The garden is often referred to as an extra room, and your outdoor space can certainly come into its own during the warmer months of the year. During dry, sunny spells, many people with their own gardens spend almost all of their time outside, tending the garden or relaxing to enjoy the fruits – and flowers – of their labour.
Cooking al fresco
The barbecue might be fired up on a daily basis, and grilled meals accompanied by fresh salads and vegetables – perhaps from your very own veggie patch – become the order of the day. Some gardens boast barbecues that are as large in size and used as often as a conventional indoor cooker, while others double as a fire pit you can cook on. Others, like Kamado Joe’s DoJo, can be transformed into a pizza oven with the purchase of an optional extra item.
Relax and unwind
If you are spending so much time outdoors, it’s important that you can really relax, and this can be difficult if you only have hard, unyielding garden chairs to sit on. These are often fine for short spells or meals, but if you want to spend the entire evening soaking up the late sun of early summer or gazing at the stars, while the children jump on the trampoline or play with outdoor toys, it may well be worth investing in something a lot more comfortable.
A modern, modular solution
In recent times, modular garden furniture has become increasingly popular, and this style of outdoor seating is available in styles, shapes and sizes to suit all budgets. This type of garden furniture is low maintenance and offers supreme levels of comfort. It is also very versatile, partly because it can easily be moved around to suit the circumstances – or simply if you fancy a change.
Wet weather-proof
Many ranges are also waterproof, so there’s no need to dash outside to save your seat pads and cushions in the event of a sudden downpour. This also cuts down on storage space, because you don’t have to make space for a pile of seat pads in the shed or garage every time there’s wet weather.
A range of styles
Brands such as Supremo, Norfolk Leisure or Lifestyle garden furniture produce some fabulous modular sets, which look just as good as your indoor lounge furniture. Perhaps most importantly, they are just as comfortable too. These come in a range of sizes to suit the dimensions the outdoors seating area you’d like to furnish. They can also be used in a conservatory.
Mini modular sets
The most compact modular systems are mini modular sets, such as the Supremo Carina Mini Modular Set, Supremo Tuscany Mini Modular Dining Set or Supremo Barcelona Mini Modular Dining Set with Lava Cushions. Although they’re referred to as ‘mini’, such sets provide a generous amount of seating, with each providing room for around eight people. With prices starting at well under £1,000, these are an affordable way to furnish your patio or deck in style. Each of these sets comprises a corner sofa as well as a table and two extra seats.
More space
If you do crave even more seating space, or wish to curl up in your own cosy armchair, there are plenty of options. The Lifestyle Garden Sydney Corner Modular Coffee Set is great for bigger spaces as well as frequent use, and comprises a corner sofa, table and even an armchair.
The Supremo Tuscany Curved Modular Dining Set, meanwhile, consists of a larger corner sofa plus a table suitable for long, relaxed al fresco meals and a couple of padded, bench-style seats that can fit two people each. Sets like this can comfortably accommodate around a dozen.
Made for comfort
The full-sized Supremo Barcelona garden furniture set is designed with ergonomics in mind, with the curved seat pads and generous levels of upholstery providing many happy hours of cosy comfort. Lifestyle garden furniture’s sizeable Sydney set, meanwhile, features super soft, plump cushions that are created to give owners day after day of lounging in the garden in sumptuous comfort.
A material world
The materials used to build modular garden furniture sets are carefully selected to offer the very best in style, practicality and durability – as well as stunning good looks. Solid teak wood and Petan – a synthetic form of rattan – are used in Lifestyle Garden’s Sydney ranges, while Norfolk Leisure’s Aya Modular sets include table tops with a real stone effect finish that is ultra-lightweight, very durable and easy to care for.
The Aya range also boasts a specially developed all-weather seat pad that lets rain pass right through it. This means that it dries far more rapidly than standard waterproof seat cushions.
Supremo’s tables have tops that are crafted from ‘Resysta’. This is an engineered material that looks and feels just like real wood, yet is waterproof as well as UV-resistant, which means it will not develop any unsightly cracks. This material is made from rice husk, is kind to the environment and can be recycled.
In terms of seating, Supremo provides generously filled cushions finished with attractive piping around the edges. Its covers are also zipped, which makes them very easy to remove for cleaning.
A sense of style
It’s about style as much as comfort. The modular ranges feature details like glass tabletops, which allow diners to see through to the intimate weaved pattern beneath, as seen in the Supremo Barcelona garden furniture dining sets, as well as its Carina and Tuscany ranges. These modular systems also feature a distinctive half-moon weave, which adds to the attractive overall appearance of this outdoor furniture.
Lifestyle’s Sydney ranges are given added character thanks to the solid wood table each set includes, while Norfolk Leisure Life garden furniture is built along very sleek, contemporary lines and features upholstery in fashionable tones of slate or soft blue.
A new lease of life
Whatever you opt for, modular garden furniture can breathe new life into your outdoor space, and provide many happy hours of lounging in the sun.
