Looking for the best garden furniture for your self isolation social distancing retreat? We have just what you need. If you’re blessed with a nice patch of grass in your home to use in the summer, for god's sake don’t waste it by laying out a towel and thinking that will do. You can spice up your summer garden with a whole range of furniture, from the cheap and cheerful to the luxurious and impressive. Speaking of which…
Even something as ridiculous as your own hot tub isn’t as expensive (or difficult to set up) as you might think but you don’t have to extended your budget that far anyway. By spending your money smartly and wisely, you can buy a whole host of items that will make your garden look like it’s been given a costly makeover by a Channel 4 mid-day home renovation special. Here are our picks for the best garden furniture money can buy.
Best garden furniture to buy today
• Buy the Deuba Sun Lounger from Amazon
There are two things that immediately stand out about Deuba’s beefy sun lounger. First, it’s as comfortable as lounging on a fluffy cloud and secondly – and most importantly – it’s blooming great value for money. The Deuba comes in a flatpack so you’ll have to build it yourself but even if you have sausage fingers and the hand-eye co-ordination of a miserable drunk, you’ll still manage to assemble a sun lounger of surprisingly good quality. Although its cover – available in five colours – is liquid repellant for drink spills and the like, it’s not waterproof, so you’ll need to store it in a dry place. Nevertheless, you’ll struggle to find a cheaper, more comfortable way to start fleshing out your garden furniture.
• Buy the Alexandria from Homebase
Comprised of two upright seats and a 1.4-metre chaise longue-style lounger, this is a great value sofa set for outdoor relaxation. It’s constructed out of a rattan-effect woven plastic of sorts for outdoor durability and comes with two rectangular seating modules that can be positioned in a left or right configuration for added convenience. It also comes with a low glass-topped table for the Pimms, olives and bowl of San Nicasio crisps (what, you’ve never tried them?). The included grey-coloured cushions, meanwhile, are comfortable and weather resistant though we would advise bringing them indoors during inclement weather. If you’re a little strapped for cash but are still desperate to get out of the house and into the sunshine, then this excellent-value three-piece will do the trick and do it nicely.
• Buy the Kettler RHS Chelsea bench from John Lewis & Partners
This beautiful RHS-stampled two-seater bench is just the ticket for the homeowner with a large garden or patio. It’s made from eucalyptus wood which is a great choice for outdoor furniture because it’s hardness and slightly oily texture is very good at resisting moisture. Granted, a bench might not sound like the last word in comfort, but this one makes a fair fist of it by dint of its gently curved back. That said, we’d suggest popping down a cushion pad if you’re planning on spending a lot of time on it. This particular model is four feet in length but Kettler also produces a five foot version for those with a tad more space.
• Buy the Ravello Dining Set from Cox & Cox
Stylish and practical, this dining bench set ticks plenty of boxes. Wooden dining sets can be large and bulky but this one manages to remain elegant and well proportioned, perfect for gardens and patios of all sizes. Its overall appearance has been inspired by the mediterranean al fresco lifestyle but the material – solid eucalyptus for excellent water repellence and resistance to decay – has been carefully chosen to withstand the classic British summer. It will comfortably seat four with space to spare – or six if you bung a spare stool or chair on either end.
• Buy the Rowlinson Dartmouth Arbour Swing Seat from ScrewFix
If you have the gardens to house it, this arbour won’t fail to impress. Pop it in a cosy corner or at the bottom of your garden as a retreat to get away from it all (the kids) or sit and wile away a couple of hours with a book and a cup of coffee. Thanks to the apex roof, it provides some well needed shade on hot days and you can choose to grow climbing plants through the trellis, which along its natural weathering will give it that charmed ‘claimed by nature’ look.
• Buy the Suntime Parasol from John Lewis & Partners
This is not just any old parasol, this is a parasol with LED lights and a built-in Bluetooth speaker, no less. Okay, so the speaker is no great shakes but it’s ample for some gentle tunes while you seek refuge from the blazing sun under the parasol’s tilting 2.7-metre canopy.
The Suntime’s 24 LEDs are sewn in threes into the each support strut and are turned on and off via a conveniently placed switch situated just above the canopy winder. They work exceptionally well once darkness sets in, casting just enough light to see what you’re eating and imparting a pleasingly gentle glow over the table. Just be aware that you’ll need to fork out an extra £30 or so for a parasol base to hold it in position.
• Buy the Colorado Relaxer from B&Q
Although they’re not the prettiest of garden chairs, relaxers of this nature are among the most comfortable ways to grab a slab of sunshine. This great budget option from B&Q comes with a deep cushion pad that is so snuggly you’ll be off to the land of nod in a thrice, especially if you take advantage of its multi-position backrest which lowers to an almost bed-like degree. Although its synthetic cushion is weatherproof, we would always advise putting the whole chair away at night to protect both the cushion material and the steel frame from rusting. Thankfully it folds up into a relatively tidy package. A top buy for outright comfort – and at a very keen price, too.
If you’re looking for something quirky and different, this hanging spruce chair might hit the mark. There’s enough space for two people to sit and relax or you can completely lounge out and swing yourself to sleep. If you like the idea of hanging the seat from the tree in your back garden you can – if it’s strong enough. If you don’t happen to have a suitable tree knocking about, use the optional stand instead (£560 extra). The Globo comes with a set of very comfy cushions – available in teal, rusty orange or cream – and two big springs on top to give it a little bounce. Pricey but plush.
The only thing better than a corner sofa is a corner sofa dining set. Whether you’re relaxing with your feet up during the day or have the extended family round for a barbecue in the evening, this day-to-evening six-seat corner set will ensure sunbathing times and meal times are well and truly sorted.
Available in both rattan or whitewash, this stylish weatherproof dining set is part of a wider range of Palma furniture that includes larger dining sets, armchairs, sofas, foot stools and loungers. Granted, Kettler products aren’t cheap but they’re well built and hardy enough to survive outdoor life without falling apart at the seams. That said, it’s always advisable to remove seat cushions and cover outdoor furniture during the winter months because even the best materials will struggle against months of rain and snow.
There are so many flimsy parasols out there, ones where, with just one gust of wind, they’ve made a bid for freedom and you have to chase them down to the other end of the garden. This very elegant looking parasol from Barlow features a sturdy base that anchors it firmly to the ground. The eucalyptus frame is hard wearing and durable while the acrylic canopy is light and elegantly shaped. What’s more, it comes with a storage cover to keep it protected while it’s in the shed for winter. A great choice for the stylishly well heeled.
•Buy the Acacia Sun Lounger from La Redoute
Whether you’re relaxing by the pool or enjoying the sunshine after work, with this deck chair’s four recliner positions you can catch forty winks or get back into your book. The acacia wood is resistant to dampness and insects, while the PVC coated polyester is water resistant so you can forget the horrible feeling of settling back into a damp cushion after a few laps of the pool. The chair folds up for easy storage, so make sure you pop it away when the bad weather sets in and give it a coat of oil before it comes out again for next summer to maintain its appearance.
While it looks more like a plant bulb than a pearl, this cosy garden cubby is the ideal spot to sit back with your current page turner. Spacious enough for four or five, this ridiculously cosy day bed is guaranteed to be a hit when friends come round for a glass of wine. The Pearl is constructed out of weather-resistant rattan and wicker with a welded aluminium frame so you can keep it outside all year round, which is handy as it takes a fair amount of putting together.
If you buy this bar table with drinks cooler, you’re going to have to resolve yourself to the fact that it’ll be your place that everyone comes to to socialise this summer. Strong, durable and rot resistant, teak is one of the best woods for garden furniture. It also ages very well, so your outside bar will only get more attractive as the years go buy. To use, simply fill the large container with ice and stuff your beers and champers in it. Simple, effective, at least until the ice melts.
•Buy the Indoor Outdoor Hanging Chair from Cox & Cox
When there's that one spot in the garden that you know will make the perfect retreat, we have just the thing to fill it. This hard wearing yet elegantly stylish rattan-effect hanging chair is designed to be the perfect accompaniment to a good book and a glass of vino, and, most attractively, it swings just a little to provide ultimate relaxation. It comes with a steel, rust resistant stand, but you can also put some legs on it if you wish it to remain firmly on the ground. While weather resistant to some extent, it’s worth knowing that it's easy to take apart and store for the winter.
•Buy the Giardino Large Rattan Cube Dining Set from Amazon
If you know that you and your family are going to make a concerted effort to sit outside this summer, go out all guns blazing by investing in this statement six seater outside dining table. Featuring a steel frame, rattan body, glass top, six chairs, four stools, an umbrella and a winter cover, this outdoor dining table may tug on the purse strings but you do receive an awful lot for your money. With the chairs sliding neatly underneath the table when not in use, it keeps a uniform appearance that won't make your patio or garden appear out of sorts.
This is as relaxing as summer gets, unless you happen to have two trees in your back garden in close enough vicinity to tie up a hammock, which you most likely don’t. This swinging three-seater chair is perfect summer furniture for your garden because, well, you sit in it and gently bob back and forth. It also comes with an adjustable roof to block out the sun as it passes overhead. We’re not too sure about the colour, with Outsunny plumping for a deep, dark miserable techno colour scheme rather than something bright and summery, but on the upside it does still look quite classy and sophisticated.
Why have a bog standard summer house built in the garden when you can lounge outdoors, undercover in a high-tech rotating space pod? Constructed from laminated spruce timber and with an interior 2.4 metres wide and 2.2 metres tall, this stunning pod is the last word in garden luxury.
It comes with a circular waterproof vinyl bench pad with room for up to seven guests, plus a centre table that can be lowered so you can add a centre cushion pad to turn it into a bed, or even a garden bedroom. The stainless steel exterior touches and mirrored louvres above and below the UV protected acrylic tinted windows reflect heat and add an extra touch of class. Interior lighting is an option for those who wish to chill under moonlight. However, the very best thing about this pod is that it slowly revolves 360˚, so no matter which way the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, you’ll always be in the comfort zone. Zzzzz.
When you think of Hawaii, you probably think of hula dancers, colourful leis, and bright blue air jet hot tubs. Lay-Z-Spa can’t deliver the first two to your back garden in Romford but it’s definitely come through with the hot tub. Big enough for four adults and six at a push, this hot tub holds 840 litres of water, which it heats up to 40 degrees. It takes a while to get there but it’s well worth the wait, as you can drink beers/Prosecco/G&T/milk (delete as appropriate) in your hot tub and feel like you’re bringing a slice of tropical high life to your garden.
If you’ve ever tried to burn unseasoned wood in your log burner, you’ll notice a sticky black tar on the glass. So whether you’re seasoning your own wood or storing the wood you ordered from a local company, this log store will keep them dry and ready to burn when the colder evenings set in. It’s stylish in appearance and very practical. However, because its made from untreated FSC fir, it’s best to locate it in a sheltered area to prolong its life.
It almost goes without saying that a patio heater is a patio essential if you're looking to make the most out of summer evenings… unless, of course, you're happy to park a couple of faithful jumpers in your summer drawer for when the temperature drops. While not as authentically rustic as a fire pit, a patio heater like this tall-standing 9,500w propane-burning model is a reliable and stylishly modern way to keep warm.
Here’s your first line of defence for those unexpected days in the British summertime when the rainclouds turn up to ruin your barbecue plans. This pop-up garden gazebo measures three metres by three metres, giving it ample room inside to host guests and some furniture, and it takes roughly 15 minutes to set up. It’s sturdy as well, so it can stand up to strong gusts of wind as well as downpours of rain. Although at this point you’d have to ask yourself why you’re persisting with a social gathering in the garden. What will it take for you to abandon your gazebo and move the brunch indoors? Three feet of snow? Flash floods? Tornado warnings?
