As summer beckons, our thoughts turn to long, lazy lunches outside and soirées in the sun. After all, who doesn't love a garden gathering that rolls on into the night, assuming the weather complies?
Yet, before we can begin compiling guest lists or musing over menus and pour choices, we need to make sure we can accommodate a crowd, or even dine outside en famille, with elegance and ease.
Part of the enjoyment is making your patio a pleasant place to be, and smart garden furniture is a large factor. Done well, this gives high-end energy and vacation vibes that last all summer long.
For this to happen, you'll want to avoid the outdoor furniture mistakes that can make your patio look cheap. Discover how this happens and what landscape design experts suggest instead.
1. Not Investing in Good Quality Furniture
Buying good-quality pieces is important, whether you're furnishing any part of your home. Yet it's essential for outdoor living, where furniture takes a hammering from rain, wind, and UV light, not to mention dust and dirt — and that's just in the summer. Skimping on quality will reveal itself in seating and tables that look shabby after a season, while some outdoor materials will simply last longer.
New York-based landscape designer Kat Aul Cervoni, founder of Staghorn Living, points out that lightweight plastic furniture or low-quality synthetic materials tend to fade, warp, or deteriorate quickly outdoors. "This can make the entire patio feel tired and unappealing over time," says Kat, who advises clients to invest in a few durable foundational pieces.
"Outdoor furniture made from materials like teak, powder-coated aluminum, stone, or all-weather wicker will patina gracefully and hold up season after season," says Kat. "These tend to be expensive, so it can help to slowly phase them into your space a year at a time, or as your budget allows. Sofas are more important than side tables, so delegate more budget to those more important pieces if need be."
2. Poorly Maintained Outdoor Furniture
The upside with high-quality outdoor furniture is that it stays looking good for far longer than cheaper pieces and generally requires less upkeep. Yet, low-maintenance is not the same as no maintenance.
Grubby garden furniture that's stained with last year's wine spills, dotted with mildew, or covered in bird droppings will soon lose its allure, no matter how luxurious it was when you bought it. Even weather-proof items will require some care and protection to prevent them from looking neglected.
London-based garden designer Sarah Kaye is also a strong believer that good-quality outdoor furniture, and caring for it, is a worthwhile investment.
"When you’ve invested in a fantastic garden design, it’s important not to let furniture choice spoil the aesthetic," says Sarah. "Buying cheap garden furniture is a poor investment, as it's often not built to withstand the weather.
"To maintain its appeal, always check the UV and rain resistance of outdoor furniture with the manufacturer and choose materials and finishes built to last. If the material cannot be easily cleaned, I recommend investing in sturdy, weather-proof covers to protect your furniture over the winter months."
Whether it's been stored away or protected under covers, knowing how to clean your patio furniture properly, will ensure its looks and longevity.
3. Too Much Furniture
A room filled with furniture can feel cramped, crowded, and uncomfortable — even if they are beautiful pieces — and so it is with patios. Packing an outdoor living space with far too much furniture for the footprint is a surefire route for it to lack sophistication.
"One of the most common mistakes I see is when folks are trying to fit oversized sectionals or too many pieces into a compact patio or deck," says Kat. "It can make the entire space feel cramped and frustratingly difficult to move through. Instead, I always recommend choosing fewer, well-scaled pieces and making sure circulation space is prioritized. A smaller layout that functions comfortably will always feel way more elevated than one that’s overcrowded."
4. Badly Judged Proportions
As important as having the right amount of good quality, well-maintained outdoor furniture for your patio size, is the size and scale of each item. As Kat has just alluded to, a huge sofa squeezed onto a small patio looks 'off'.
Individual pieces that are too large for the space appear out of proportion and 'loud', while items that are too small look a little frugal. Either can result in a scheme that looks badly put together, and more hotch-potch than high-end.
Sarah agrees that outdoor furniture should suit the proportions of the patio. "Make sure you don't buy furniture that's too big, or too small, for the space," says Sarah. "A garden designer will have the discussion at the briefing stage about how many people you would like to seat and will design with this in mind.
"It is important to have adequate space around your seating area to move around it and not feel cramped — or for the furniture to be dwarfed by the space."
This beautiful wooden bench is made from reclaimed timber and is available in two sizes
Armchairs can be a more flexible option on small patios and these beauties are on sale
With its stainless steel frame, this stylish outdoor sofa would stand up to the weather and still look good.
5. Everything From One Collection
Similar to an overly coordinated outfit, a matchy-matchy outdoor furniture scheme can reveal a lack of creativity and taste. It implies you've just 'thrown money' at it and rushed to a store and bought the entire display, rather than let it evolve or had any creative input yourself.
Kat recommends avoiding buying all of your furniture pieces from one single collection for this reason. "It ends up feeling overly staged and a bit commercial," explains Kat.
"Instead, try layering materials and mixing complementary pieces. For example, I like pairing teak seating with a stone or metal table, which helps make the space feel more collected and personal."
Sarah says it's also important to consider the outdoor furniture in context to the setting. "Your garden has been designed using a material palette which reflects the surrounding architecture or specific style of the garden, so it is important that garden furniture feels part of this palette," she says.
Outdoor furniture that makes a patio look cheap isn't necessarily about the money that's been spent on it. It's about the style, taste and care taken putting the scheme together — and maintaining it. Nail that, and you will make your patio look more expensive.
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