Defined as having lasting significance or worth, classic outdoor furniture can be readily identified in the designs on offer today from high quality manufacturers such as Barlow Tyrie and Alexander Rose.

Barlow Tyrie Logo
Circular wooden Table with 4 armchairs from barlow tyrie

Barlow Tyrie is almost legendary in the world of garden furniture. They are the world's oldest manufacturer of teak furniture with a history that stretches back for more than a century. With skilfully crafted designs, their impressive range includes seats, tables, benches and loungers. The Adirondack chair was originally designed over a century ago, and the Newport rocking chair could be pictured on many a New England porch. Similar attention to style and comfort is continued throughout their collection, designs are both practical and handsome with the use of teak emphasizing natural elegance. Perhaps the most graceful pieces are the Capri sun loungers and the award winning Commodore sun lounger. These will grace any poolside, decking or terrace and have been inspired by the classic ship loungers. With or without wheels, and adjustable to suit different tastes, you can easily imagine stars of stage and screen sunbathing on them while crossing the ocean. There is a wide choice of high-backed dining sets including Barlow Tyrie's Arundel and Monaco furniture that will effortlessly enhance any dinner party. All these Barlow Tyrie designs are described as modern classics, styled for comfort, practicality and durability.

Alexander Rose Logo
square wooden table with 4 chairs

Classic loungers are also produced by Alexander Rose, crafted from cornis, a reddish brown tropical South American hardwood. Also in the range are several sturdily built benches such as Broadfield and the appropriately named St George that are quintessentially English, although the timber is obtained from FSC sources in Uruguay. The New England garden furniture collection features matt white Broadfield benches together with other notable styles, and there are also versions in mahogany, roble and acacia, a chestnut brown timber with a brushed finish. The latter two collections also contain the wonderful Roble Steamer Chair so that you can imagine yourself as a thirties film star reclining on one while crossing the Atlantic in one of the great liners. Alexander Rose's Cordial range features classic designs and also boasts a fabulous selection of Monte Carlo-themed themed outdoor furniture collections that ooze comfort and charm, using hand-twisted rattan to recreate the feel of a bygone era. Mediterranean summers can be replicated when watching the setting sun in these lightweight but hard-wearing and weather-resistant pieces woven by hand using weatherproof and UV-resistant resin wicker.

Wooden swing bench with canopy

Other Manufacturers

Classic furniture isn't confined to Barlow Tyrie and Alexander Rose, over the last twenty years, Westminster Furniture has also earned a reputation for elegance and style. Employing synthetic resin and fabrics, their woven range of dining furniture is handmade by craftsmen and designed for comfort, practicality and durability. Rowlinson Garden Furniture are a market-leading timber products company that manufacture their own range of garden furniture, Charles Taylor's Dorset Swing Seats are wonderfully comfortable swaying back and forth under a green or burgundy canopy, and Signature Weave make marvellous dining sets that are expertly crafted from two tone brushed weave. Although you might concentrate on timber and weave classics that have been around for a very long time, don't forget that enduring designs can emerge from any decade to play their part in evolving classic furniture. All the companies that have been mentioned have ranges that feature cutting edge contemporary furniture that stand a very good chance of becoming classics of the future if they are sufficiently well designed and constructed to stand the test of time.

All suppliers of timber furniture are aware of their environmental responsibilites and the damage caused by illegal logging, that's why the wood used by manufacturers of this classic furniture is either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified or from a FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) licensed source and has been carefully tracked through the supply chain.