Styling your outdoor space for the winter: how to enjoy your outdoor garden furniture throughout the cold months

One of the best things about living in a temperate climate is enjoying your outdoor furniture all year round. As long as you’ve got high-quality outdoor furniture that can withstand the changes in the weather that we do see here in paradise, there’s no need to pack away your garden furniture just because the mercury is dropping. With a few simple tricks, you can enjoy the crisp, fresh air of the cold months, and turn your outdoor living areas in to havens of cosiness that your family and guests simply won’t be able to resist.

Block the wind

It’s usually not the ambient temperature, even in winter, that chills you and your guests—it’s the wind.

If you’re thinking about renovations or additions for your outdoor spaces, pergolas and privacy screening are always worth the investment. They act as windbreaks, blocking the gusts of cold that impact the most on your outdoor living experience. Decorative features like aluminium or timber shutters can give both bold contemporary or soft classic touches to your outdoor living areas—as well as privacy—while they’re blocking the passage of the breeze.

But if you don’t have the financial resources or the inclination to install permanent structures in your outdoor spaces, consider stopping the cold in its tracks with clear, bistro-style plastic blinds. They can be rolled up when you’re not using them, and you can still enjoy the view of your lovely garden while you’re entertaining. Just remember to make sure enough fresh air is actually getting through when you’re using wood or gas heaters, because they work very well.

Turn on the heat

Blocking off the cold isn’t the only way to keep your outdoor areas liveable throughout winter—you can also bring the warmth in.

There are lots of options available now for installing outdoor fireplaces in your yard, and whether the style is influenced by rustic, country-style materials like brick, or the high-end sophistication of tempered glass, they’ll offer a natural and radiant heat to your outdoor living space. And there’s always the inexpensive version: a fire pit that you can set your garden furniture around. You can build them yourself without much hassle, or buy any number of cast iron or steel versions that offer excellent portability.

But while open flames really do offer an alluring ambience to your outdoor living spaces in the winter, especially in Brisbane. There are also many freestanding and mountable heat sources to consider. Silver-coated gas patio heaters add a surprisingly decorative touch to your gardens, decks, and balconies.

Throw around the blankets

Timber furniture is adaptable through the seasons—it’s never scalding hot after being in the sun, or as freezing cold as metal when it’s in the cold. But it’s also easy to complement the natural tactile luxury it offers with soft fabrics: to really take the edge off the cool air, you could consider adding padding to outdoor garden furniture in the cooler months, which forward both extra comfort and the attraction of a seasonal makeover. Incorporating a few extra pillows or soft rugs underfoot will also add luxury, warmth, and style to the area, giving it a welcoming feel that will draw your family and guests outside even on the coldest days.

Daybeds are always a good choice for living and entertaining outdoors in winter, especially if you throw in some blankets and other soft furnishings. Your guests will never want to leave once they’ve reclined into your plush daybed with a blanket or a throw rug, and you might even find yourself curled up in it with a good book most days in the season.

Turn on the lights

One of the ways to enjoy your outdoor furniture throughout winter involves a little trickery: no matter how cold it is, warm lighting will give your outdoor spaces the ambience they need to entice your family and friends outside. It’s virtually impossible to find heat-emitting lights in these days of LED bulbs, but you don’t actually need the warmth to make the area cosy. Just illuminating your outdoor areas with the right lighting—even in-ground lighting in decks and patios—can influence your brain and circadian rhythms into feeling relaxed and happy. They also add an extra level of safety in the dark of winter’s shorter days.

Solar lights are always a good option, bringing an elegant glow to your outdoor entertaining areas using only the power of the sun, so you won’t be footing a bigger electricity bill to maintain them. Fairy lights threaded through trees and shrubs or hung from beams give a magical enchantment to the space, promoting such a relaxing and celebratory atmosphere that you and your guests will be impatiently anticipating your winter alfresco events every year.

Protect the furniture

To get the best use from your outdoor garden furniture all throughout the year, it’s important to ensure that its surfaces are protected. There are many good products available on the market that will provide long-lasting protection from UV damage, mould, and stains that develop in harsh weather, and most of them only need to be applied once or twice a year to keep your outdoor furniture looking great.

Choosing settings crafted from right materials will save you a lot of money and work in the long run, so always choose high-quality timber and metal furniture—it has better durability and resistance to the seasonal harshness of the subtropical climate, as well as delivering more beauty and sophistication than cheaper furniture.

Australian Garden Furniture Company’s garden furniture is handcrafted by our talented artisans from the finest materials, including kiln-dried kwila timber and high-quality stainless steel fixers. Our timbers contain natural oils that offer a superior level of resistance to Queensland’s unpredictable weather, no matter the season; and our craftsmanship, including our remarkably precise joinery, ensures that our products have both a long lifespan and a luxurious appearance. Contact AGFC anytime for more information on any of our products—we’d love to help you enjoy your outdoor spaces all year long.