How One Brand Tracked the Unlikely History of Garden Furniture

As the spring and summer months approach, more people will be looking to update their garden furniture, ready for long evenings enjoying the warmer temperatures. But, many don’t know the history behind some of their favourite pieces, which one furniture brand has uncovered through meticulous research.

GardenFurniture.co.uk is a Yorkshire-based garden furniture company that ships high-quality, robust furniture across the UK. Finding success in the outdoor furniture industry since they started 25 years ago, their newest endeavour has been demystifying the history of garden furniture.

The furniture brand found that the average UK household spent around £670 [1] on garden furniture in 2021, yet only a very small percentage knew the origins of some of the items they’re using to upgrade their outdoor space. Outdoor furniture has been a key feature in homes from as early as 3000BC, used as a status symbol and a way for people to show off their style.

Some of the most popular trends in garden furniture design may not be as modern as we think. For example, as Garden Furniture found, early rattan designs can be seen as far back as the Roman times when furniture was made from reeds, marsh, and grass to create wooden-type furniture.

As time went on, designers started to experiment more with other materials, like the stone benches in Rome, turf benches in the Medieval times, and the cast iron garden furniture made popular in the Victorian era. What is clear from Garden Furniture’s research is that many historic trends have played a big role in how we view outdoor furniture in the modern day.

Andrew Griffith, owner of Garden Furniture, says “We’re passionate about garden furniture, but that doesn’t mean we know everything on the topic. This research piece we did was a way for us to better understand the history of the products we’re selling, look at possible upcoming trends, and how history can influence the styles, materials, and usage of future designs. It’s been so interesting to collect all this information and share it on our website, we hope our customers enjoy reading it just as much as we did.”

The full research piece is available to read on the Garden Furniture website: https://www.gardenfurniture.co.uk/blog/the-complete-history-of-garden-furniture/

To find out more about Garden Furniture and the history of your favourite outdoor items, visit https://www.gardenfurniture.co.uk/

References

[1] https://www.insightdiy.co.uk/news/brits-spent-billions-on-their-gardens-in-2021/10752.html