Create An Outdoor Living Room With Rattan

Us Brits love our rattan. Whether we opt for natural rattan or the more durable PE Resin faux-rattan, it's proven to be a timeless and ever-popular choice for our gardens. It's lightweight and tough enough to withstand our unpredictable British summers, and it can be styled up to suit a huge range of decor trends, making it one of the most versatile options for garden furniture. And that's why it's so perfectly suited to the latest garden trend - the outdoor garden living room.

This trend is about treating your garden like any other important hub in the home and extending your liveable space by creating stunning outdoor living rooms so you can escape, relax and socialise, whatever the weather. This also makes our homes feel bigger - ideal when the cost of living crisis and housing prices stop many of us from upgrading to larger homes. Given our summers can be hit and miss with heatwaves or wet washouts, these garden living rooms are a really versatile way to enjoy fresh air and stay cool or be cosied up for cooler or wet-weather al fresco entertaining too.

@our_hillside_home_

Measure up and know what you’re working with. Don’t select garden furniture that's too big and will overwhelm the available space, but don't select pieces that are so small they then get lost in a larger garden, either. There’s no reason why you can’t have a gorgeous outdoor area if you’ve only got a balcony – smaller bistro sets that seat two people are ideal options here. If you’ve got more room to play with, consider a larger garden corner sofa or outdoor dining set that will really maximise the opportunity to extend your home and comfortably seat friends and family. If you’re lucky enough to have a big garden, you can create several ‘rooms’ – one for larger gatherings and then smaller pockets of calm using single garden chairs, like an egg chair, in secluded spots

@our_hillside_home_ features our Seychelles 9 Seat Outdoor Dining Table and Corner Sofa Set in Beige.

@samhamholmes

If space and budget are in your favour, creating a wooden pergola or installing a permanent gazebo will carve out a dedicated ‘outdoor room’ straight away. These permanent fixtures with roofs will provide year-round shelter from sun or rain, allowing you to utilise your whole home at all times. Moveable awnings and parasols achieve a similar effect and will mean you can BBQ or garden party to your heart’s desire even with the typical British summer weather. Strategic planting, using trailing and climbing plants with some trellis also create a more organic ‘room’ that will still provide shade and shelter.

@samhamholmes featuring our Seychelles 9 Seat Outdoor Dining Table and Corner Sofa Set in Grey.

A fire pit at the centre of your outdoor seating area will immediately create a focal point around which to gather. This will also make the space useable at night when the evenings are cooler. Go for eco firepit logs or bioethanol burners to minimise environmental impacts. If you’re going for an outdoor dining set, consider also including a more informal seating area, whether that’s a sofa or two moon chairs on either side of a fire pit, to allow for some relaxed socialising

@lulu.loves.home

To really nail the sense of a living room outdoors, rather than just garden furniture plonked in any old space, use accessories like outdoor rugs, lighting and lanterns, outdoor mirrors and soft furnishings to give it a sense of place that reflects your personality. Matching this to your interior decor scheme creates a seamless transition between indoor and outdoors.

@lulu.loves.home featuring our Maldives 5 seat Outdoor Sofa Set in Grey.

Get the perfect minimalist garden look by incorporating straight lines in your outdoor furniture choices and match it with straight lines and sleek finishes in your accessories. Add in some brickwork, black metal and timber elements to create an industrial vibe. Mix up patterns and colours for a more maximalist look. Softer, rustic furniture styles coupled with grasses, coloured glass accents, tapestries and string lights will create a boho artsy look. You can even consider placing some traditional indoor furniture, like upcycled dressers or thrifted gramophones to create a wonderfully whimsical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party style space that will lend itself to 2024’s hottest decor trend of eclectic maximalism. Just remember that anything not under a waterproof roof or explicitly treated to be used outdoors should not be left outside when the party’s over.

We love seeing how our customers style their Furniturebox products so be sure to give us a follow on Insta and tag us in your product pics. We've also got links to lots of useful info there. And we've also got heaps more inspiration over on Pinterest so give us a follow there, too!

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