Helpful advice in choosing your garden furniture

The three main factors to consider when choosing your garden furniture are size, shape and colour.

When deciding what size of table to choose, consider how many people would normally be seated around the table. There is little point in going to the expense of an 8 seater patio set if there will only be 4 of you most of the time. Our 4 seater cast aluminium garden tables will comfortably seat 6 and our 6 seater cast aluminium garden tables will comfortably seat 8. It is normally better to choose the smaller table and opt for extra chairs for the odd occasion when they may be needed.

The size of your patio will also be a determining factor when choosing your size of table.  You should allow a minimum of half a metre on all sides of the table to allow for the chairs to fit around and to be pulled out. Your patio furniture should not take up more than two thirds of your available space. You do not want it to dominate your patio. Leave room for planters etc around the edges of the patio.

The shape of your table should be considered carefully. The three main shapes to choose from are round, oval and rectangular.  If you have a square patio choose a round table. If you have an elongated or odd shaped patio, choose an oval or rectangular table. Oval and rectangular tables are versatile in that if there are only two of you it is easy to occupy one end of the table without having to shout to each other to be heard!  Rectangular tables are the best option for maximising the number of people that can be seated. However do be careful with sharp corners. Our rectangular tables have rounded off corners to prevent any injures, particularly with children where the table top could be at head height.

When deciding on a colour, consider the colour of your surroundings. What is the colour of the flags on the patio? Is your house rendered and if so what colour. Do you have exposed beams around your house and if so are they painted or stained?  Four Seasons garden furniture offers three colour choices; black, bronze and stone. Avoid white furniture. The glare from the sun is too hard on the eyes. Black is most common in urban areas or where you may have white rendering on your house with black exposed beams.  Bronze is an excellent choice if you want a rustic look. It contrasts well with sandstone flags. If you have a very modern decor or cream rendering or just want to be a bit different, consider a stone finish. If you cannot decide choose black. It is the safe option and if you are unfortunate enough to scratch your furniture, it is easy to colour match.