Getting your garden summer ready starts with choosing the right outdoor furniture. As we all prepare for a season of blue sky, sunshine, smoky barbecues, and sweet cocktails, transforming our garden space into a summertime sanctuary has climbed to the top of our to-do lists.
But where to start? Inspired by the glimpses of sun we’ve experienced in the past few weeks, we’ve rounded up garden corner sets, bistro tables, and outdoor accessories for you to spruce up your outdoor space in time for summertime days and warm, starlit evenings.
Let’s get landscaping…
Designing an outdoor oasis
What to choose
The first step to creating a beautiful outdoor space for you to relax, dine, and entertain is by deciding what you want from the space. Settle on how many people you’d like to accommodate, what kind of ambience and mood you’d like to achieve, and what will fulfil your family needs.
If you love to host, invest in sociable designs such as an outdoor corner sofa set, which create an informal and casual vibe for you to spend hours relaxing with family and friends. When installing garden sofas, choose a central point of focus as you would with your interior design. Something like a fire pit or a coffee table is a fabulous focal point to create a sense of cohesion between your garden sofas and matching armchairs, as well as bringing the homely, comfortable atmosphere of your indoors out. Plus, who doesn’t love a toasted marshmallow while being in reach of a glass of wine or hot chocolate?
For those small corners and breakfast sunspots, a bistro set makes the perfect addition to a patio or balcony. Lightweight and able to be neatly stored away, choosing a compact design can still have a big impact in elevating your outdoors. Offering style and elegance, a simple table and chairs can become a spot of serenity for two or just for you.
In fact, al fresco dining is a key feature of the season ahead. Garden parties, family barbecues, or perhaps just an evening enjoying a charcuterie board in the sun after a long day’s work, garden dining furniture can become a main feature of your garden space.
From sociable circular table designs to country-inspired dining styles, get playful with curvy seats and wooden benches to create a social hub and casual and convivial seating experience.
Where to place
When it comes to finding the perfect place to put your beautiful outdoor designs, here is our golden rule (literally): find the sun. Think about when you’ll be enjoying your garden space and where the sun will be at that time of day. For a larger outdoor space, try setting up a few different seating areas so you can enjoy the open-air at all hours of the day.
As a rule, try not to fill more than two-thirds of your patio or garden to ensure your guests can walk around with ease and give the impression of an open space.
How to style
Style doesn’t just reside inside your home. Think of your garden as an extension of your interior space. Picking a scheme that reflects your personal style, whether that is through a neutral colour palette or an eclectic mix of patterns, should apply to your approach to your garden furniture.
Material is key to expressing your preferred style. Whilst rattan furniture can create a bohemian, biophilic appearance, aluminium or steel framed garden furniture helps to achieve a more contemporary, industrial look.
This also applies to your choice of accessories. Create harmony and a cohesive feel by considering the overall look, ensuring your additions complement your garden seating designs. Fringed cushions, macrame plant pots, and pops of colour brings ethereal avant-garde elegance while fur throws, and minimal pillows accompanies a contemporary, sleek aesthetic.
Design tips for small garden spaces
For those of us with a smaller outdoors, it can feel trickier to enjoy al fresco activities. Thanks to a few expert tips and tricks, however, you’ll be lounging in the warm glow of the summer sun in luxurious comfort in no time.
Investing in slightly smaller garden benches, loveseats, or armchairs can be a great way to make your space appear bigger. Similarly, choosing outdoor furniture that is slightly lifted off the ground with sleek legs helps to produce the impression of free space and in turn a bigger garden area.
Reflections can also have a big impact in creating the illusion of a bigger outdoor space. Strategically placing a garden mirror on a wall or fence can reflect the light and greenery and make a big impact in making your space appear larger.
In fact, the secret to maximising your small garden space lies in the details. Taking the principle of reimagining your outdoor space as a continuation of your interiors, adding decorative accessories could be the key to making your spaces more valuable, no matter how small. Introduce scatter cushions, blankets, lamps, and various other accessories so that your home appears to extend outdoors, expanding your entertainment and hosting areas and creating a more spacious, relaxed atmosphere.
If you’re looking to add some ambience after sunset, there’s nothing like some twinkling garden lighting. Not only do festoon lights make your outdoors feel magical, instantly making your garden space beautiful, but stringing them high up on your fence or wall can make you garden appear both wider and taller.
