The latest garden furniture launches include contemporary outdoor furnishings to fit small balconies and large poolside gardens, and explore a variety of functions and styles. We’re yet to build our dream villa by the Med, but, of course, we’re already collecting the best pieces to furnish it with.
Best garden furniture collections to prepare your outdoor space for the summer
Poliform's inaugural outdoor furniture collection was inspired by a contemplative relationship between humans, nature, and the landscape, and includes sofas, armchairs, tables and accessories designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, Emmanuel Gallina, Marcel Wanders and Soo Chan. Among the various products interpreting Poliform's alfresco lifestyle vision is ‘Mad Out’, an extension of Wanders' ‘Mad’ collection, with the iconic soft, curved lines adapted to suit the outdoors. Available in three colours (cream, brick, and brown), the range a three-seat sofa, an armchair, and coffee tables with lava stone tops that can be decorated with a glass powder decoration.
‘Phoenix’ sofa, chairs and coffee table; ‘Regent’ side tables, all by Vincent Van Duysen for Molteni & C’s Timeout outdoor collection
Molteni & C made its outdoor furniture debut in 2023, with two complementary collections celebrating our connection to nature and a refined approach to the home. Overseen by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, the collections merge sophisticated contemporary silhouettes with noteworthy older designs, and include Landmark, featuring sinuous seating based on an unrealised 1994 design by Luca Meda, and Timeout, an aluminium furniture range that expresses Van Duysen’s affinity with modernism, as well as an outdoor kitchen also by Van Duysen. The outdoor catalogue also pays tribute to design masters, past and present, who have contributed to Molteni’s history, including Gio Ponti, Ron Gilad and Foster + Partners, whose ‘Arc’ table from 2010 has been reissued in a new outdoor edition as part of the launch.
Christophe Pillet was inspired by the nautical world while creating Costiera and Baia, his latest designs for outdoor furniture specialist Ethimo. The designs are a contemporary interpretation of classic Mediterranean style: ‘we look at light and water from the sea, rather than the land, from a boat,’ sais the designer. The discreet silhouettes and the materials (wood, aluminium leather and linen, in colours referencing parasols) are developed into a system that includes sofas, armchairs, a day bed and tables featuring rigorous forms and welcoming upholstered seats. ‘I met Ethimo many years ago, it was an idealization of the Mediterranean life, and I wanted to be part of this story. From there, we became friends and collaborators.’
‘Brutally Finnish' furniture company Vaarnii has teamed up with Henrik Tjaerby to create an engineering-inspired outdoor table and benches set featuring T-shaped beams and joints. The garden furniture set is made of pine, the company's material of choice, heat-treated to make it more resistant and suitable for outdoor use - a technique usually applied to architecture, which inspired the designer. ‘This is such an honest design,' explains Tjaerby. ‘The T element is a standardised size, its proportions are predetermined by their manufacture and dictated by function, ease of making and waste. I like things that are modular, and I like design that is easy to understand. In this series, nothing is hidden.'
French designer Constance Guisset designed the Chelsea outdoor sofa for Tectona with relaxation in mind. The modular system lets the design adapt to a myriad of outdoor spaces, and the design was adapted specifically with a lower height and welcoming cushions.
Paying tribute to the sea, Jacopo Foggini designed the ‘A’mare’ collection for Italian furniture brand Edra. Composed of handcrafted pure polycarbonate sticks, the collection comprises outdoor furniture such as chairs, armchairs, a bench, a sun lounger, a coffee table and tables in a distinctive translucent blue shade.
First up, we have our eyes on Stephen Burks’ nest-like ‘Kida’ hanging chair for outdoor specialist Dedon, designed to allow users to feel ‘as free as the breeze’. Its sturdy aluminium rod frame is wrapped in cords of weather-resistant Fibre Touch, a synthetic, recyclable fabric used in three striped colourways.
Top, ‘Kida’ hanging chair by Stephen Burks for Dedon. Above, ‘Ringer’ armchairs by Michael Anastassiades for Kettal
Another excellent seating option includes London-based designer Michael Anastassiades’ ‘Ringer’ armchair for Kettal, part of a first joint collection referencing both the traditional game of horseshoes and a minimal approach to café furniture. The chair’s armrest comes with a slight flaring on the opening, designed as a subtle invitation to occupy the seat, and echoing the traditional Chinese Horseshoe Back chair.
Top, ‘Calipso’ sofas by Ilaria Marelli for Ethimo. Above, ‘Echoes‘ armchairs by Christophe Pillet for Flexform
And there’s more: Ilaria Marelli’s pebble-shaped ‘Calipso’ sofa for Ethimo, which levitates on a large floating teak base and allows for flexible cushion arrangements, suitable for both siestas and fiestas; as well as Christophe Pillet’s rustic-chic ‘Echoes‘ armchair for Flexform. Woven out of fine matt polypropylene cord (in natural, ice, straw or anthracite), the armchair is intended as a soothing blend of Mediterranean and Scandinavian style.
‘Sparkler’ rechargeable lanterns by Kensaku Oshiro for Poltrona Frau
Other favourites include Kensaku Oshiro’s family of portable and rechargeable lanterns for Poltrona Frau, inspired both by amphoras and rice paper lamps. The eye-catching designs, called ‘Sparkler’, come in all shapes and sizes (including table, floor and standing versions), all with a practical horseshoe-shaped handle. They would look right at home placed on Paola Navone’s ‘Sunset Lounge’ table for Exteta, featuring a circular marble top supported by an exquisitely carved wooden base.
‘Norma’ outdoor kitchen by Rodolfo Dordoni for Roda
Last but not least is Rodolfo Dordoni’s ‘Norma’ outdoor kitchen for Roda, developed in collaboration with Italian appliance manufacturer Ilve. It’s a modular system, comprising two freestanding modules – one with an extendable table – with tops made from sintered Lapitec stone. It’s so elegant we might get one for indoors, too.
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