Posts Tagged ‘Sunshine’
How Functional is Your Garden Furniture?
January 29th, 2010 | Author: 
vicky.cochrane.uk@googlemail.com asked:
With summer finally in full swing, having emerged from behind the cloud of the long British winter, it’s time to celebrate by getting out into the garden! Indeed, it’s important to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts, as well as enjoy the fruits of your gardening labour. But, before you can indulge in the luxury of sipping a long, cool drink in the comfort of your backyard, you need to ensure you have the right equipment; namely garden furniture.
While many believe furnishing the garden is a simple matter of heading to the local shop and picking up the first table that tickles their fancy, the gardening experts would beg to differ. In fact, they believe that in order to kit your exterior space out appropriately, you need to consider both its purpose and its functionality. Therefore, before hitting the shops, it’s essential you take some time to plan strategically.
The first issue you need to consider then, is the size of your garden. This will not only help to determine the amount of furniture you can comfortably fit in, but will additionally allow you to find pieces that suit the space. At this point, it’s also wise to think about how you use your garden.
For instance, do you like to regularly eat outside or do you only use your garden occasionally? Do you have children and how many people do you expect to be able to use the garden at one time? Posing questions like these will enable you to define your needs, which will in turn help you to find the most functional furniture.
Due to the fact there are so many different designs and styles of garden furnishings out there, it’s also crucial that you think carefully about the look you want to create. Here you should consider the style of your house, what you already have in your garden and the pieces of furniture you really need. For example, do you need outside heating? How much seating is required? Is there a play area?
Materials are another important consideration. Although it may seem attractive to buy wicker chairs complete with soft furnishings, are they going to stand up to getting wet or having children clambering over them? As a result, you need to take into account how the furniture is made: durability and weather-resistance are the keywords here.
Finally, it’s also sensible to set yourself a realistic budget. Doing this before you go shopping will prevent you from spending more money than you have available and will help to narrow down your options. Indeed, with so much choice in types and styles of garden furniture, it can be easy to lose track of your spending, especially if you haven’t first identified your needs.
With summer finally in full swing, having emerged from behind the cloud of the long British winter, it’s time to celebrate by getting out into the garden! Indeed, it’s important to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts, as well as enjoy the fruits of your gardening labour. But, before you can indulge in the luxury of sipping a long, cool drink in the comfort of your backyard, you need to ensure you have the right equipment; namely garden furniture.
While many believe furnishing the garden is a simple matter of heading to the local shop and picking up the first table that tickles their fancy, the gardening experts would beg to differ. In fact, they believe that in order to kit your exterior space out appropriately, you need to consider both its purpose and its functionality. Therefore, before hitting the shops, it’s essential you take some time to plan strategically.
The first issue you need to consider then, is the size of your garden. This will not only help to determine the amount of furniture you can comfortably fit in, but will additionally allow you to find pieces that suit the space. At this point, it’s also wise to think about how you use your garden.
For instance, do you like to regularly eat outside or do you only use your garden occasionally? Do you have children and how many people do you expect to be able to use the garden at one time? Posing questions like these will enable you to define your needs, which will in turn help you to find the most functional furniture.
Due to the fact there are so many different designs and styles of garden furnishings out there, it’s also crucial that you think carefully about the look you want to create. Here you should consider the style of your house, what you already have in your garden and the pieces of furniture you really need. For example, do you need outside heating? How much seating is required? Is there a play area?
Materials are another important consideration. Although it may seem attractive to buy wicker chairs complete with soft furnishings, are they going to stand up to getting wet or having children clambering over them? As a result, you need to take into account how the furniture is made: durability and weather-resistance are the keywords here.
Finally, it’s also sensible to set yourself a realistic budget. Doing this before you go shopping will prevent you from spending more money than you have available and will help to narrow down your options. Indeed, with so much choice in types and styles of garden furniture, it can be easy to lose track of your spending, especially if you haven’t first identified your needs.
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Teak Garden Furniture
temp_108625 asked:
This durability not only affects the price, it affects the usage of the product, too. Who wants to sit on a rickety chair or at a wobbly table? If you have guests, do you really want them sat at some modern monstrosity of moldy or peeling plastic? Sit them on your heavy duty teak garden furniture around a teak table and you will almost certainly get some admiring comments.
When shopping for teak garden furniture, it is important to look out for the heavy duty variety since their are some lower quality (and, it has to be said, cheaper) which do not last as long as the more solid version. You’ve come this far, don’t economize now!
Maintenance of teak garden furniture is minimal. If you want, you can take the benches, chairs and tables in over the winter but, provided you apply a coat or two of teak oil every Spring, it should come to no harm. Teak oil can be purchased from any big DIY center and a little goes a long way. Don’t use creosote, linseed oil or any other solvent – insist on teak oil and you will be rewarded with a piece of furniture that looks as good as the day you bought it. Why not take the opportunity to do a little ‘annual service’ and check the nuts and bolts that hold the furniture together?
We don’t take our teak garden furniture in. Living where we do, there are sunny days even in the middle of winter and it is a real luxury to be able to take a mug of tea or coffee, some biscuits and a good book, sit down on a teak bench and go and take in some sunshine and fresh air.
In fact, it’s such a good idea, I think I’ll grab that hot drink and go and use our teak garden furniture!
This durability not only affects the price, it affects the usage of the product, too. Who wants to sit on a rickety chair or at a wobbly table? If you have guests, do you really want them sat at some modern monstrosity of moldy or peeling plastic? Sit them on your heavy duty teak garden furniture around a teak table and you will almost certainly get some admiring comments.
When shopping for teak garden furniture, it is important to look out for the heavy duty variety since their are some lower quality (and, it has to be said, cheaper) which do not last as long as the more solid version. You’ve come this far, don’t economize now!
Maintenance of teak garden furniture is minimal. If you want, you can take the benches, chairs and tables in over the winter but, provided you apply a coat or two of teak oil every Spring, it should come to no harm. Teak oil can be purchased from any big DIY center and a little goes a long way. Don’t use creosote, linseed oil or any other solvent – insist on teak oil and you will be rewarded with a piece of furniture that looks as good as the day you bought it. Why not take the opportunity to do a little ‘annual service’ and check the nuts and bolts that hold the furniture together?
We don’t take our teak garden furniture in. Living where we do, there are sunny days even in the middle of winter and it is a real luxury to be able to take a mug of tea or coffee, some biscuits and a good book, sit down on a teak bench and go and take in some sunshine and fresh air.
In fact, it’s such a good idea, I think I’ll grab that hot drink and go and use our teak garden furniture!