On several occasions in the past month we have repeatedly seen a similar scene.
A scene that has made us cry.
Lovely houses, truly wonderful, carefully considered constructions in idyllic locations - and then in the garden, furniture that the owners have obviously bought, possibly as an after thought, from their local garden centre.
Just looking at some of the chairs made our upper thighs go numb from discomfort.
And as for that recliner yesterday in Berlin!!!!
People, gardens are there to be enjoyed.
Gardens are there to serve as dens of tranquility from the harsh realities of life.
Gardens should not cause injury, far less resemble a middle ages torture chamber.
Good quality designer garden furniture is available. And isn't hard to find.
Here is our top five for summer 2010.
Panton's fist commercially successful product may owe much of its success to Verner Panton's father installing it in his restaurant; but that is not to detract from the the quality of the Panton's design nor that of Montana's construction. Available in a wonderful range of colours Tivoli chair by Verner Panton is guaranteed to brighten up any garden or terrace.
Mart Stams classic steel tube chair in an outdoor version. Available with or without armrests the S43 teak from Thonet allows you to take your Bauhaus living and dining room out into the garden.
Four years of development with all the resources an established designer furniture company such as Vitra can provide has to produce something a little extra special. Despite appearances to the contrary Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec is a delightfully comfortable seat: comfortable as in terms of seating comfort and comfortable as in terms of stability.
Although, curiously not available in oranje Shadylace by Chris Kabel for droog is one of the better ways to ensure that you always have a shady corner from which to spy on your neighbours and envy their garden architecture talents.
And once you've got the furniture you need to be able to cook: otherwise you'll need to go back indoors. With it's cool outer walls and large range of accessories the Cobb grill is not a classic barbecue grill but a complete enclosed cooking system. With which you can also grill. Or cook pizzas. or bake a cake.
