Ideas for a 'Designed' Look
Pull up a seat with one of these garden seats - perfect for eating and relaxing in the garden. The furniture in your garden is more than just for eating and relaxing, it's part of the overall design of the garden. The type, size and finish of the furniture play a key role, and the surrounding hardscape and planting can help make your furniture choices a design feature in their own right. You can spend a lot of money on flashy furniture, but you don't really have to. There are many affordable products around, while old or forgotten items like wooden poles and oil drums can be 'recycled' into something unique for your garden.
1. Rustic Garden Bench
Wood is warm and welcoming. Soft tones when bleached by the sun add a sense of maturity to the garden. Here the rustic style works perfectly with cottage-style planting. Our tip when placing benches on the grass is to move them around from time to time to prevent the grass from dying in the shade below.
2. Stone wall seating area
When installing any type of wall in a garden, consider whether it can double as a seating area. Retaining walls and feature walls create a permanent structure to the garden and can be good places to sit. Our tip is to finish the wall at around 45-50cm for the best seating height.
3. Mixing different styles
Mixing styles and colours can bring out different areas of the garden. Here, this lightweight black chair pairs with a black shed and also complements the wooden table. Our tip is to mix and match styles, and you can easily move the lightweight chair if you want a change.
4. Bean bag seat
This bean bag makes a statement with its strong overall shape and colour and is an eye-catching focal point. This single seat sets the scene for a secluded, al fresco contemplation space, and creates a cozy garden space. While most outdoor bean bags are showerproof/waterproof, they shouldn’t be left out year-round.
5. Permanent, upholstered garden seats
Custom-built permanent seating within the garden is usually expensive, but will give a cohesive feel and tie the wider style of the garden together. This garden has a strong Moroccan theme, with banquette seating making it a perfect spot for entertaining. Our tip is to consider the depth of the custom cushions before building the seat, so it doesn’t end up being too high overall.
6. Light-colored garden furniture
Solid furniture can block garden views, but this metal table and chair set creates a simple exterior without dominating the space. Placing the seat at the back of the garden provides a different view looking back at the house. The lighter the color of our tip furniture, the more likely you are to see its exterior in the background.
7. Folding chairs
Folding bistro chairs offer a lot of flexibility as they can be easily moved around and hung on hooks when not needed. There are many types, but a classic metal and wood finish goes with most garden styles. Consider customizing your furniture to match the colors of your planting scheme.
8. Wooden cube seats
Sometimes seats can seem a little 'plain' and overwhelm a small space when you really want plants to do the talking. These oak cubes are simple and add a sculptural element to a garden. The rope handles make them easy to move. All wood will age and silver over time, which adds character, but check to see if yours needs to be treated with wood stain and preservative.
9. Oil drum seats
Cut oil drums in half and top with wood to create two cool seats for a garden shed. This look is affordable, works well with other reclaimed materials, and can be picked up in planting colors to create a cohesive design. Success in upcycling is all in the finish. Here, the tops have been made to fit the drum perfectly and sanded smooth.
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