What's the use of having a large patio or lawn without the furniture for parties or barbecues? Every garden needs at least a few items of furniture to turn it into a usable social space, whether that's a luxury set of oak benches, a cute swing set or just some great value plastic chairs.
This buyer's guide will give furniture buyers all the information they need to make an informed purchase the next time they stock their shed with parasols, hammocks, benches or chairs. There's a surprising amount of choice to be found in the world of garden furniture, so keep your options open. Let's find out more about the kind of items you'll find at HotUKDeals.
Garden furniture's history stretches back to the first time someone strung an animal skin between two trees and invented the hammock. As long as people have been using outdoor spaces, they have created items to sit on or store their essentials.
In Roman and Egyptian times, stone benches were a common feature of elite gardens, while wicker furniture came into vogue, often using reeds that grew abundantly in the Nile valley. Craftsmen put this bounty to good use, fashioning lightweight, elegant, comfortable seats for their patrons to enjoy.
While materials for garden furniture were being refined or tried out over the years, wood continued to be used to make garden furniture. Sealing techniques improved steadily, making wood products much longer-lasting and resistant to poor weather, while tropical woods like teak became a mainstay of furniture production, offering excellent water resistance and a rich, brown finish.
Nowadays, garden furniture buyers can choose from a vast range of these materials. It's a field where the options are plentiful, making it essential to choose the right material for your taste and needs.
Today's garden furniture falls into a variety of basic categories, which can be used to guide your purchases. Broadly speaking, you'll come across:
Benches – Long and designed for more than one person at a time, benches often come with metallic supports at either end and bodies made of oak or teak slats. You'll also find picnic bench style designs where sitters face each other, along with arbours – which are basically benches with a canopy above where you can train flowers or just leave to provide some protection.
Chairs – The garden chair selection goes well beyond stackable plastic armchairs (although they remain a handy standby for almost any household). Sofas and couches made from tropical fibres are becoming popular, with soft furnishings that can slip into drawers beneath the seat. Angled sun loungers are also available, which prop up the sitter into a reading position, while classic deck chairs are always in demand, with their fabric back and convenient fold-up mechanism.
Swing seats and Hammocks – If you want somewhere to laze around when the sun's out, purchasing either a swing seat or hammock is a no-brainer. If you go for a swing seat, buy one with enough room for a few people, and don't cut corners on price. A well-built swing seat will last much longer (especially if children are involved). As for hammocks, you have a choice of a freestanding or strung design. If you want total flexibility, get one that you can stash in a backpack. But if you want to sleep in the garden, a freestanding model may be more appropriate.
Tables – Almost every garden needs at least one table, even if it's just to hold seedlings before you plant them out. Tables are generally graded according to seating capacity, so do a head count and plan for social gatherings before you buy. They come in a selection of materials, including plastic, steel and wood, although the lion's share of models are made from steel or aluminium. Bear in mind that the best deals can often feature table and chair sets – so compare prices of sets and individual pieces before making any decisions. Big savings can be made by bundling everything together.
Parasols – If you buy a table, it's often worth getting hold of one with a hole in the centre for a parasol, which may come with the table set, but often doesn't. When buying a parasol, pay attention to the span of the shade, which varies from 1.5m to as much as 3m, so that no-one is left exposed to the rain or excessive sunshine. A waterproof parasol could be advisable in some cases, and it's also vital to buy one with a base that's secure but mobile. If you have trouble lifting heavy furnishings, it may be worth dispensing with a parasol altogether.
Gazebos and Marquees – Anyone who has a bit of space to play with and intends to entertain visitors could benefit from a gazebo or marquee for their garden. Gazebos are like wall-less tents, and are ideal for barbecues where you need air to circulate but want a waterproof canopy. Marquees are essentially tents, so make sure any model you buy is reasonably easy to erect.
Soft furnishings – Furniture only goes so far without the cushions, covers, shades and blankets to go with it. A lot of garden furnishings lean towards the generic side in terms of aesthetics, but you can liven up designs with beautiful cushions or throws. Don't buy too many though. Remember that when it rains, you'll want to store your soft furnishings somewhere, preferably close to the garden. And always have covers on hand for your favourite furnishings. If you've splashed out hundreds of pounds for a teak furniture set, a canvas cover is a small but crucial investment.
One of the challenges in buying garden furniture is choosing the right material. So here's a quick run down of the main materials and offer, along with their strengths and weaknesses.
Wood – Wood has the aesthetic edge on most alternative materials, benefiting from the richness of woods like teak and oak, with their grain and knots. It tends to have excellent natural strength, and can handle hot drinks and a stain here and there. Almost maintenance free, it deals with rain and snow well and can be eco-friendly too, if you buy from the right suppliers. On the downside, good wood furniture is expensive, and it's usually heavy as well, so moving tables and benches around could be a challenge. Hardwoods are prized above others due to their high concentrations of natural oils, which guard against decay. So if you can afford them, teak or eucalyptus are ideal.
Metals – Some of the best value garden furniture is made out of metals like aluminium, which has improved in workability and toughness in recent years. Cast aluminium can be manipulated into a wide variety of appealing shapes, it's light enough to carry easily, and it also doesn't rust, giving it a major advantage over iron alternatives. However, watch out for inferior furniture made from multiple metal components. Cast aluminium is definitely superior, if you can find it at a good price.
Plastic – Plastic furniture will generally be the cheapest option, but it can also be of a fairly high quality. For instance, you can find plastic garden benches and couches made from artfully woven synthetics which are hard to tell apart from wicker. And elite designers can turn plastic into wildly imaginative post-modern forms as well. In addition, plastic is one of the most hard-wearing materials, being tough to break. It can be colourful and creative, generally requires virtually no maintenance and is light enough to stack away fairly easily when autumn comes.
Rattan – This material is derived from tropical vines, and is commonly woven into high-quality garden furniture. Its massive popularity has a number of roots. Firstly, it's very cost effective compared to wood. But it also has appealing visual qualities and a soft feel which makes it comfortable to sit on. Add in a light weight, the ability to paint it easily and excellent durability and you have a first-class furniture material.
First off, think about the kind of garden you are trying to create. Every garden is unique, both in terms of its dimensions, floral arrangements, shade and sun, and the taste of its occupants. Buying furniture is a chance to imprint your style on an important part of the home, so take some time to plan ahead. Don't just buy items because they are cheap. Buy furniture which really suits the masterplan you have for your garden.
When you're clear about what you want, focus on seating space first. As a rule of thumb, try to have enough seating space for the occupants of the house plus five or six extra people. You could have a core set of chairs that are always on the patio, but keep some stacked seats in reserve. Don't get caught short when guests come round.
Think about what the garden is going to be used for. If you intend to eat al fresco on a regular basis, you'll need a large table and seating to go with it. The same applies for people who intend to host barbecues or garden parties, but they might also prefer a series of small tables that can be deployed wherever they are needed.
When picking furniture, try to go for the best possible materials for the task in hand. If you're just buying some standby chairs for barbecues, premium models probably aren't needed. But for seating arrangements that will be used day in, day out, some upscale wood or cast aluminium products will repay the investment with a longer lifespan and their visual qualities.
As noted above, make sure you have a way to store furniture out of season, either in your house itself or in the garden shed, and have something to cover your most expensive pieces. There's no need to risk damage from heavy rain, when an effective cover costs a few pounds.
When you know the kind of items you'll need, the next step is to pick a merchant. Dipping straight into the HotUKDeals garden furniture listings may be tempting here, but it's handy to know a little about the merchants to look for before you start.
Ikea – The Swedish furniture giant is, unsurprisingly, a go-to merchant for garden furniture. Their folding chairs are an excellent compact option for smaller gardens as they fold up really small, while their minimalist sets are sleek and good-looking, plus their Tarno wooden chairs have a nice organic feel. Check out their outdoor shelving and cabinet products too, as they offer some really useful extra space for gardeners and barbecue obsessives alike.
Asda – The cut-price supermarket chain offers some excellent garden furniture via its George subsidiary, with stylish patio and gazebo sets, as well as even more ornate “bistro” sets which add a touch of class. Their day beds are an offbeat idea, with plenty of room to stretch out, while their Miami collection is a great way to add a dash of colour to bland outdoor spaces.
Argos – The high street and catalogue retailer is a major player in the garden furniture world, stocking in-house and branded products. Products run from utilitarian folding chairs and plastic tables (which are handy to have around), to luxury items like hot tubs and items for swimming pools. They are particularly strong for people with balconies, where using space efficiently is essential.
B&Q – The DIY giant is predictably strong when it comes to outdoor furnishings, with sofas, swing seats, sets, parasols and tables aplenty. Highlights include their elegant collection of wooden furnishings, and their tables and chairs collection where furnishings are paired with colour-coordinated accessories – a neat touch. And there are some quirky options too, such as home bars, for people who feel like serving a mojito or two at their next BBQ.
The Range – This major online furniture retailer makes garden furniture one of its specialities and probably has the best range of luxury outdoor seating options around. If you need a beautiful and deliciously comfortable lounger, this is the place to shop. And it's also great for families, with some gorgeous kids furniture designs alongside pieces for grown-ups.
John Lewis – The department store giant stocks pretty much everything, garden furniture included. It's a particularly good place to pick up weather-resistant waterproof seats and also a surprisingly affordable merchant as well, thanks to their constantly updated clearance section.
All of these merchants are a reliable place to pick up anything from hammocks to mini bars. When you shop, remember that clearance and sales sections are your friends. All of these sellers table discounts every now and then, so take advantage when they appear.
By now, you've hopefully worked out exactly what to add to your garden furniture collection, and you've probably got a picture of where you'll search for your items as well. But don't head straight to their online stores.
Whatever you intend to buy, there's a great chance that you'll find it for less with the discount codes and offers available at HotUKDeals. Our garden furniture listings include all of the UK's major furniture retailers, including Argos, B&Q, John Lewis, Homebase, and Asda, and if they run promotions we'll have the details first.
By all means browse the products available at your favourite merchant, but make sure you consult our garden furniture listings before making a purchase. New discounts appear all the time, and garden furniture can be a major investment – so don't pay more than you have to.
You could also save money by shopping at the right time of year. Prices for garden furniture tends to fall at the end of summer, as demand tails off. That's when savvy buyers stock up for next year. Fashions change slowly, but this summer's stock will be much cheaper in October or November, and with Black Friday deals available too, that could be the time to snap up a great deal.
Make your garden an inviting, beautiful place to spend time by adding the right garden furniture. From luxurious couches and solid oak tables to teak chairs, loungers, benches and hammocks, you can enhance any garden with ease. Just bookmark the HotUKDeals garden furniture listings and furnish your outdoor spaces at the lowest possible price.
