How to furnish a garden

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Dreaming of a British spring that never comes, I fantasized about how to furnish my long back garden. So much outdoor furniture is uncomfortable, unattractive, or both. The garden has different areas to design a section for entertaining and another to stretch out in style. Where to start?

I hear you! We’ve been doing some (rather important) work at our country house and the result is that, as of this writing, I’m about to spend my first night at home in four months. It feels delicious to be back, even though there’s no food in the cupboards, no shades on the windows, and various boring jobs still on the to-do list.

I mention this because the vision that has sustained me since the gloomy and stormy days of mid-January has been of our garden in full bloom in Technicolor, friends gathered in the garden, a languid summer lunch. Unfortunately, we have not reached that point yet. It was wet, gray and windy today, and there is a lot of work to be done in the garden in preparation for summer bliss. And yet I know that we will all get there.

It is interesting to compare our garden with yours because we also have furniture arranged in various areas, for different purposes. However, in the same way that we often move things around indoors, swapping chairs and junk between rooms, in the garden I like to be able to move furniture around with ease.

Certain things will stay in place. Our outdoor dining table hardly ever moves, but in the summer I move the chairs and sun loungers so we can enjoy different views and moments throughout the week. A couple of old folding chairs might turn up in the orchard one day; I will have my morning coffee in the shade of towering broad beans and sweet peas. A lounger will be pulled into the sun. Or we can bring chairs to the meadow behind the cabin, along with a side table and trays, and have pre-dinner drinks in the tall grass.

Let’s start with your entertainment area. As you mention, a lot of outdoor furniture can look uninviting. When I look at editions of the “best” dining games online, they’re often gray or too blocky and hard-looking for my liking. I’m not really a fan of gray plastic garden furniture. I much prefer natural materials and a feeling of lightness.

I am therefore drawn to the BM1771 table, created by Beitherrge Mogensen for Carl Hansen & Son in 1971. This outdoor dining table is inspired by Shaker furniture and feels timeless. Crafted from untreated FSC certified teak, it is durable and ages gracefully. A matching bench is also available (both via twenty Twenty one).

by john lewis Anyday Camden Bistro Set It’s House & Garden’s choice for the best summer patio furniture, and one of mine too: it’s inexpensive and comes in great colors; my favorite is flame orange, which would look sublime against a background of summer green. This fun and tidy set would suit small dining rooms and would be easy to move around the garden to your liking.

As for stretching out, consider lounge chairs. I admit that I find them complicated. I’m not a big fan of hotel-style loungers; By this I mean those giant, minimalist pieces of furniture with sharp lines and blindingly white plush mattresses. I’m sure they’re comfortable, but they’re not for me, at least in an English garden (they’d probably do an adequate job around a slippery pool in California).

I’m drawn to old sun loungers, preferably wicker and bamboo, like the fantastic 1930s version currently available at Burford Antiques Oxfordshire. I would buy a thin mattress made for this in sunflower yellow cotton.

I like the designs from The Heveningham Collection. The range of garden furniture from this company is very stylish – I like their loungers In particular. Designs come in standard black, dark green, gunmetal, or white, but special colors and finishes are available.

Finally: banks. A bench or several in a garden are essential. Strategically placed, a bench will provide an opportunity to pause, but it can also act as a focal point. I love a rustic bench. Lorfords of Gloucestershire is selling a beautiful teak version from c1900, which, with its natural shape and lovely patina, feels very jungle-like. Regency is also a fabulous era for banks – check out the pair of early 19th century blue painted garden seats for sale at Miles Griffiths of Yorkshire. These have curved backs, ideal for placing in corners or around trees.

I say: enjoy exploring your options and choose furniture for different areas of the garden based on the moods you want to create. Now all we need is the weather.

If you have any design and lifestyle questions for Luke, please email him at lukeedward.hall@ft.com. Follow him on Instagram @lukeedwardhall

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