Lounge in all-season luxury: weather-resistant outdoor furniture that will look good year-round and last for decades

Outdoor spaces have become year-round room extensions and furniture designers are creating luxurious hard-wearing fabrics and weaves for stunning seating.

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Nicole Swengley12 April 2019

There are good reasons to pay substantial sums for the latest high-style garden furniture. Newly developed fabrics, along with sturdy, powder-coated aluminium frames mean you can leave it outside year-round and it won’t fade or rot and will last for decades.

The latest materials for upholstery and cushions are water- and dirt-resistant. Fancy some cushions covered in garden-suitable velvet? Well, that’s available, too.

Traditional upholsterers are getting in on the act. The Alfresco Collection from George Spencer Designs is launching in four designs, from £82 per metre. Made from colourfast, UV-resistant, non-absorbent polypropylene yarn, these super-soft fabrics resist stains, fading, fungus and bacteria.

Check out the Evia sun lounger, £2,200 including two scatter cushions, with a hi-tech weave in Carob (red), Ice (grey) or Midnight (navy) from luxury Italian furniture specialist, Smania.

£2,200: Evia sun lounger from Italian furniture specialist, Smania, can be left outdoors all year round

Or blow the bonus on Piergiorgio Cazzaniga’s Meridienne chaise longue from Tribu. It’s £6,110 including a seat cushion and one back cushion, with a tubular, powder-coated stainless steel frame and woven, weather-resistant seat-back. Add garden-suitable, velvet-covered cushions and bliss beckons.

Both designs are available at London design store Go Modern.

At B&B Italia, architect/designer Antonio Citterio has added new sofas, from £5,339, and armchairs, from £2,233, with deeper seats to his Erica collection.

The Erica ’19 designs have powder-coated aluminium frames interlaced with polypropylene fibre, plus upholstered, water-resistant cushions with a softer feel. Perfect for alfresco relaxation or entertaining.

From Manutti of Belgium, the Kobo collection owes its curvaceous appeal to weather-resistant rope handwoven over a strong frame, while cushions have quick-dry foam fillings with water-resistant fabric covers.

The armchair (£3,850) and sofa (£7,705) come with a seat and back cushions plus scatter cushions. A lounger, £4,370, is also available. All from Go Modern.

German luxury outdoor furniture specialist Dedon, collaborates with hot designer Sebastian Herkner, combining a hi-tech weave over an aluminium frame with solid teak chair legs, in the Mbrace collection.

There’s a daybed, from £3,744; wing chair, from £3,030; lounge chair, from £2,214; rocking chair, from £2,280 and footstool, from £1,062. Quilted seat cushions are included.

A coffee table, £1,098, and side table, £900, have frost- and scratch-proof ceramic tops. All exclusively from Leisure Plan.

Unashamed sun-worshipping is offered by Meridiani’s Claud lounger, priced £4,000. This Italian design brand opened a store in South Kensington last autumn.

Padded cushions on Claud’s iroko structure have waterproof inter-liners and removable covers. The Joi table, from £5,600, has a simple wooden A-frame with a concrete top, while wooden benches, from £3,000, are topped by deeply padded cushions.

Echoes of chic living room furniture are also found in Studio Segers’ Tribu Senja sofa collection. Single modules start from £1,240; sofa with two-seater module and teak table, £4,820. From Go Modern.

Eye-catching crisscross banding in weather-resistant, outdoor aluminium gives the high-back garden chair, from £1,070 at Go Modern, a retro feel — of late-Sixties Ibiza, perhaps.

Rain or shine, you can’t beat a feelgood vibe as embracing as that.