Now that summer is trying to show its true temperatures, it’s time to start getting that outdoor space up to scratch again. Over the winter months, the outside areas of our houses don’t get the love they deserve, so now we need to start getting back outdoors and enjoying the space we have.

When it comes to choosing outdoor rattan furniture and accessories, it can be tricky. Not knowing what styles match each other and what styles will complement your outdoor areas. For this reason, we have tried to put together a quick guide to choosing the best garden furniture to match your patio areas, decking and any other garden spaces.

Let’s start with our decking areas. For most people, a wooden decked area is the first choice. When a wooden decking is used, it mainly is varnished, leaving a natural wood colour. Other top choices for a wooden decking are a tan colour or some people will paint the wood a grey stain. With each colour chosen, it can affect the style of furniture that looks best.

• For natural wood decking it is strongly advised not to match natural wood coloured furniture to your decking. These will blend and not show off the space to its full effect. The best result for a natural wood coloured decking area is a dark brown rattan set. Alternatives are aluminium or silver metal style furniture and significantly darker wooden sets.
• Grey decking can pretty much accommodate any style and colour of the furniture. As grey is a very modern colour, most rattan furniture sets will happily be accommodated on this without clashing in colours. All other colours will work effortlessly too.
• For tan decking, a lighter coloured rattan furniture set would be a good choice. A light grey or even a white style furniture set would be the first choice to allow the colours to naturally offset each other. Depending on the colour of the tan stain, you may be able to opt for darker brown or green style rattan furniture.

No decking area would be complete without a full set of accessories. Once you have found your perfect furniture style and colours, it’s time to decide on the accessories. Some of the best accessories for your decked area are

• Patio Heaters – No matter what time of day or even time of year, with a powerful patio heater you can spend longer enjoying the outdoors and ensure you make the most of your beautiful outdoor areas.
• Firepit – with a firepit on your decking area, you can not only keep yourself warm but enjoy those beautifully toasted marshmallows under the stars at night, just like you were camping out properly.
• Chimenea – these are still very stylish and in demand. A chimenea provides that natural heat source and looks amazing still!
• Parasols – Every area of your garden needs a shady spot. With a beautiful overhanging cantilever parasol you can maintain your space but still provide that shady area when needed.
• Hot tubs – if you can fit a hot tub, then why not! They are still one of the best options for a garden space, especially if you have kids!

Outdoor patios are present in most houses nowadays. Some are dedicated areas whereas others will blend with decking or grassy areas. No matter, there is still a design element for your patio. Most patios will be a sandy yellow colour, natural stone or a grey stone patio colour. For these, we have some furniture recommendations for you.

• Stone patios are a very natural looking colour and will accommodate almost all styles and colours of furniture. Grey rattan furniture and brown rattan furniture will all look amazing on a natural stone patio area.
• Sandy patios will be the most difficult to find furniture for. You will need to think of contrasting colours for this, ideally dark browns and maybe lighter natural rattan furniture sets.
• Grey patios, unlike grey decking will not complement colours in the same way. With a grey patio, it’s always best to avoid natural looking coloured furniture. Look instead for lighter greys and white furniture to compliment the space and show off your furniture properly.

Once you have chosen your patio furniture, it’s best again to start on the accessories.

• Outdoor rugs – this is our personal favourite. An outdoor rug changes the whole feeling of your patio area and makes it much more inviting and cosier. Ensure you get an outdoor rug that is either waterproof or easily washable.
• Firepit – as with a decking area, a firepit can bring that natural feeling into your outdoor space. A raging fire is very soothing and relaxing in the evenings.
• Parasols and bases – every area of your garden that you plan to spend time in should have the option of cover. The temperatures during summer can get extremely hot so protecting yourselves, and your furniture is an important thought. It also adds more colour and options to your patio area.

Your garden space is a very important area of your home and a space to be enjoyed with family and friends. We hope that our advice helps you to enjoy this area more. As always, if there is anything that we can help with then please feel free to get in contact with us.