A small space in your garden, be it a balcony, a terrace or a courtyard can still include garden furniture for relaxing and dining. Here, we highlight some of the Fermob garden furniture that is best suited for cosy, small spaces.
Choices
In this article we’ll take you through some of the options for outdoor furniture when you have a smaller space and possibly want to use the space more flexibly.
If you’re working within a small space the ability to move the furniture to clear the space for other uses, might be key.
If you need to move it, you have two choices:
- Folding
- Stacking
We think folding gives you greater flexibility: when folded away, garden furniture can be put in a garage, behind a shed, up against a wall or in a corner, reclaiming the space. Stacked furniture saves some space, but not as much.
But also think about the space around the seating area – you need enough space to either push a chair back from a table or to slide in from the side.
Folding tables
Being able to fold a table away means that you can maximise the use of your space. You can still keep the chairs out for relaxing, reading, chatting…
If you’ve got a wall space, you could possibly hang the table up out of the way on some suitably sturdy hooks. (We’ve got one friend who keeps their garden table behind their bed as a headboard when it’s not in use – it makes a semi-circular headboard as it peeps over the pillows!)
Bistro
The classic folding café furniture seen outside bistros across the world has got to be a good choice. The tables come in a range of shapes and sizes; round square and rectangular; from a tiny 37 cm by 57 cm to 117 cm diameter.
Floreal
The Floreal tables add a twist to the round Bistro tables by including a perforated pattern in the top.
Available in 60 cm, 77 cm and 96 cm diameter.
Photography by Julie Ansiau
Bistro balcony table
Perhaps one of the most innovative pieces in the Fermob range is the Bistro balcony table. Suitable for two people, it is secured to a wall or balcony railings and then folds away when not needed. Included is an upper shelf for plants, glasses, wine…
Other folding tables
Whilst the Bistro and Floreal ranges offer the widest choice of table sizes and shapes, there are another three ranges in the Fermob collection that include folding tables.
Cargo
At 127 cm × 127 cm, the Cargo square table perhaps pushes the size for a small space. The Cargo tables — a square one and a rectangular one — do still fold away though.
They have a greater capacity (eight and ten respectively) than the Bistro collection, so might be the solution when you need a larger table that can occupy a space more flexibly.
Caractère
Similar to Cargo, Caractère includes a square and rectangular table that can be folded away and again, like Cargo, they can seat eight and ten people respectively.
Plein Air
The Plein Air square table is also suited to smaller spaces. Seating four, it measures 71 cm × 71 cm and so is comparable to the Bistro range.
Folding chairs
Chairs that fold away also add to the flexibility of your garden – perhaps you want to move them out of the way for yoga, dancing, lying down, mowing the lawn…
The Bistro tables and chairs were originally designed to fold away for storage as cafés in Paris had to pay a tax for permanent seating outside. Folding furniture could be brought in at the end of the day, thereby avoiding the tax. Whilst hopefully you’re not taxed for the use of your garden, folding furniture allows you to reclaim and re-purpose your garden space as you want.
The Bistro chairs are a design classic. They have a light curve to the slats of the seat and the back for better comfort and look all the better for it. Available in all of the Fermob metal colours, you could mix up and have a table in one colour, chairs in another…
With the Bistro chair you can choose the traditional metal seat and back, but also a slatted wooden seat and back.
Other folding chairs
There are other folding chairs beside Bistro, available in the Fermob collection, and some of them offer fabric seating too.
Plein Air
Dune
Bagatelle
The Bagatelle chair is a pretty folding chair. Compared to the Bistro range, the seat is a solid base, with a gentle curve to it.
The back has a laser cut motif, opening up the design and is still visible when the chair is folded.
It pairs perfectly with the Bistro and Floreal tables.
Stacking chairs
Alternatively, chairs that stack, whilst clearing some space, might not save as much space; you’ll still need the space of a single piece (and possibly a little more).
If you look at each product page and expand the “Click to expand for more product information”, it will include details of how many can safely be stacked and how high.
Luxembourg
Perhaps it’s because of their origins in the parks of central Paris where they can still be seen today. Whilst they’re left out most of the time, the ability to stack them means when they need to be moved around or put in storage; the parks department can store more in a smaller space.
And whilst the ones made for the parks department by Fermob are steel, the ones available here are aluminium, making them lighter and thereby, easier, to stack.
One hint on how to stack Luxembourg chairs — when putting one chair on top of another, put the back legs of the upper one just in front of the back legs of the lower one. If you try to put the upper ones legs behind the lower ones, they won’t stack.
All of the chairs in the Luxembourg range stack (with the exception of the Luxembourg high stool); even the low armchairs, single and duo, can be stacked.
Other stacking chairs
In fact, most of the Fermob seating stacks.
Lorette
The chair in the recently introduced Lorette range can be stacked aside when not in use.
The beautiful cut pattern in the back recalls Levantine latticework screens .
Costa
Bellevie
The Bellevie chair is an elegant and modern chair with seamless lines.
Surprising
A clean lined, simple wire framed chair.
Montmartre
Another chair and armchair with fine scroll work, perhaps not as delicate as 1900.
Rendez-vous
The Rendez-vous armchair has simple curves and a perforated design across the seat and back.
Croisette
A retro inspired armchair with a woven seat and backrest.
Facto
A contemporary, flat seated, stacking chair.
Monceau
The Monceau armchair is a stripped down take on the Luxembourg chair, with a flatter seat.
Stacking benches
It might work for you that benches either side of a table that can be stacked away when not in use is the solution.
Croisette
The smaller of the two Croisette benches also stacks.
Monceau
The Monceau bench is suitable for three people, though not when stacked obviously.
1900
The 1900 bench has beautiful scroll work and a perforated pattern to the seat.
So let’s summarise…
Hopefully we’ve given you a bit of an idea of options for garden furniture in a small garden space – there’s a lot of choice, so if you’ve still got some questions or want to understand more about the Fermob furniture range, please get in touch with us.
We think if you want the maximum flexibility for a small space a folding set of furniture is the best option.
Folding tables
Folding chairs
Stacking chairs
Stacking benches
Fabric
And please, get in touch with us if you’d like to learn anymore about the Fermob range. We’re happy to help.