How To Make Your Garden Furniture Work All Year Round Come Rain Or Shine

There’s no doubt that creating the perfect outdoor seating and entertaining area has become a bit of a thing thanks to Instagram. Cushions, blankets, chairs, festoon lights…you name it we are doing it in our gardens. But what hasn’t changed is the fact that we live in the UK. And there is every chance that once you’ve got everything out of the house or shed ready to sit down…it will start to rain. Because this is the great British Summer people and the sunshine is never a sure thing.

So given how precarious our British summers can be, I’m here to talk to you about getting the most out of your garden furniture and how if you choose wisely, you can use it all year round. I picked out a few of my favourite La Redoute pieces to style up, but I wanted to choose pieces that could get a second lease of life inside the house, when the sun disappears, so that they are not gathering dust in a damp garden shed for several months on end.

The Ibiza armchair has a lovely deep seat which you can sink into with a good bookin the sunshine (don’t forget a hat and your Factor 30!). I love the texture of the natural woven cord with the modern powdered black metal. It gives a  modern update to traditional garden styles. I added the Lothar Side Table (sml) which isn’t technically suitable for outdoors, but as long as you pop it inside when you put your seat cushions away, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t use it outside. Plus it’s a perfect match for the Ibiza chair (which also comes in a bench).

One of my go-to’s at La Redoute is always their linen range. From bedding and tablecloths, to cushions, they have a beautiful range of good quality linen. This set-up needed some softness and texture and this natural, frayed Anusha cushion with rustic Olive Green stripes were just the thing, along with the Beha Two-Tone Linen throw. 

 Lastly you can never have too many plants and I’m a firm believer in mixing up real and faux both inside and outside. La Redoute recently introduced a very realistic range of faux plants and they really are very impressive. The Banana tree and Kwai palm style brought a tropical twist to our urban garden and I picked out this woven basket to sit one of them in. Baskets make perfect plant pots for larger plants, and are especially good for concealing the base of artificial plants.

 Let’s imagine it’s started raining…now what? I brought the whole lot indoors and found it a home in our bathroom. And do you know what? I like it even more in there than I do outside, so that is where it is staying. I was looking to add a little something extra in here and the chair slots perfectly into the empty fireplace, while the plants bring a much-needed pop of vibrant colour.

The chair would also work in a bedroom or even as an additional chair in a lounge. Which just goes to show that if you choose wisely you really can make your garden furniture work all year round, both inside and outside the house!

This post was written as part of a paid partnership with La Redoute but all of the words, ideas and styling is my own.