In the winter months, our gardens are usually neglected whilst we promise ourselves that we will get it back in action in the Spring. But why not get the most out of our garden and turn it into a winter haven? Here are Inside Out Living’s tips on how you can achieve this with outdoor furniture.
Fire Pits & Chimeneas
When we picture a beautiful winter garden, we see dark cold nights, that are lit up by warm and ambient lighting. A fire pit or a garden chimenea is perfect at creating this. At Inside Out Living, we have a selection of fire pits and garden cinemas that suit any garden.
Our selection of fire pits includes traditional style fire pits. Our traditional fire pits are always a crowd please and are simply beautiful, yet simply effective. They come complete with a log grate, safety tool and the added safety feature of the domed spark guard top helps to protect against sparks flying out of the firepit. At the end of the day, no one likes a hot ember landing on their lap. By simply adding the grill attachment on to the top of the firepit, you can create a fuss-free BBQ to quickly and easily grill your favourite winter food. Perhaps or even some a slowly cooked casserole or if you are looking for food that is a lot less fussy, how about some smores?
As well as traditional fire pits, our range includes fire pit dining tables, such as the Kettler Palma Fire Pit Set or the Bramblecrest Monterey garden sofa set with a fire pit. Gather round this flickering heat source protected from the 4 sided recessed glass guard, and enjoy with the company into the later hours. The innovative gas-fuelled fire pit is planted centrally into the ceramic tabletop, complete with protective recessed glass guards to keep the seated safe but also to create a barrier to wind interference. The fire is operated with a gauge on the side of the table and the canister is handily hidden within the table accessed through a smartly concealed hinged door. The outdoor furniture set is complete with beautiful rattan seating.
Incorporate Blankets & Soft Furnishings
The dynamic and feel of garden furniture can be totally changed by soft furnishings, which is why they are crucial in creating your winter haven. Cushions and blankets (only with a firepit or garden chimenea) are a perfect way of extending the time that you can sit outside and enjoy your garden. But not only can they keep you warm, they can also look beautiful too. Why not pick out colours from your favourite plants and add cushions and blankets in that style or colour? Use your garden to experiment with colours and patterns that you may not be as inclined to opt for inside of your home.
Protect Your Garden Furniture
Although outdoor furniture is designed to be outdoors, it still needs to be protected and receive some TLC throughout the winter period. Depending on the material of the garden furniture that you have, it will need different treatment to the others – caring for outdoor furniture is not a one size fits all approach. You can take a closer look at how you can care for your specific outdoor furniture here:
- Rattan garden furniture
- Wooden garden furniture
- Aluminium garden furniture
- Garden furniture with a fire pit
- Garden furniture with ceramic table tops
Although the general cleaning and maintenance of outdoor furniture may be different depending on the material, there is one similarity – always use protective covers to cover your garden furniture. Winter cover for outdoor furniture is more than simply covering your outdoor furniture in tarpaulin and a heavy object, although we have all been guilty of it at some point in time. Protective covers are especially important if you have recently made an investment into a new garden furniture set that you intend to last for a long period of time. Well fitted protective covers ensure that your beautiful garden furniture is preserved in a fine condition, something that another type of cover could not offer. We would highly recommend purchasing protective covers at the time of purchase so that you have the dimensions readily available.
Switch Up Your Plants
Bald plants are certainly an eyesore within your garden during the winter months, therefore, we would recommend swapping your summer plants that do not stand a chance in the cold, for some winter plants. The top flowers to bloom, even during the winter season are posies & violas – although snowdrops are also beautiful and are also in keeping with the winter haven theme. There are a number of other plants that bloom in winter, so why take a look at some and see whether they would fit in with the rest of your garden?
Make sure you show off your beautiful winter havens with the Inside Out Living teams via social media, using #mioliving!
