Versatile furniture: using designer pieces inside and out

Flowers are blooming, temperature is rising: I think we can say it now, spring has arrived! May Day promises to be sunny... it's time for a barbecue, isn't it?

We've finally received our EMU Shades and we have a nice selection of sunshades and parasols so you can enjoy the sun without getting sun burns. Now that you have a nice sun shade, what about the seating arrangements? We have plenty of dining chairs and tables to choose from, but how can you choose one piece over another? Here’s a little guide which we hope will help you out.

Choosing your outdoor furniture

You could say we’re collecting designer pieces. We love designer furniture and when we find something new that looks great we try and get our hands on it so we can share our findings with you. But we understand that it can be hard to choose only a couple pieces when there is so much out there. One solution is to open a showroom like we did but it may be a little bit extreme just to be surrounded by lovely designer pieces!

If you can’t buy our whole shop, then you have to make a choice, one way or another. The most important things are that you should like the design of your furniture, and that this furniture answers your needs in terms of seating, use, maintenance, etc.

What hues and design do you like?

Our manufacturers create all kinds of furniture in many different colours, sizes and shapes, so choosing a colour and a style should help you narrow down your search.

What use for your furniture?

If you are living on your own, a small table and a couple of chairs can be enough, but if you have a family of five or want to have people over, then benches and large tables are tempting. You also need to decide if you want to create a dining area, a lounge or another type of outdoor room, since you will not require the same furniture for a lounge and for a dining area.

How much maintenance are you willing to give to your outdoor furniture?

It’s hard enough to keep our homes tidy and clean, so we’d understand if you didn't want to spend days looking after your outdoor furniture. A quick rinse is often all that’s required nowadays thanks to modern technology and new fabrics, but some furniture demands more maintenance. If you’re looking for very low maintenance products, then have a look at Cane-line’s creations.

How much space do you have?

Do you have a gigantic garden or an urban balcony? It all comes down to this nowadays, space is often scarce so we try to make the most of it. In this case you’ll be looking for stackable chairs and low tables for instance.

Masters Chair by Kartell
Buy one, get one free?

Space is increasingly becoming a luxury. Also, let’s be honest, designer outdoor furniture does not come cheap: quality has a cost. But it would be a shame to stick to dull plastic chairs all our lives, wouldn’t it? So why not kill two birds with one stone: choose outdoor furniture… that can be used inside! This way you only need one copy of each piece of furniture and you also avoid the whole "maintaining your garden furniture during the winter" issue: you just bring your outdoor furniture inside during the cold season and enjoy it all year long!

The Masters Chair by Kartell

The Masters Chair is a cute little chair born from the re-interpretation of three iconic chairs and manufactured by Kartell, an Italian furniture designer which has been representing Made in Italy products for almost 65 years now. The Masters chair is stylish, versatile and resistant, and it is made from dyed polypropylene which is perfect both outside and inside. You may even have spotted Kartell’s creation used indoors in an ad for a vacuum cleaner…

Fermob Sixties range

French designer Fermob offers outdoor furniture in 24 colours (and counting) in over 30 ranges. The Sixties range, however, is slightly different from, say, the famous Luxembourg one. Indeed, the Sixties Armchair, the Sixties Low Table and the Sixties Bench are the only pieces of furniture in this collection (at least for now) and they are available in 5 “sixties-like” colours instead of all 24. Light, young and laid-back are perfect adjectives to describe the Sixties furniture. A must-have!

Surprising Armchair by Delphine Chanet for Fermob
Fermob Surprising range

Comfortable and versatile, the Surprising Lounger is both aesthetic and easy to store, and comes with a stylish footstool which can also be used as a side table if you need one, which is great to put a laptop on, for instance. The Surprising Low Armchair and the Surprising Dining Chair can complement perfectly different dining styles and settings, allowing you to mix and match several collections, how great is that?

High Stools

Have you ever wondered what to do with a high stool without a high table? Use it in your kitchen to create a lovely (breakfast) bar! When the sun is shining enjoy the outside warmth high up on your Costa High Chair, then bring it back inside for a nice stylish breakfast. Breakfast does seem yummier when you’re seating on a Bistro High Stool, doesn’t it? And if you like croissant in the morning, you can adopt the Luxembourg High Stool for a French start of the day: close your eyes and imagine you’re in the Luxembourg Garden in Paris!

We also had to make a choice in terms of furniture to introduce to you today, so please don’t hesitate to contact us and visit our online shop for even more designer furniture!

Posted by Iconography Ltd
3rd May 2013
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