We all hope to be spending more time in the garden very soon, or even on the balcony if we have one!
Be it a balcony or a sprawling lawn, leading design house Neptune has some tips on how to get the best from your outdoor spaces.
The thing is to consider outdoor spaces as just another room of your home, a kind of secondary living room or extra dining room.
And when it comes to furnishing your room outdoors, how do you decide between timber, stone or metal garden furniture? They not only have to look the part, the need to best suit your lifestyle.
By considering their different characteristics and maintenance needs, Neptune’s garden furniture guide is on hand to find your perfect partner.
Stone has a natural place in the garden, and Neptune uses two types of stone for its Hudson, Monaco and Provence garden collections.
Hudson tables, for instance, use composite stone, a glass-reinforced concrete that looks and behaves like stone, but is far lighter and stronger than certain natural stones.
Granite, an incredibly tough natural stone, is the choice for their Provence and Monaco ranges. Both designs have a thinner profile, which is why natural stone is an option.
All Neptune’s stone is sealed to protect it from the elements, so it can be left outdoors, uncovered for years, and will fare just fine.
Wood also wears rather well and the two types of sustainably-sourced timber Neptune uses in its timber collections, teak and acacia, are both known for their durability, longevity and impressive resistance to rot.
Strong and easy to live with, both are treated to give them extra layer of protection from weather and staining.
While teak will see a colour changes within the first few months, you can slow down its silvering by applying oils to maintain its golden brown appearance.
However, if you are content to see it silver, teak needs very little maintenance.
Similarly, acacia can be left to elements or oiled to prevent it taking on a dark grey tone, but because Neptune generally protects it with tabletops, acacia asks for very little help.
Wicker is synonymous with garden furniture. For its weave collections, Neptune uses a tough resin fibre, an ‘all-weather wicker’, which is more durable that natural rattan and will not flake or peel. These hardy collections will withstand sunshine and showers for years to come.
You will not need to cover or bring in Neptune’s outdoor designs during bouts of bad weather. Though they will be thankful if you do, they are designed to survive and in some cases thrive if you choose not to.
Visit www.neptune.com for a list of stockists.
