HOW GARDEN FURNITURE HAS GONE SUPER-BLING

Not to mention the £30,000 fire pit and £18,000 hammock as garden furniture goes super-bling

ONce upon a time, just having a parasol or a deckchair on your patio was considered the height of outdoor decadence; but recently, the stakes have been well and truly raised.

Now, no truly stylish garden should be seen without an array of luxury outdoor furniture that wouldn’t look out of place at a boutique hotel.

From weatherproof sofas and highend polished dining tables, to superposh exterior lighting and even handcrafted teak cushion storage boxes, the garden has become the latest place to show off.

‘the rise of the “outdoor room” began a number of years ago, and demand for very high-end garden furniture is definitely increasing,’ says tina Mahony, director of go Modern, one of the Uk’s biggest retailers of luxury garden products, which is based on London’s swanky king’s Road.

‘People are spending far more on their gardens than ever before, and they want design-led, contemporary furniture that reflects their taste yet that can be left outdoors all year round,’ she added. But with eye-watering price tags in the thousands of pounds, what exactly are customers getting for their money that they wouldn’t get with a common-or-garden table-andchair set from B&Q, Homebase, or even John Lewis?

‘Luxury, high-end furniture is so far ahead of budget furniture technically — you get a much, much longer life out of it,’ says tina.

‘It’s comfortable and easy to keep clean, and over the past few years, manufacturers have reached new levels of design and technology. Much of it would look equally at home in a living or dining room.

‘outdoor fabrics are now very soft to the touch, and advances in technology mean that fabrics are also mould-resistant, dirt repellent, and UV fade-proof, with cushions filled with quick-dry foam.

‘seams are always welded as well as sewn, and many frames have inbuilt drainage channels ensuring rainwater drains away efficiently and effectively.’

Having said all that, would you really pay more than £18,000 for an outdoor sofa?

Here’s a look at the most exclusive — and expensive — garden furniture money can buy . . .