Page 10 | AIBU to despise outdoor sofa and coffee table sets?

Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear · 29/01/2021 10:59

I don't like the look of them and much prefer wooden tables and chairs. However we have one because they are much comfier to sit on for hours and we like to enjoy being in our garden.

UnityUnited · 29/01/2021 10:59

I have logs, tree stumps and branches piled up in a corner of the garden and the wildlife go mad for it.

Jeremyironseverything · 29/01/2021 10:59

Well if they have a nice 4 seater table and chairs because it looks better* then they are going without the experience of being comfy on that bigger set they want.
For some people it's about the experience, not the looks. You are being judgy and snobby if you can't see why other people may make different choices to you.

Bluntness100 · 29/01/2021 11:00

The gardens which strike a chord with me are those that encourage wildlife, those that work with nature and those that have logs, for instance, under which insects can make their homes. Gardens are outside and as such are not “rooms

Eh why can’t folks have both? You do know having natural borders, logs or any other stuff doesn’t naturally preclude you from also having a sofa set 😂😂😂

Jeremyironseverything · 29/01/2021 11:01

That was to fitz

SusannaSpider · 29/01/2021 11:02

Why someone would smother their garden with bright green plastic when grass is so much more attractive and better for the planet, is beyond me.

We have a large concrete back yard. Our plan was to dig some of it up and turn it into a garden, but most of it is permanently in shadow and the previous owner had concreted it because nothing would grow but moss.
We had pondered artificial turfing some of it. In reality we probably won't, but artificial turf has its uses.

PattyPan · 29/01/2021 11:02

@shinynewapple2021 high! They are the definition of energy inefficiency. Put a jumper on!

FitzsimmonsMarvel · 29/01/2021 11:02

@Jeremyironseverything again where did I say I can’t see why others make different choices to me? It’s quite bizarre how just expressing my personal opinion has left you frothing at the mouth!

UnityUnited · 29/01/2021 11:03

You can definitely have both. I have a wildlife pond and log piles and an Aldi Rattan set to watch all the wildlife from in another corner.

Graffitiqueen · 29/01/2021 11:04

My garden has a shady pond with loads of wildlife, surrounded my mossy stones and a corner sofa set, which is the best thing I ever bought for the garden. Love it!

UnityUnited · 29/01/2021 11:05

@SusannaSpider Make a woodland garden! Put down bark and plant lots of shade loving plants. Ask a local tree surgeon for stumps they don’t need and dot them around. That would look wonderful.

SoupDragon · 29/01/2021 11:05

having borders lined with stones picked from Atlantic beaches on near the paths on mountains.

So, you say you like gardens that "encourage wildlife, those that work with nature" whilst helping to destroy the natural environment by taking stones from beaches or mountains...? 😂

PattyPan · 29/01/2021 11:06

@SusannaSpider moss plays an important role in the environment! You can get grass seed mixes designed for shady areas, but I think moss lawns look really cool.

Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear · 29/01/2021 11:06

I have a wildlife pond, wildflower areas and I leave twigs etc in beds over the winter for animals and insects. I also have a rattan sofa. I love sitting on it and watching the huge number of bees that come to my wildflowers.

Nanny0gg · 29/01/2021 11:06

@1950swallpaper

I don't know why I have taken such a dislike to them. Maybe it is because it is "indoor" furniture but outside. Maybe it is because they are all made out of grey plastic wicker which is not environmentally friendly. Maybe it is because I find them very "show-offy keeping up with the Jones' smug". Maybe it is because I know if I had one, I'd find bringing the cushions in from the rain a pain in the bum. I dunno but I really find them tacky and vulgar. Am I on my own?

Despise?

Dislike is your preference but I don't understand how you can despise inanimate objects.

Bluntness100 · 29/01/2021 11:07

@UnityUnited

You can definitely have both. I have a wildlife pond and log piles and an Aldi Rattan set to watch all the wildlife from in another corner.

Exactly. Gardens are to be used. It’s batshitery to suggest you should have garden solely for the wildlife and as humans we shouldn’t be sitting out there.

My garden has a stream, two wood stores, log piles, mulch on the borders, a compost heap, deer, squirrels, rabbits, dragonflies, toads. You name it it’s out there. Does t mean I’m not allowed to sit out there on whatever I choose to sit on or eat my dinner out there. It’s not a friggen nature reserve 😂

Janegrey333 · 29/01/2021 11:09

@SoupDragon

having borders lined with stones picked from Atlantic beaches on near the paths on mountains.

So, you say you like gardens that "encourage wildlife, those that work with nature" whilst helping to destroy the natural environment by taking stones from beaches or mountains...? 😂

Just the odd one - hardly a cart-load.

sundowners · 29/01/2021 11:09

We have a lovely and so comfy- rattan sofa/dining sofa and table set. It's been a gamechanger in how much we use the garden and can invite people over. Have so many memories of having friends over when lockdown eased and we could all hang out last summer, all of us relaxed and so comfy on it, dinner/ BBQ then drinks well into the evening. No one wanted to move.

juliainthedeepwater · 29/01/2021 11:10

Just sounds like you’re not an outdoorsy person, OP. Some people like to sit inside, others like fresh air. Guess I can see the appeal of fresh air in a pandemic.

Janegrey333 · 29/01/2021 11:12

[quote PattyPan]@SusannaSpider moss plays an important role in the environment! You can get grass seed mixes designed for shady areas, but I think moss lawns look really cool.[/quote]
They do. Camomile lawns do also. I do love mediaeval symmetry in gardens particularly if you live in a medieval village, as we do.

UnityUnited · 29/01/2021 11:12

@Bluntness100 Your garden sounds idyllic. Mine is small but I make the most of every inch of it. Reading this thread makes me so happy because it’s lovely to hear how people enjoy their gardens whatever it is they choose to park their bottom on.

Sillysop92 · 29/01/2021 11:13

I love ours we use them all year round (except in the rain!) with the firepit, nice and cosy, it’s like having an extra room. Was great when we could only have visitors in the garden last year. We sat out on Xmas Day toasting marshmallows and drinking mulled wine. We bought covers to protect them when not in use. Cushions kept indoors are not are issue. So I think YABU!

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 29/01/2021 11:15

*The point, surely, is that the rattan sofa, table, etc - be they “real” or plastic - are ubiquitous. It makes you a follower not someone who is an individual with taste.

The gardens which strike a chord with me are those that encourage wildlife, those that work with nature and those that have logs, for instance, under which insects can make their homes. Gardens are outside and as such are not “rooms”.*

Well, i warn you, this may make you piss your pants with excitement, but when we got our new sofa set in the summer, a load of what I'm guessing we're wood bees found the holes in the metal legs and made that their new home. They would fly back and forward for hours, even while we were out sitting on the furniture! So my garden sofa set is definitely doing its bit for the insects. It's still out there now, they may still be I it (not sure what bees do in winter), and I haven't had to steal any natural resources from beaches or woods to do it either! Win win!

Janegrey333 · 29/01/2021 11:15

@Bluntness100

The gardens which strike a chord with me are those that encourage wildlife, those that work with nature and those that have logs, for instance, under which insects can make their homes. Gardens are outside and as such are not “rooms

Eh why can’t folks have both? You do know having natural borders, logs or any other stuff doesn’t naturally preclude you from also having a sofa set 😂😂😂

I wouldn’t want to ruin the effect by having a “sofa set”. Less is more and all that.

BigWoollyJumpers · 29/01/2021 11:16

Cheap? Mine cost a fking fortune. But as we didn't go on holiday last year, they were the best buy EVER. We used them every single day from March until September. Ours are treated bamboo..... do we get a prize for being environmentally sustainable? But yes, they are a four seater sofa (very comfortable and you can lie out on it), two chairs, two footstools and a table. Oh, and two large umbrella's at each end of the sofa.

Many pp's having palpatations no doubt.

The rest of our garden is large trees inc. Oak and Ash, a pond, beds of native shrubs, and native plants, areas of dead wood and leaves, a compost heap etc etc etc. We have an incredible number of birds, reptiles and insects...... I am at one with nature, and with my outdoor seating set .