Renovation Diary: Choosing outdoor furniture

Last year we were fortunate to be able to finally renovate our home. After 15 years of living in the same space it certainly was time!

The whole process took over 4 months from the first spadeful of soil to the final touch of paint…and I’ve been sharing some of the journey in my Renovation Diary.

While the renovation process was extremely stressful at times, I can honestly say it was the best project we’ve ever undertaken. To be able to enjoy our new home in such a different way has been amazing and this past summer all I’ve wanted to do is be at home – something that was never the case beforehand!

I’m loving the new space because there’s just so much space…

Only trouble is that all that space means that we actually need to furnish it because otherwise there’s no where to sit and enjoy it!

So over the past few months I’ve started a list of all the furniture (& furnishings) that we need to make our home feel more like a home, our home!

This is a unique opportunity… the chance to buy items that we really LOVE. When we first got married we could only buy items we could afford = the bare basics.

Then as life progressed we started to expand our furniture collection, but due to continuing budget constraints this was often “hand-me-downs” from family or second-hand buys that I scouted online. We still weren’t really able to define our style and choose the furniture WE really liked.

And now with our new space to fill we’re finally able to choose a few new items of furniture that really are OUR choice. And we’ve chosen to go with quality over quantity because we want our choices to go the distance! Of course this means we have to go slowly and can’t furnish or decorate our entire house all at once, but it means we are selective and each new item will be weighed up carefully before being added to our home.

The area of our home we have been using the most this summer has been our new patio – we have a section that extends along the front of the house that is exposed to the elements and then a section next to the built-in braai that is under cover.

A few Christmases back we invested in a wooden dining table and chairs set which we’ve set up under cover (to protect it from the elements and from us having to maintain it with oil as regularly), but that meant we weren’t left with too much space for the all-important lounge-style outdoor furniture I had been dreaming of… The only available spot was the exposed area that isn’t under cover which has ultimately eliminated many of the outdoor furniture options we could choose from.

I want something that can stay out in the rain and sun, that would have zero maintenance requirements (days spent oiling furniture = no fun!) and that we could enjoy immediately every time we stepped outside (no setting out of cushions etc etc….)

My online research led me to MOBELLI. On their website they have a large selection of outdoor furniture – from the outdoor lounge furniture which I was looking for – to pool loungers, outdoor heaters, bar carts, dining table sets and a selection of umbrellas, but choosing furniture online is tricky, so I made a plan to pop into their showroom in Paarden Eiland to find out what options were available for us to choose from… and which ones appealed to my sense of style and budget!

After chatting to one of the salespeople on the showroom floor I soon realised that they only stock outdoor furniture that is hassle free… quality items that suit our outdoor South African lifestyle and that be enjoyed all year round, no matter the weather! All the outdoor lounge sets on the floor can be left outside, whatever the weather or location, under cover or exposed, cushions and all! The least hassle the better in my opinion!

After being a bit distracted by all the other choices for outdoor furniture on the showroom floor, I finally decided to stick to the initial reason for my visit and headed to the outdoor lounge furniture section to start whittling down my choices…

The options included “traditional” style wicker-look furniture that is made in an all-weather material which can be left outside unlike real wicker which gets damaged when left out in the elements.

The most popular style of outdoor furniture these days is the modular system that comprises of a few different sections that can be moved around and placed in various configurations to fit the space and needs you have from your outdoor furniture.

This particular set, the Palermo V2, really appealed to me as you can buy various individual units and click them together to create the shape you want. Unfortunately I wasn’t too convinced about the dark brown colour as our new colour scheme on the outside of our house is light grey with white trim. Fortunately it also comes in Ash White and I found another colour option, a light champagne, in their discount section which made it’s way quite high up on my wish list…

The next option was a more modern approach… a white aluminium 3 seater couch with light grey cushions, the Salone V2, that looks like it could be use indoors but is actually perfectly fine even when left out in the elements. The colour scheme of this one would really work well for our new space and I’m also quite keen on the powder coated aluminium as it’s zero maintenance and super light to move around. I really like this rather stylish set with it’s clean lines and comfortable cushions, plus there is also a single seater option to add in if we need extra seating. Another good option for my shortlist!

There were also “leather look” very modern styles that are made from all-weather fabric that can be wiped down and used immediately… Probably a bit too sleek for my taste but would look incredible in a modern home.

There were even a few beautiful couches that look like they belong indoors… but are in fact outdoor furniture if you can believe it! It’s incredible what progress has been made from the nasty plastic or wire outdoor furniture of the past (remember those!!)

And if space is a concern there are smaller options that still allow for a beautiful, relaxing outdoor lounging vibe…

So which one did I go for???

Which one would you have opted for??

And which lounge set do you think appealed to me most?

Well, I’m currently waiting for my new outdoor lounge furniture to be delivered… and then I will reveal all in my Room Reveal: Patio. Keep an eye out for it sometime in the next 2 months!

Contact Details

Visit the Mobelli Website for more details on the locations of each Mobelli showroom

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Images: Kathryn Rossiter

Kathryn Rossiter

Kathryn is a South African lifestyle blogger and mom of 2 who has been blogging daily for over 9 years! She writes about travel, health, beauty, fashion, decor and family... but not food (unless it's food she's eaten made by someone else) as she is a hopeless cook. She only wakes up early for 2 things... a red-eye flight to somewhere exotic and early morning game drives. She has just finished an extensive home renovation and would prefer to never see another box again. She's never met a chocolate or glass of bubbles that she didn't like!