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Purpose?
Firstly, you need to be clear on the purpose of your garden furniture.
Will you be dining outdoors, sunbathing, socializing or all of these?
Will you need more than one piece, or set, of furniture for different purposes at different times?
Who is going to be using them - adults, children, elderly?
This will largely determine the range of products that are suitable.
Material and Style?
This is an important one for those who wish to create the right look. The main choice really is either modern/contemporary or traditional. Most materials have styles that can be fitted into designs for either.
Materials include :-
Wood - softwood and hardwood
Wooden garden furniture products are now, more often than not, sold in hardwood. This is because it is much more hardwearing than softwood, which will have to be replaced after a few years, especially if it is left out in the elements all year round. Even so, hardwood furniture will fade as time goes on to a natural grey wood colour. There are all manner of stains and preservatives to prolong the life of your furniture but it will need treating each year to keep it in good condition.
Wooden furniture comes in the traditional styles - dining sets, loungers etc. but can be made in contemporary styles, with sleek, smooth lines and is often used with metal. The warmth of wood is the main feature here. Because it is a natural product, it fits seamlessly into a garden setting.
Metal - cast aluminium, wrought iron, steel
Metal garden furniture has a completely different feel. It’s main advantage is that it can be moulded in many ways; very intricate designs, which give a traditional, light and airy feel or clean lines for an ultra-modern style.
Wrought iron furniture will need to be cleaned and sprayed every so often to maintain its good looks.
All weather - textilene, plastic, rattan, wicker, mesh
As gardens are becoming more of an outdoor living space, all-weather garden furniture has become much more popular, with man-made rattan and wicker, textilene, mesh and woven plastic products. This is especially important if your storage space is limited. Some of the designs are fabulous, whether it is dining furniture, sun-loungers, chairs, benches or swinging seats that you prefer. I am using these much more in my designs now, as they require little or no maintenance, which is an important factor in people’s lives today.
Fabric - Beanbags ,hanging chairs and hammocks
Colour?
Colour can also be significant in determining the style of your furniture. For instance, the same furniture can be used to give a cool stylish feel or you can make it into funky garden furniture by just by changing the colour/s.
This is where your creativity comes in. Try to envisage the effect of colours against your existing structures and planting. Using the correct colours can make affordable garden furniture work well for us all. It can exude quality and taste, be fun, funky, comfortable, welcoming or stand out in the crowd.
Cool and contemporary Colours -
I find that the best colours for a really cool contemporary feel are plain greys, creams, off-white, beige - in other words, natural or neutral colours. Or even patterns can be effective, such as checks, if they are in neutral colours. Wooden garden furniture looks great with cream accessories, for example cushions, parasols, ceramic light holders. Grey garden furniture looks good with cream too.
A way of using brighter colours in a contemporary scheme is to use acid lime, azure blue, shocking pink etc. as accent colours against neutral surroundings. These can be effectively used together in a pattern, together in separate accessories or on their own.
Of course, there is then the consideration of whether children will be using the furniture - sticky fingers and footprints will detract from the look if cream is the colour you choose, unless it is in a man-made fabric that can be wiped down. So ,again, think of the purpose and work around it!
Take a look at some sample colour schemes that will give you ideas on the types of colours that go well together.
They have been grouped in blocks of three. It is probably a good idea to cover surrounding rows to stop interference from other colours.
Fun and Funky Colours -
To get a bright, fun feel, the colours used tend to be primary colours - red, blue, yellow and secondary colours - purple, orange, green, either in plain materials or patterns. Checks, flowered, striped, plain can all be used together, in any combination!
At one time, putting certain colours together, and even patterns, was seen as being lacking in taste. For instance, red, orange and pink were rarely seen together. Floral and checks too. But now anything goes, and with the influences of travel and our wonderfully diverse society, fashions relating to colour schemes and pattern combinations have changed considerably, giving us a rich array of fantastic materials to choose from.
Make a statement in your garden. Use colours that suggest a style in order to make it into a wonderful, individual space. I, personally, would avoid the predictable and ordinary, for example, dark wood furniture with bottle green accessories. Just because grass is green and trees are green doesn’t mean that everything in the garden has to be green! Having said that, green is not just ordinary mid-range green. It can be acid green, lime green and many other wonderful greens that can give a brilliant accent colour to garden furniture. Look for colour combinations that work well together and set each other off.
Quality or Cheap?
Luckily, these are not mutually exclusive! Just because some garden furniture products are cheap doesn’t necessarily mean that they are poor quality. Be on the lookout for bargain garden furniture products that are well built and can be adapted to your style.
The sun-loungers in the picture at the top of the page look sleek and modern on this roof-top garden. Needing to be left out all year round they were just what was needed. Notice the cool grey material against the neutral colour of the wood and porcelain tiles, with the flowers providing the colour highlights - and for four, at less than £100(Argos), they really were a bargain!
Below are some companies which sell a range of garden furniture products, which might be of interest, mainly for ideas on the types of products available, styles, materials and colours, starting with value products to the more expensive ranges. I have included notes by the side to highlight interesting features.
Argos
Good value, affordable garden furniture products. If you are on a tight budget, they have some cheap garden furniture items, especially at end of season. The range of products is obviously better preceding and during the summer months. Suitably placed and in interesting colours, their products can look great. It is all about choosing the right product, in suitable materials and colour.
Great 1/2 price deals
until 6/4/2010, with £10 voucher for £100 spent, and £5 voucher for £50 spent.
Greenfingers
A dedicated garden products site with everything for the garden, especially geared towards garden furniture. Very good value products in a wide range of styles, most of which include free delivery. They have a good range of all-weather rattan sets and swinging seats, intricate metal garden sets, unusual tree seats, hammocks with fixings and much more, including garden structures, equipment and accessories. Definitely worth a look.
homeandgardengifts.co.uk
Stock a good value range of garden furniture products, including some sleek rocking sun-loungers, outdoor bean-bags, hanging chairs and hammocks, as well as garden patio sets.
Gardens and Homes Direct
Good savings on all sort of garden furniture.
Plus 5% off all products until 31/12/2010 with voucher code GHDPC150
Start of season promotion - 10% to a whopping 70% off garden furniture sets and patio sets until 6th April. It's worth a look!
Raw Garden
Have a wide range of garden furniture and accessories.
Promotion:
Eat in Style this Easter with Raw Garden. This week we bring you a fantastic offer of the curved Dining set for just £1799.99, saving you almost £300!
Round 150cm Table and Curved Bench Dining Set
This Table and Curved Bench Dining Set is guaranteed to wow your friends this summer. The furniture is made with 2.5mm diameter ECOLENE weave. It is waterproof, unaffected by the sun`s harmful UV rays and temperatures.
Curved Bench Dining Set includes:
1x 150cm diameter cappuccino Table - with 6mm glass top
4x Curved cappuccino Benches
Was £2099.95
Now £1799.99
Prezzy Box
I have noted this down particularly because of their beautiful all-weather sleek-looking rocking sun-lounger/hammock, in white or beige, single or double. They also have outdoor bean bags, hanging chairs and hammocks - the more unusual garden furniture products.
John Lewis
Go to the garden furniture section of their site, where they have
really good quality garden furniture products. Very stylish, modern and sleek, with colour coordinated furniture and accessories, in a good range of styles and materials, including all-weather items. It is worth a look just to get some ideas. They use colours, as described above, to great effect and give ideas on how to arrange their garden furniture products and accessories.
Blue Diamond Garden Furniture Products
These can be found at various garden centres throughout the country and are well worth having a look at if you would like some really unique, stunning garden furniture products. All-weather rattan domes, tall seats and recliners are some of my favourites. They really have the Wow! factor. Their website doesn’t show the more unusual furniture and so a trip to one of their outlets would be recommended.
Your choice of garden furniture products can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your garden. Choose carefully and your garden will look fantastic and it will also be a comfortable and welcoming place to relax!
