Garden furniture. What do you have?

I haven't seen a similar discussion on this forum, but I think one is warranted.
I don't have much furniture, just a few chairs and an improvised table. But this summer, I plan to take the plunge and spend on garden furniture, as I really enjoy spending time there.

So please share yours, to inspire me and others

 

Most of the furnishings around my garden are recycled, painted, purchased from antique shops or just found items
Nothing fancy .









Also go here for more examples by Jewell
https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/from-the-beginning-musings-of-a-journey.44329/

 

Thank you @Pacnorwest for the callout Your collection of furniture is priceless and classic. Especially the horse set. You must have been very much into the equine world.

‘I’ve been living in my gardens since my son was little and I did daycare (so I could be a stay at home mom) prior to him going to school. I love being outside whatever the weather so over the years have slowly collected a few pieces. The wooden furniture slowly rotted since everything stays outside in the elements (year round) except for the very first piece my sweetie got me.
Sit on it gingerly because the old oak slats might complain.

‘I have one set that is aluminum with vinyl rattan. It has weathered well but the squirrels have gnawed on some of the pieces. They are imperfectly mended. These are perfect to sit out by the fire bowl in the evening or just to enjoy the day or view. I need to get out there more often.



‘Most of my furniture for outside are various sets or pieces made of steel or aluminum . They have all been spray painted multiple times in multiple colors over the years. Some were purchased at thrift stores or end of year clearances. Little metal tables/stands from Ross/discount stores and one set even from online that was a bear to put together. I always have an idea where I want to put them for gardening breaks or dog training/exercise.



And unfortunately I could use still another piece

While metal might not work for everyone, I’ve been blessed with long term abodes with garden rooms for relaxation, contemplating, and quiet time as well as doing chores so my collection grew organically. The amount of constant moisture a large part of the year makes it more durable than some things. That is why I’ve been able to find second hand pieces.

The last piece is bench and gift from my sweetie. A totally unpractical piece of Pacific Northwest folk art that I love.

 

Jewell thank you for the tour of your creative and classic garden and furniture tour. Much better view of all your collections. I like the way you put them each in seperate rooms or vignettes to make a statement or follow thru with a theme. Very nice to see how it complements the garden as the various plantings are the star’s following the flow of paths and seating becomes a welcoming experience.

 

Nice garden furniture Pacnorwest and Jewell, i don't have any garden furniture, don't sit outside, the patio is home to all of the blueberry plants in pots and other plants.

 

@Logan thank you for your compliment on garden furnishings.

I do have a few favorite little spots hidden away from garden creatures to sit out in early mornings and evenings .
By placing small reclaimed icecream chairs under the weeping elms , climbing hydrangeas, or a rocker swing next to the rambling roses or just a quick peak out the window catching birds bathing in the small pond with dragonflies sipping next to the bee’s is a treat to snap. It’s the atmosphere of the garden just pulls me in. Lots of different spots to just sit and watch thruout the progress of the day . The singing of the birds, the new fledglings, the many antics of small ground creatures battle out the day to meet their routines . The fragrance of sweet scented blooms during a slight quiet breeze that somehow casts a bright light of peacefullness that brings joy and gratitude for the day.
What could be any better.

 

We have some garden furniture, four rattan effect chairs, I bought a few years ago, but we don't often use them.
They've not been out at all this year, they are under dust covers in the garage.

Neither of us like sitting out in the sun. Our garden is south facing and can get very warm with heat reflecting off the patios.
But the summerhouse I built over thirty years ago is at the bottom of the garden and it has a small veranda over which the roof gives plenty of shade.

I'm not one for sitting down a lot in the garden. But I do like to have a break when I'm working out there, so I can sit here with a beer and listen to my jukeboxes.




This video shows the two cheap plastic chairs we keep down there, which get used every year.

 

@Pacnorwest your welcome and that sounds like a good setup.
@Doghouse Riley your setup looks good and so much music to choose from.

 

Riley very nice place for a special occasion or any day to sit on your tea house veranda just chilling .
Nothing better than the ebullience you share with us, the picturesque charming gardens and tea house.

 

@Pacnorwest your literary prose on the garden ring true to my thinking. I enjoy camping and being outside in nature. It is special when you can do it at home. It was actually this habit that made me choose the best bred of dog to procure and the reason I no longer feed the birds and other critters (except for the hummingbirds).

@Doghouse Riley you have a very special yard and garden with a tea house.WOW! And WONDERFUL! No sun for me or mine. We move with the shade when outside. Red heads prefer shade and or better yet a slow drizzle of rain in this family.

 

Jewell by your garden designs it is obvious that your garden is a beautiful place to sit, watch and enjoy the view.
After all the watcher is truly the gifted.

 

@Pacnorwest you are too kind.

 

I don't have any garden furniture. My parents had bought some aluminum folding chairs in the late 70s. And they are built pretty strong, which is why I'm still using them, (they are practically indestructible). And I had bought a folding table a decade ago too, (painted steel fram and plastic top). So that's all I use. I like it because I can take it with me anywhere I like, even in the car for a fishing trip. Or when going outside the city limits to test/calibrate firearms, so if a few friends of mine join me in, it becomes like a picnic event in the wild.

Reason for having such a minimalist approach is for the following 2 major reasons.

Number 1, venomous snakes... Nowadays my encounters with snakes is becoming less with the passage of time, (as my locality now isn't as unpopulated as it once use to be in the 90s). So with far less empty plots of open land now available. Majority of snakes have moved out of the area. But that doesn't by any account mean that they are totally gone...

Therefore, from a young age, my mind is trained that I'm always automatically on the lookout for snakes. So any furniture in which a venomous snake can hide in, I prefer not to have. Otherwise it would have been nice to have a folding beach umbrella too. But I just know, that while I'll be sitting under it - Sooner or later I will encounter a coiled up leaf nosed viper hiding in it...

Reason number 2 is of course rust. So anything made out of metal, (unless it's aluminum) - Will pretty soon become dust because of rust. As I live right at the coast. So cars we can protect over here by making sure they are always parked in shelter. But outdoor garden furniture won't last long.

Because if it's made out of metal, it'll rust, (unless it's power coated aluminum). If it's wood, or painted wood, it'll sooner or later get attacked by termites. We unfortunately have those too. So unless it's Rosewood or
Burma Teak, (which termites can't attack but the wood is way too costly now), it too will sooner or later get destroyed.

Hardy plastic furniture too, I'm not very much impressed with. As it too will first become discolored, and later crack and get eroded away. Because that's what UV radiation from the harsh sunlight does to plastic over here...

Only thing that will indeed stand the test of time in my coastal locality, (which I have seen in some homes over here). Will be outdoor pool furniture from cruise ships. Which too occasionally becomes available, whenever any old cruise ship gets broken up at one of the largest ship breaking yards in the world that's around 40 kilometers away from me.

So outdoor poolside furniture from cruise ships is perfect for my locality. As it's built to be outside under a merciless scorching sun, and has no problems being in a corrosive salty environment... In fact I know of a shop which sells such refurbished furniture from cruise ships.

But cruise ships don't have snakes on board. Maybe lounge lizards, yes, most definitely, but no snakes, not even the serpents which walk on 2 legs - As my ostracized relatives are actually pretty boring pepole. So going on a pleasure cruise will be the furthest thing I their minds, (as far as I know). Therefore no snakes of any kind on a cruise ship.



So now I come to the same old problem as before... Snakes seeking shelter in furniture that's always kept outside.







Other people elsewhere in the world who only have garden snakes, I consider them lucky, in fact I say they are blessed - For having non poisonous sakes... But in my part of the world, and in particular my coastal desert environment, every bloody snake is venomous, (even their babies can kill a person).

Some would now suggest that I put out cruise ship furniture on my rooftop patio of my house. As snakes are a problem at the ground level only, right? WRONG! Because vipers are tree climbers and jumpers, and leaf nose vipers love to feed on the eggs of small sparrows. So they occasionally are found on other floors of a house or building. Plus big birds like kite hawks (common here) often pick up those snakes and fly them to their nests, to their chicks can feed on them - From where the sake can sometimes escape. Or these big birds can sometimes accidentally drop them while in flight too, often at the rooftop of houses - I've lived long enough over here to have witnessed it all.

Therefore whatever garden furniture you guys get for yourselves. Always be mindful of the particular challenges in your environment...



Keep in mind that outdoor garden furniture or poolside furniture is basically a comfortable partially sheltered area from the elements - So if we find it comfortable, won't any other animal, replie, insect, or bird like to relax there too??? So statistically speaking, more likely than not, you are going to have some type of an encounter with your local wildlife in such an area sooner or later.

 

Here's an idea I hadn't thought of in long time, (this thread actually inspired me to think outside of the box) - Concrete furniture!



Not only will it last forever, as it's almost 100% proof against UV light, salty and corrosive environment, and no snakes or scorpions can hide in it. Best part is, it's cheap, and we ourselves can experiment with making our own, (it's not high-tech at, all).

Only drawback is that it'll be pretty heavy, so not easy to move around...

Concrete, stone, marble, and glass. Yes, that's what I'll now do, to make my own outdoor garden furniture, (in which snakes won't be able to hide)! Thanks @Patricia R. for inspiring me, by starting this thread!

 

S-H very nice pics of cruse ship furniture. Some concrete benches were gifts and most are made from found objects , or from recycled stores then refurbished painted or natural wood that is oiled or in some cases just a common log found with a slice from a tree trunk made into a table.