What’s The Best Furniture For Your Garden Over The Summer?
Especially in times of economic hardship, people will naturally gravitate to the free Riviera of their
own garden when the sun is blazing, rather than spend a small fortune jetting off to overpriced holiday
resorts and returning exhausted. The summer months are the time to enjoy your garden, and to
do this most effectively you need to have decent garden furniture to relax on. Otherwise, it will be
like sitting in an empty room on a couple of up-ended crates – hardly an arrangement conducive to
comfort and relaxation.
How much light enters the garden is a major consideration. This can be effectively controlled by the
creative use of parasols as a solution in the short term, or if you want to have flexible arrangements
for different occasions. Alternatively, think of setting up an arbour as an attractive fixed place to sit,
ideally fitted out with an ironwork or rattan garden table and chairs at the opposite end of the garden
to the house, with a narrow pathway leading to it.
The joys of wood
It is important to ensure that the furniture you choose for the garden actually fits with the design of the
garden itself. Wooden seating, for example, can be quite attractive and will go with many different
garden designs; there are several different types of wood to choose from including teak, oak, pine,
and cedar.
For a hard-wearing and long-lasting, durable surface go for teak, which will keep its appearance for
many years. You can assist its graceful ageing by rubbing oils into the wood so that it always retains
that attractive teak appearance and colour. On the other hand, you can just leave it to weather and
allow it to gradually acquire that beautiful shade of grey with a silver tint that perfectly complements a
garden setting.
Another very popular choice is cedar furniture. This attractive wood can remain unfinished for a
natural look and will last for years with very little maintenance.
Whatever your tastes in wooden furniture, make sure that it is sourced from renewable forests before
buying.
Other types of garden furniture for the summer
As with household furniture, there is such a range of garden furniture now available that buyers
should be certain to take some time and shop around for a style that reflects their personal taste, and
which will enhance their existing patios, arbours, and terraces.
The decadent feel seems to be fashionable again, for instance, and this can be enhanced by the use
of a wrought iron table and chairs, which will also constitute a good investment because they will last
forever if treated reasonably well.
Wicker garden furniture is also an excellent idea if you prefer a more comfortable look and feel,
because these items are quickly and attractively accessorised by adding puffy, colourful cushions to
them – ideal for sprawling on during a late balmy afternoon with friends and a few bottles of chilled
Chardonnay.
Those who are seeking a more contemporary look – for example, those living in more urban settings
– might consider an aluminium patio set as opposed to going for the more rural, ‘green’ look with
traditional wooden furniture. Cast aluminium is generally longer-lasting and more attractive than the
cheaper hollow variety.
The British summer being what it is it is also wise to have protection for garden furniture readily to
hand. You should also keep appropriate cleaning materials close by for clearing up nasty stains such
as those from spilled wine and swatted flies before they permanently damage the materials. Wooden
furniture should be oiled every few months, and plastic items can simply be cleaned using a mild
detergent before being hosed down.
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