Whether homeowners enjoy grilling out, relaxing by the pool, hosting backyard get-togethers or kicking back with a cold drink on a sunny day, they’ll need the perfect furnishings to complete their outdoor experience. But chairs and table have come a long way in the past few decades.

With a finger on the pulse of the outdoor-living industry, Summer Classics creates furniture to fit a variety of styles and spaces.

“In the South, an outdoor room is a place that has a screened-in porch, comfortable furniture and the ability to change the temperature – either with a fire place or outdoor heater,” says Bew White III, president and CEO of Summer Classics.

White has watched and helped mold the transformation of furniture in his more than four decades of experience with outdoor living and dining. He graduated from Auburn University with a degree in textile engineering and later decided to head out on his own in 1978.

He learned the business at first by working as a sales rep but later took a more customer-focused approach with his furniture business.

“When I was a sales rep, the products I sold were based on what the company manufactured,” he explains. “I had the idea that somebody needed to make what the customer wanted, instead of what the furniture store made.”

That idea became the foundation for his company.

 

Read more about Summer Classics in the July issue of Shelby Living. Find your copy here.