It’s out with the hanging chair and fire pit, and in with the accent chair and tabletop fireplace, apparently.
Like our interiors, outdoor trends change with every season, especially as our gardens are becoming even more an extension of our homes — otherwise known as ‘the fifth room’ — that we’re continuing to invest more time and money in since Covid.
Here, we round-up the garden pieces to make your neighbours green with envy.
The fire pit, 2.0 – AKA, tabletop fireplace
Fire pits are so last year – and, honestly, who has the space? This summer, it’s all about the ‘tabletop fireplace’ by Big Green Egg, the cult BBQ brand beloved by professionals and celebrities such as Tom Kerridge and David Beckham. A collaboration with award-winning maker Höfats in Germany, the SPIN Air produces a dancing flame within a sleek glass cylinder to provide an atmospheric light with a gentle heat. Talk about a glow-up.
Big Green Egg x Hofats
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If you still want a fire pit — and, indeed, have a terrace that’s crying out for one — Grannus from OKA combines an iron bowl with a granite surround that doubles up as a handy surface for drinks and nibbles. Better still, as the pit is used, the protective coating will burn away to develop a gorgeous patina over time. Looks and brains.
Our pick of the parasols? This striped number by Business & Leisure, the lifestyle brand known for creating striking designs with a vintage aesthetic, via John Lewis & Partners for just over £500. The green, white and pink striped canvas boasts a 2m span to offer plenty of shade from the midday sun, while it’s finished with a natural cotton fringe for a retro flourish. The push-up mechanism makes it as practical as it is pretty, too.
Parasol UK
Parasol UK
See also: Horkesley in the Annar Bliss print from Parasol UK. The luxury garden parasol will give any outdoor space a lift with its pomegranate design.
The invisible sound system
It’s the age-old problem: how do you incorporate tech into your garden without interrupting the natural surroundings?
Enter the appropriately named Stone 8 speakers from Focal Littora, the French brand known for its cutting-edge hi-fi equipment, which are designed to resemble their namesake and tuck seamlessly into borders, garden paths and terraces. Built for outdoor use, they’re weather-resistant and deliver clear, balanced sound across open spaces, come rain or shine.
Rosé all day, anyone? Day beds have jetted in from the glittering beach clubs of Mykonos, St Tropez and Ibiza and landed in British gardens. Take, for example, Verdandi – part of OKA’s new collection – featuring a four-poster wooden frame with adjustable blinds upholstered in its iconic Areca print. The only thing that’s missing is bottle service.
Danetti
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See also: Savannah from British furniture company Danetti. The clever design comprises a sofa and coffee table that can be combined to create a day bed.
Swings aren’t just for kids, you know. In fact, they’ve become the height of fashion in our gardens, especially when yours lays claim to a rolling lawn and an old willow. Enter the hand-carved swings from The Oak & Rope Company, beautifully made in the UK from solid oak and Manila rope. Choose from different sizes, and even a couples’ design, while personalising with an engraving along the front. But the best bit? They can even provide experts to come and install your swing on a tree of choice. Great as a summer wedding gift.
Oak & Rope swing
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The outdoor console (yes, really)
You style up a hallway console table to make an entrance, so why wouldn’t you do the same for your terrace? Ever since Meghan Markle showed off hers in her now-cancelled Netflix show – a vintage style layered with terracotta pots and decorative objects – outdoor consoles have become a thing. Our pick is Melt from Arteriors, beautifully crafted from concrete composite and boasting a flat top with gently curved underside. The flowing, draping aesthetic looks fresh and modern – a surefire conversation starter.
Barker & Stonehouse
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See also: From Barker & Stonehouse, Calabria comprises a teak base and stone top with slatted cupboard doors and two drawers for discreet storage. It’s giving Nancy Meyers vibes.
From Buster + Punch – our favourite for statement hardware – is Takeout: a lamp that proves just how much portable styles have evolved in recent years. It’s made from solid metal and features the brand’s signature cross-knurl with a light pipe housed in a toughened glass shade. Better still, it can be dimmed at a touch and runs for 14 hours before needing a charge. We love the brass finish. A bright idea, indeed.
Everyone needs a bench in their garden, but you don’t want yours to look like one found in a park. This oversized teak design from Garden Art Plus – the Hungerford-based company that specialises in ornaments, furniture and more for your great outdoors and sells to quite a few celebrities including Duran Duran and Jerry Hall – is anything but.
Garden Art
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At 3.4m long, there’s more than enough room to provide a drinking perch at garden parties, while its beautifully shaped arms and decorative back are talking points.
The cheap-as-chips smoker
Pickling, sous-viding, curing, grilling – it’s hard to keep up with cooking trends. This year’s?
Hot smoking, according to insiders, a technique that involves cooking over fire to infuse your food with flavour.
Guy Ritchie is such a fan that he’s founded The Cashmere Caveman Company offering his WildKitchen – a ‘turnkey’ year-round al fresco entertaining space. If you can’t quite stretch to one of those – as an indication, a WildTable for four comes in at £2,000 – then Weber’s Smoker Box might be just the thing.
Simply fill the stainless-steel container with flavoured wood chippings and set on top of your grill so smoke swirls around your meat above as it cooks. Genius.
When it comes to barbecues, there can be only one: Big Green Egg. Sure, there are alternatives and riffs like Kamado Joe, but once you’ve had a steak off the ceramic charcoal grill beloved by Michelin-starred chefs and celebrities, there’s no going back.
For London, the Minimax Big Green Egg is perfect: it’s compact enough to fit into small gardens but big enough to feed up to four people. Better still, its built-in carrier means it can be easily transported to the beach or a campsite, while everything is crafted from the same NASA-grade ceramic and innovative tech as its big brothers.
The statement accent chair
You heard it here first: the accent chair has replaced the hanging chair as the ‘it’ chair for modern gardens.
Laura James
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From the shape to the pattern and the size, it doesn’t matter how you make the statement, just make sure you do. Saffron from Laura James will sweep you off your feet, quite literally, with a solid acacia wood frame and woven geometric pattern in a paprika-and-beige rope colourway. So much fun.
The smoking-hot rotisserie
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that rotisserie-style restaurants in London are hotting up right now – from Cocotte and Toum to Nortbert’s and even Harrods – so it’s hardly surprising that we’re trying to recreate the same juicy, crispy chickens at home.
While there are adds-ons for most BBQs, our favourite is the JoeTisserie spit for the Kamado Joe made from stainless-steel with spit rods and forks that allow for the perfect balance and rotation of up to 20g of chicken. Sizzling stuff.
George Home
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Highly underrated, George Home can be a treasure trove for your interiors and outdoors, and case in point is its new potting bench, which is getting quite a bit of buzz on social media.
It’s 92cm tall, meaning you don’t need to bend down and break your back when potting, while it’s made from fir wood and steel in a natural beige colourway. Two shelves, a generous top and side hooks provide plenty of space for storage and display. Style up and snap for Instagram.