OUTDOOR
We only want one thing when the sun comes out; to go outside! Having a coffee on the bench in front of your house, having lunch on the picnic table at work and having a BBQ at night with your friends in the garden. So we start cleaning and decorating our balconies, patios and gardens!
Perhaps you can do with a new picnic table this year, or even a few new garden chairs. In the old days people would take their indoor dining chairs outside and they would have dinner on their lap. Nowadays, the outdoor space gets much more attentions and the choice of different kinds of furniture is huge. The prices and use of material vary a lot as well, so how do you make the right choice?!
Space
First have a good look at the space that you have. A small balcony needs to be decorated differently than a garden of 1000 m2. Because houses and gardens are becoming smaller, more folding furniture appears on the market. Furniture can also be used in several ways and moments. More often we see that furniture can be used both INSIDE as well as OUTSIDE. How will you use your outdoor space? Can you dream away with a nice cup of coffee in the morning sun or is your garden the place to be and will there be lots of children running around?!
Once you have decided the purpose of your garden, how it will be used and how many sit/work/lounge places you will need, it is time to start to orientate.
TIP: make sure you have measured your garden before you start shopping!
Hand-made
People often don’t realise, but most of the garden furniture is handmade. Lots of hands are needed to make a wooden garden chair or metal garden bench. Garden furniture is made with a lot of expertise and passion which is a nice thought!
Garden furniture has to meet a number of difficult criteria. The furniture needs to be weather proof or not too difficult in maintenance in terms of materials. Do realise that all furniture needs some maintenance and care. Weather influences such as the sun, heat, salt water, leafs and dirt affect all materials.
Wood
WOOD is often used for garden furniture like garden benches and picnic tables. Untreated wood such as TEAK can be left outside and after some time it will turn into a nice shade of grey. Do you prefer the original colour of teak? Then treat your teak wooden garden furniture with teak oil once every year. Our mahogany wooden furniture have also been treated with oil. This beautiful and exclusive type of wood is well-known for its deep red-brown colour. Wood is a product of nature, which means that colour differences in your furniture is very normal. You can probably imagine that many trees and wooden boards are needed to produce your garden set or picnic table. Depending on which part of the tree is used, the wood can either be lighter or darker in colour. Does this not suit you? Then you can choose a different material instead.
You also often see PAINTED WOOD such as our coloured picnic tables. This is much more sensitive to weather conditions en needs to be maintained properly. Please make sure you often clean your furniture with a little bit of soapy water, cover them up when it is not being used or when it is too hot or cold and place them inside during the winter or cover it up with a garden cover.
Plastic
PLASTIC garden furniture are low in maintenance and easy to clean with some soapy water. Hard plastic can be recycled, or has already been recycled, like the polywood boards that we use for our hard plastic picnic tables! This type of material can look a little cold, but this can be solved easily by adding some pretty cushions on the seats of you picnic table. Besides that is looks good, it is also very comfortable! ALUMINIUM has the same features; low in maintenance and easy to clean. To expand their lifespan it is important to bring them inside during the winter, or cover them up properly. Please make sure you clean them regularly to prevent permanent staining.
Metal
STEAL, also often referred to by its general name METAL, can easily be placed outside when it is galvanised and coated. Corrosion is one of the features of steal. It is therefore important that you take immediate action when you find a little spot of corrosion. Clean is, scratch off any flaky bits and finish with a new coat of paint. To protect your metal garden furniture, you can use car wax or Vaseline just like the paintwork of your car.
Rattan
BAMBOO/CANE/RATTAN has returned! These materials are not weatherproof, although there are some special coatings that can help to protect them a little. That is why POLYRATTAN is often being used. You get the looks and feel of the real rattan, but not the disadvantages such as fraying, splintering and discolouring. Our chair Delhi is made out of polyrattan!
Garden covers
When the winter arrives it is important that this kind of furniture can be covered up easily or even placed inside. There are special GARDEN COVERS that will protect your picnic table or garden furniture. To make sure you can enjoy the garden cover as long as possible, choose one that is made from a thick and sturdy material and that is water resistant. Fasten the cover, but make sure there is enough room for ventilation; when there is no ventilation the wood underneath can start to mold. Also make sure you
INDOORS
INDOORS AND OUTDOORS are becoming increasingly intertwined. You see that the design of home and garden are coordinated to each other. The garden, the terrace and often the veranda are an extension of your home. You also see that garden furniture in design, use of materials and finish more and more similar to the indoor furniture. You can even use different dining chairs and tables for both indoor and outdoor use! Fabrics are also new developed, so that they can be used for utdoor furniture. Often, these fabrics are water-repellent and do not discolour as quick. Even decorative cushions are usually water-repellent nowadays. For nearly all dining chairs, garden chairs, picnic tables and garden sets, there are special well-fitting cushions. These not only make you more comfortable, but also add style and COLOUR. A new trend that quickly adds colour and ambience is OUTDOOR RUGS. It's nice to walk from inside to outside barefoot. You can also create your own style with decorative cushions, parasols, lights, lanterns and crockery! What does your ideal place look like?
