The Garden Furniture Centre Blog

After a long, cold winter it’s natural to look forward to spring and what better way to celebrate the lighter evenings and the sunshine than with a picnic!

Picnicking has been enjoyed for centuries and the word comes from the French term ‘pique-nique’ where people shared a meal together, each bringing one dish for the table. Originally held indoors in the seventeenth century, nowadays we take our food out into the sunshine and use picnic tables.

The Garden Furniture Centre offers a variety of picnic tables to suit all needs. Whether you prefer a round picnic table, a classic picnic table, a teak picnic table or a more contemporary style, we will have the perfect solution in our collection.

Picnic tables are popular items of garden furniture. They are an ideal place for feeding the children on a warm summer’s evening, and somewhere to enjoy time with family and friends. Picnic tables are also a very practical choice for families, as they can usually accommodate up to six people, sometimes more.

Picnic tables are also fantastic if space is limited, as the seating is generally fixed so no additional room is needed for pulling out seats to sit down. These days the design for picnic tables has developed, and here at the Garden Furniture Centre are delighted to offer them in a variety of shapes and sizes, and made from different woods.

Picnic tables are ideal for a number of venues, not just gardens. We supply many schools, businesses and sports clubs with picnic tables for their outdoor areas.

Choose from our stunning collection of picnic tables, and let your summer start here.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden or just an outside space, make the best use of it by turning it into an extension of your home – a garden room where you can enjoy the great outdoors and relax with quality outdoor garden furniture.

Follow our ten easy steps to create the perfect garden room:

1. Decide what you want to use the space for. An al fresco dining area? A quiet place where you can relax and read? Or perhaps a sociable space for entertaining lots of friends? Anything is possible, within the constraints of the dimensions you have available.

2. What sort of outdoor garden furniture do you want? Contemporary rattan garden furniture, classic aluminium garden furniture or maybe reclaimed teak or rustic garden furniture? Decide this before you start buying anything, so that your purchases will combine to create a fantastic look.

3. How much do you have to spend? If you have a small budget you can still create an expensive look, but you will have to do more research and shop more carefully. The sensible way to budget is to calculate how much you have to spend and buy accordingly. Other people will choose what they want and then try to work out how they can afford to buy it – either way, make sure you know what your budget is.

4. Remember price and value are not the same thing.

5. Once you know your budget, purpose and style you can start to choose your outdoor garden furniture. Select comfortable seating with garden furniture cushions that have removable, washable covers.

6. You will want to use your garden room in the evenings, as well as during the day, so consider lighting for when the daylight begins to fade. Outdoor fairy lights are very pretty and can create a cheerful, welcoming atmosphere. Candles are also popular, but take care when children are around.

7. Heating also needs to be considered for when the temperature dips. There are many types of outdoor heater available now, from firepits to patio heaters, with something for every budget.

8. Sadly in the UK we can’t always rely upon the weather. A gazebo is a great way to protect against the wind and rain, or even strong sunshine. Alternatively you could choose a parasol – there are many types available to suit different needs.

9. If you are planning an eating area, consider a space for a barbecue, for that authentic outdoor taste! You might opt for a purpose-build brick barbecue or a fancy gas-fuelled one, but there are also many low-cost models which can turn a sausage into charcoal in just the same way!

10. Now you have your garden room, there’s only one thing left to consider. During the winter months when no-one wants to be outside, you need to ensure that everything is properly protected against the elements. Bring cushions indoors to stop them from attracting mould and damp. Clean barbecues and furniture before covering for the winter. There are many garden furniture covers available; we have a great selection right here on this website. Follow the instructions for use and when the covers come off in the spring you’ll be ready to enjoy your outdoor room all over again.

Leather sofas are seen by many as a sign of luxury and decadence and can come with a price tag to match. However, many retailers are now offering good value options to suit every household. The trend for leather furniture has been boosted by its popularity in fashion shoots such as the new Mango campaign featuring Scarlet Johnansson. Leather sofas and chairs are also a favourite of the Candy brothers, the interior design specialists preferred by the owners of some of Londons most exclusive homes.

The boom is sales is also being attributed to a change in consumers' attributes to spending. Most homeowners have been putting large purchases over the last year or two but now the economic recovery is in sight, they are putting their hands in their pockets again, but for well-made, long lasting pieces - and leather is a reliable, quality option.

White, red and champagne colours are bang on trend, along with vintage-style brown leather sofas such as the Chelsea sofa pictured here from Darlings of Chelsea (3 seater £1290)

For other furniture such as sofas, corner sofas and sofa beds visit www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk

We have just added the new 2010 MGM conservatory furniture range to our website.

All of our prices include 10% off the RRP and a FREE Footstool, Side Table or Coffee Table with every suite sold.

You can view the new collection by clicking on the following link:

MGM Conservatory Furniture

MGM offers a stylish range of conservatory furniture that will enhance your home. The new 2010 collection provides everything you would need to furnish your conservatory.

MGM are one of the top UK suppliers of rattan conservatory furniture. They produce conservatory furniture of the finest quality with the highest standards of craftsmanship.

Our Malvern Teak 1.8m Garden Bench recently featured on the BBC's new dance competition 'So You Think You Can Dance'.

This superbly contoured teak garden bench provides the ultimate in style and comfort. The Malvern teak garden bench has an 'S' shape lumber support in the back panel as well as an 'S' shape seat panel to guarantee maximum comfort.

As you can see from the dancing in the video below, this bench is extremely strong and durable. All our garden benches are made to the highest quality.

View our entire Garden Bench range now!

Now is the time to buy your Garden Furniture ready for summer 2010.

If you purchase before the 1st January you will pay the current VAT rate of 15%.

Save on a wide range of garden furniture products including, our stunning Wheel Bench, Lutyens Bench and Cantilever Parasol.

VAT will return to its previous level of 17.5% from the 1st January 2010.

This means that our products will cost slightly more in the New Year. Save yourself money by buying Garden Furniture before the VAT increase. Regardless of the VAT increase 'The Garden Furniture Centre Ltd' will continue to deliver top quality garden furniture at competitive prices.

View our entire range of Garden Furniture now.

A dark wood which exudes luxury, walnut bedroom furniture will help you to create an ideal environment for a good night’s sleep. Warm and welcoming, the deep, rich colour makes a statement of elegance and old world charm, yet our range contains pieces with an exquisite, contemporary look that would look perfect in any bedroom setting.

Walnut comes from a family of around 59 species of tree, producing a wood that is easily worked, yet very resistant to rot. When you purchase walnut bedroom furniture, you are in good company – as historically this wood was used to make altarpieces and seating in churches and cathedrals, and in the fifteenth century is was considered the most luxurious of woods and was found in the homes of royalty and nobility.

Walnut bedroom furniture will provide a hardwearing yet opulent focal point in your room, and its look can easily be changed in minutes with the addition of new bedding, cushions and lampshades.

If you are considering the purchase of furniture for your bedroom, take a good, long look at our walnut bedroom furniture range – we are currently offering some amazing prices with tremendous savings that you won’t want to miss. Order today to ensure you get the finest quality walnut bedroom furniture, by the best craftsmen at the best possible prices.




Browse our Walnut Bedroom Furniture range below:

Walnut Chest of Drawers 3
Walnut Chest of Drawers 6
Walnut Dressing Table
Walnut Mirror
Walnut Bed Footstool
Walnut 6 Drawer High Chest
Walnut Bedside Table
Walnut Kingsize Bed
Walnut Bed with Draws