Why an outdoor console table is this summer’s hottest garden trend
, The Times
Eagle-eyed design-lovers will have noticed the outdoor console table in With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s new(ish) Netflix documentary. In fact, there are two: a vintage sideboard layered with terracotta pots; and an antique console styled with decorative objets. While the rest of the show is completely out of touch with reality, the rustic Montecito farmhouse in which the show is filmed is annoyingly on-point, as the outdoor console table is this summer’s hottest garden trend.
Indeed, we’re continuing to invest in our outdoor spaces just like we would our interiors — Klarna, the shopping and payments network, saw a 365 per cent increase in searches for outdoor furniture in March versus February, with a 13 per cent year-on-year uplift in category interest — and a console for the patio or terrace is the crowning glory.
Farely console, £2,331, arteriorshome.com
Alex Bridgman, the chief executive of the furniture retailer Bridgman, says: “The outdoor console table is a natural extension of our growing desire to create fully realised garden ‘rooms’ — spaces that are as curated and comfortable as our homes — and is the perfect finishing touch to an alfresco living space.”
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How to use a console table outdoors
Katerina Kantalis, who runs a design studio in London and specialises in creating outdoor spaces with a Mediterranean vibe, created a show garden that won gold at last year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival starring — you guessed it — an outdoor console table.
Katerina Kantalis’s show garden, which won gold at last year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, featured a console table
KATE HOLLINGSWORTH
“It’s a versatile addition to your garden that can be used in multiple ways, from a gardening station for storing tools to a decorative display for placing flowers and candles,” she explains. “Otherwise, they can be used for outdoor dining prep — serving drinks and snacks during lunch or dinner, for example — or simply as a potting table.”
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Whatever you use yours for, Katerina advises incorporating both rustic and durable materials to ensure your outdoor console table stands up to the elements — oak for a natural, rustic look and steel for a sturdy frame. She says: “These materials bring both texture and focal interest, adding to the overall aesthetic of your garden.”
Marble-top console, £750, gardenartplus.com
So, where to shop for an outdoor console table? Garden Art, which specialises in outdoor antiques and ornaments, sells a gorgeous 19th-century marble-top console table for £750 with a distressed surface and cast-iron base.
Arteriors, Delano outdoor console, £7,147, arteriorshome.com
Arteriors has more contemporary options in the Melt, Farely and the Delano, which is crafted from willow-stained teak and features a sawtooth motif.
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Barker & Stonehouse Calabria teak garden console, reduced to £249, barkerandstonehouse.co.uk
Elsewhere, Grythyttan Stalmobler, the Swedish outdoor furniture specialist, sells a tiered design comprising a galvanised steel frame and two oiled oak surfaces (£975, hollowaysofludlow.com). Barker & Stonehouse has the Calabria outdoor console table with a teak-wood frame and grey-stone top, for £249.
Forma&Cemento Red Brick console, £6,635, artemest.com
Finally, for something modern and minimalist, the outdoor console tables by Forma&Cemento from Artemest feature a sand-blasted concrete tabletop and base with delicate hand-painted finishes — the Brick and Fir colourways are our favourites (£6,635, artemest.com).
How to decorate an outdoor console table
Whatever style of table you have in your garden, don’t forget to layer with accessories like you would a console in your hallway: think sculptural vases, rechargeable lamps — preferably two, one at either end — potted herbs and flowers, an outdoor runner or rug beneath and even a mirror on exterior brickwork behind.
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