The best garden chairs for all the family..
Lounging about in the garden is one of the British summer’s greatest pleasures. It doesn’t matter if the lawn needs a trim, if there are a few dandelions poking their fluffy clocks out of the borders, or if the washing needs hanging out – the sun is shining and we’re having a moment.
Asking around the office, it became clear that where we like to lounge about doesn’t vary much, either – it’s always, if there is one, on the lawn. Small lawn, big lawn, whatever – feeling the grass beneath bare feet is a summer winner.
What does vary however is the type of lawn chair we prefer to use. So we did a bit of research and this is what we learned:
Best garden chair for children
Actually, this isn’t a chair at all. It’s a blanket. A waterproof backed picnic blanket, to be precise. Children don’t need to be restrained to a chair – they get fiddly and fussy and need to fidget about. Give them a blanket, a few books or toys, and boom – they can roll about, lie and study the grass for mini beasts, rush off and race about then flop back down and chill again… Investing in a decent picnic blanket will provide hours, days and even years of relax and chill for the smallest members of the family. And if you add a small cool box, with a bowl of fresh fruit and a bottle of water to snack on, they unwittingly make healthy eating choices too. Win win!
Best garden chair for teens
Teens are still a little puppy-like in their behaviours, needing to sprawl and fidget about rather than sit up like a grown-up, so consider a beanbag chair. Beanbag chairs are incredibly versatile, so suit the needs of a teen who may want to sit and read (their phone, obvs), recline and doze or sprawl and snack.
Fascinatingly, bean bag chairs are a popular choice for therapists working with anxious children and teens – and even adults. They are known for relaxing the stressed mind by regulating emotions and calming the nervous system. It’s to do with the way you feel like you’re being held, hugged, which is known to slow the heart rate and decrease the level of the stress hormone, cortisol.
They’re also pretty useful as they can go up to the bedroom, and down to the lawn with ease, so no concerns about storage.
Best garden chair for adults
The best garden chair for adults very much depends upon what else is happening when you’re in the chair – is it just you, chilling out, or will there be more people, with drinks and snacks and chats? If it’s the latter, we recommend the director’s chair. These are so easy to store, as they fold flat, but unlike a traditional deck chair they are sitting up chairs, which is better for conversation, sipping wine and, indeed, getting out of again.
If it’s the former, and it’s something just for you – well, the choices are endless.
Swing chairs
Did you know that the gentle motion of rocking your body in a swing chair releases endorphins, which help boost your mood and reduce stress? It’s a double whammy when you do this in a garden, too, as being outside in fresh air and surrounded by greenery is also known to help relieve stress by producing endorphins. We say go go swing chairs.
Deck chairs
We do love a deck chair. There’s something very nostalgic about a deck chair, and you can find really beautiful ones today, with floral or striped canvas that you can remove and keep dry over the winter to extend the life of the chair. A drawback is that they’re not so easy to get out of as into, unless you have a great core. While this might actually encourage you to engage your core a little more, it’s unlikely those friends and family with a free bus pass will have abs of steel, so don’t let granny sit down.
Reclining chairs
A garden classic and for good reason. A recliner lets you sit up to sip your Pimms, or stretch out and present yourself to the sun like an offering to the gods. Eternally popular, you can pick these up at garden centres, DIY stores and online for a very reasonable cost. The drawback is that they’re not a sun bed. Once you’ve sufficiently toasted your front, there’s always an urge to roll onto your tummy and toast your back – but as these are chairs, there’s always that uncomfortable, if not risky for those with a dodgy back, dip in the middle. If sunbathing is your objective, invest in a sun bed.
Eddie – Friday 11th August 2023 (Picture used from Callingdon Road, Chorlton).
