The best garden furniture: outdoor tables, chairs, sofa sets & more

With warmer weather finally upon us in the northern hemisphere, we’ve been reflecting on the outdoor furniture we’d most like to recline on this summer. From freshly unveiled pieces spotted at recent design fairs to familiar mid-century classics, this round-up spans the elegant, the elemental and the enduring – all built to weather the seasons in style.

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Strength and lightness combine in Ronan Bouroullec’s ‘Ancora’

two small concrete side tables with circular tops on white background

‘Ancora’ by Ronan Bouroullec for Magis, from €520 for a small side table

A slice of 1960s Italian design history courtesy of Nilufar

a cluster of white tubular steel chairs on concrete floor

‘Locus Solus’ chair by Gae Aulenti availble through Nilufar, price on application

Liberty prints get a glossy new canvas at Kartell

colourful patterned plastic chair on a lakeside lawn next to a maple tree

‘HHH’ chair by Philippe Starck, Kartell x Liberty edition, from €461

Paola Navone’s ‘Marbella’ collection for Baxter is a poetic ode to lazy summers

three green tubular steel frame chairs sit in front of a stairwell with palm leaf shadows

‘Mati’ armchair by Paola Navone for Baxter, from £2360

Erwan Bouroullec’s ‘Traverse’ collection for HAY will grow old gracefully

a wooden and aluminium table and chairs sits on a wooden deck by a pool overlooking green countryside

‘Traverse’ collection by Erwan Bouroullec for HAY, from £225 for a stool

A lost Robin Day design returns, courtesy of &Tradition

Wooden slatted chair sits on gravel next to black table

‘RFH Terrace Chair RD4’ by Robin Day, reissued by &Tradition, from £340

‘Conservatory’ is Lemon’s first foray into outdoor furniture

two white perforated metal chairs with yellow cushions in a meadow by a fountain

‘Conservatory’ chair by Lemon, from £2,723,

Francesco Rota’s ‘Float’ for Paola Lenti is laid-back and low-slung

beanbags sit on sand dune

‘Float’ by Francesco Rota for Paola Lenti, from £788 for a pouf

Note Design Studio’s ‘Pelagus’ collection has a Scandinavian sense of ease

large wood and metal table and chairs in the middle of a gravel courtyard

‘Pelagus’ outdoor series by Note Design Studio for Fritz Hansen, from £699 for a dining chair

Emeco’s ‘Navy chair 1066’ is built to last

metal chair and table on gravel with plants in the background

‘Navy Chair 1006’ by Emeco, from £847

Also see: our favourite coffee tables and console tables

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