Image: Clair Strong Interior Design

Last week I began the mammoth task of sharing my favourite garden furniture designers and brands. In that blog post I featured some great pieces of furniture by IKEA, John Lewis and twentytwentyone. This week, I’m all about accents and accessories.

Lighting

For those long summer evenings spent chatting with friends, lighting is a must. I prefer to create a relaxed ambience with a soft, subtle glow. This can be achieved with wall-mounted lanterns, delicately hung string lights and stake lights (like these solar powered ones!).

The Conran Shop has a great selection of lanterns, but I particularly like this traditional design in bronze or galvanised steel. It’s stylish but unfussy – just good clean design.

For more deliberate, directional lighting, Cox and Cox have a couple of very clever outdoor lamps. The opaque white shade and grey metal base is very minimalist, but this is still a striking feature for any outdoor space.

Rugs and Flooring

Outdoor rugs are a relatively new concept but one that’s taking off. They add colour and texture, and close that gap between the outdoors and in. They’re practical too – as they’re often waterproof and stain repellent.

The Unnatural Flooring Company design hardwearing, versatile man-made flooring that feels like it’s made from natural materials. The Savannah Rug is their outdoor offering, and is available at John Lewis.

Swedish brand Pappelina specialise in washable indoor/outdoor rugs. The company completely revived the once-forgotten plastic rug with vibrant, graphic prints worthy of any modern home. A selection of their rugs is available at Cloudberry Living.

Planters and Pots

No outdoor space is complete without some greenery. Planters and pots allow you to inject that greenery, even if you’ve only got a balcony or a roof terrace.

Italian brand, Serralunga, create really striking pots. I love the oversized designs of the Camelia and Marcantonio. It’s refreshing to see a departure from standard terracotta plant pots and I would definitely recommend adding pots with interest to your outdoor space.

So, that’s it for my round-up of garden furniture. Remember, you can read Part 1 here and share your thoughts on my picks in the comments section below.