HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT GARDEN FURNITURE

Plastic

Low-cost, lightweight plastic is an easy choice to make, but it soon looks weathered and worn – and can easily be flung around the garden in a high wind, which we seem to be getting a lot more of these days. Plastic dining chairs that can be stacked in the garage and brought out on demand are a great choice, but it’s perhaps not ideal for a permanent fix.

Metal

Steel garden furniture, while long-lasting and robust, is very heavy, so opting for this is a commitment not only in terms of cost, but location – you don’t want to be heaving heavy chairs around every time the sun moves. It is a great choice for the really traditional styles however, and once it’s in place requires minimal maintenance. Lightweight – the Aluminium is a more popular choice for those seeking a more contemporary look. Often folding by design, aluminium furniture is easier to store away over winter, reducing the need for maintenance. Before you buy, check its robust – the joints should be firm and immovable – you don’t want granny taking a fall when she plumps down into her seat.

Rattan

When the sun shows its face, taking a seat outside is an immediate must-do, and with gardens becoming more of an extension of our indoor living space than ever before, choosing your chairs has become as fraught as choosing a new sofa for your sitting room.

This is especially the case if you have a beautiful new home, where you want to be very sure you make the right choices about every aspect of interior and exterior design, so where to start choosing the right garden furniture for you and your new garden?

First – consider the style of furniture you want

In a modern home with clean lines and a contemporary garden, reflecting the aesthetics is important. Wrought steel with trims and rolls and fussy bits is likely to look like you brought it from your dad’s garden – it’s just not you. However, in an older property, with a well-established garden filled with plants and colour, something a little more romantic will work perfectly.

Stand in the zone where you are placing your furniture and look around you. You will be able to see quite quickly the overarching style of the garden and appreciate what style of furniture will work for you.

Next, measure up

Patio space is not finite – work out what you need (table, how many chairs) and the maximum space you can take up without falling of the patio everytime you push a chair back,

Now, choose the material you want

There are many, many options for garden furniture, some support the table and chairs being left outside year round, others less so. Some require ongoing maintenance, others less so. When deciding on your furniture, take into consideration not only where you might overwinter it, but also if you truly are the type of person to re-stain and protect furniture each spring. Loads of people are – I’m not!

Rattan is massive this summer, and has been for some years now. Rattan has been adopted as the catch-all term for all furniture made with weaving ribbons of material around a frame, whether real, wicker rattan or PE, a man made synthetic Polyethylene resin. The latter is far more durable and requires significantly less maintenance. It can also handle the British climate, unlike wicker, which needs to be kept dry and taken indoors to overwinter. Because of its history, rattan furniture comes in so many designs – from contemporary squares to last century curves – you will be able to find something that suits your garden style, whether that’s modern or traditional. Do try to try before you buy. With the surge in popularity, cheap sets are available that while they may be weatherproof, aren’t necessarily ‘bottom proof’ – too many bumps down into the same spot and the weak framing beneath starts to buckle.

Wood

A classic choice, but can require quite a commitment for ongoing maintenance. It will need an annual wash, sand down and application of oil, which is not something everybody is prepared to undertake.

Teak wood is the luxe choice for garden furniture – it has a high natural level of oil in the wood, so it can withstand the wind and rain of an English garden, but it still needs regular care. Left untreated it weathers to an attractive silver grey, but you will soon find joints are loosening, slats are thinning and even wasps are making a beeline (waspline?) for it to nibble at the soft wood fibres for use in building their nests. If you are a certified garden potterer and DIY fan, then wood makes a beautiful choice. If not, maybe consider the alternatives.

Finally – think green

Looking after the world in which we live is becoming mainstream. Any furniture purchases, for home or garden, should have at least a nod of consideration for our planet behind them.

If you opt for wooden furniture, check it comes with an FSC mark, which will assure you it’s from a managed plantation, where sustainability is built in.

Aluminium is a great eco-friendly choice. This metal can be recycled again and again, and indeed there are many makers already using recycle aluminium to make new garden furniture – just do a quick google search to find them,

Rattan isn’t renowned for its eco-credentials, but you can find furniture that is made from recyclable materials and can be recycled in specialist facilities. If you just want what you love, make sure you take great care of it, to extend its life as long as possible and let’s beat the throwaway culture back into the past, where it belongs.

When Is The Right Time To

It can be a hard decision to make, moving on from the home where you and your partner have raised children, celebrated all of life’s greatest events, and which you once called your ‘forever home.’

With each lifestage comes change, and downsizing can be a positive one, but how do you know when it’s the right time? Before making your decision, you must ask two big questions:

1) Will downsizing help me financially?

If you are in a large, family home, and your children have left to start their adult lives, moving to a smaller property may indeed be of financial help. A smaller property will likely mean smaller utility bills (not a bad thing, at the moment) and also reduced council tax. If you’re still paying down a mortgage, you might be able to pay it off and buy a smaller home with the equity, or simply reduce your monthly payments.

However, there are other financial considerations to make that aren’t all in your favour. If you have your heart set on a bungalow – be aware, scarcity makes for high prices. Apartments in specially constructed blocks for over-60s will come with annual service charges that might increase each year. You may also need to pay stamp duty, estate agency fees and the costs of moving home.

2) Will downsizing enhance my lifestyle?

Often, it is the emotional impact of moving out of the family home that delays people’s decision on downsizing, but there are definitely benefits in a move to a smaller home. First – there is likely to be reduced maintenance – less housework, less garden maintenance, meaning more time to spend on hobbies and with friends and family.

Similarly, if downsizing frees up more disposable income, there is greater freedom for holidays, travelling to visit family, and generally enjoying life.

Also, very importantly, as we age and reach the lifestage when downsizing starts to look like an option, we also find ourselves less physically capable, and this isn’t going to get better. Will moving to a smaller home support you as you age? And as you grow older, it becomes harder –both mentally and physically – to cope with great change, so would downsizing when you have the energy to cope with all that entails be a smart move?

On the flipside, downsizing might mean moving away from the neighbourhood you are familiar with, where the friends you have made still live, and the shops and restaurants you love are close-by. Overcoming this requires positive selftalk. Spending time with friends always requires planning, it may now just require a little more planning. You can still visit the restaurants you like, but have an adventure discovering new ones, too.

Finally, consider the logistics. How important is room for entertaining – will downsizing prevent you doing your favourite things? Where will guests sleep? Will you have enough room for storage? When looking at a new, smaller home it’s important to be very clear on how you plan to live there, and what changes you are prepared to make.

Signs that downsizing is the right move to make

• You’re not using all the rooms in your current home

• Your finances will benefit from a cash injection and reduced overheads

• You are suddenly the oldest residents on your street, and this makes you feel a little isolated

• Your job and your family no longer tie you to a particular location.

• You want to be closer to family

• You are simply ready for a change happening in your locale. Find clubs to join that reflect your interests, or be brave and try something completely new. It;s here you are likely to meet other local people with the ame interests, and maybe make a friend or two.

There are many reasons why people move to a new home – upsizing, downsizing, a new job, financial or health challenges, but sometimes when we move home, it’s not just the stresses of the moving day itself that cause anxiety – it’s the demands of a move to a new neighbourhood, or even a whole new town. Here are our top tips for getting the best of moving to a new neighbourhood.

The school run

If you have children at primary school age, the school run is the perfect place to meet other parents from your neighbourhood. The old say “Birds of a feather stick together” rings especially true when it comes to the after school pick up! Make sure you talk to different people over the weeks – you’ll soon find some like-minded souls. If you work full-time and a daily pick-up isn’t feasible, perhaps look at working from home on certain days, just for the first term or so. And while PTAs have a bit of a rep, there’s no quicker way to get under the skin of a school than by doing some volunteering – and it doesn’t have to be forever!

The best way to get the most out of your new neighbourhood is to proactively engage with the people already in it. Whether this is directly with neighbours, or by shopping and eating local, or by joining the local running club, netball club or networking group, what you put in, you will get out.

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In the last 18 months I have sold and brought properties through JP & Brimelow. Eddie, Jodie, Carole and the rest of the team give a first class service and are excellent. I couldn’t recommend highly enough College Drive, Whalley Range

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