full sun, so they sit best under shade or a parasol through the middle of the day. Wood, rope and fabric stay cooler to the touch.

The powder-coated frames, the anti-UV rope and the Olefin cushions are all made to hold their colour in direct sun. The cushions still last longest shaded or stored through the worst of the summer.