To the uninitiated, the garden centre is the reliable if unremarkable domain of weekend plant enthusiasts. But look beyond the secateurs and the seed packets, and you’ll discover what professional stylists have known for years: garden centres are one of the most rewarding hunting grounds for distinctive home furnishings.
Unlike the homeware stores that manufacture rusticity through overpriced woven baskets and ornamental scissors, the appeal of the garden centre is its lack of pretence – it offers the real thing at a fraction of the cost.
What you find there can look twice as charming indoors as it does out. A galvanised trough intended for animal feed becomes a surprising fireside log basket, wooden crates double as under-bed storage, and glass lanterns can as easily sit beside a bathtub as hang in a rose arbour.
The trick is to approach these pieces with fresh eyes, seeing beyond intended purpose to inherent beauty and function. Stylists make a living doing just that.
Next time you pass by a garden centre, arm yourself with an open mind, a sense of creativity and our handy list of the best garden centre finds that work indoors…
Styling by Marie Nichols. Photography by Rachel Whiting.
Terracotta pots make for a simple and rustic centrepiece
Six garden centre finds worth taking home1. Lighting
Hurricane lanterns with real or battery-powered candles (these are our favourites), create pools of warm light and are often sold in varying sizes that work well grouped together in a hallway or by a back door.
Galvanised pendant lights intended for potting sheds look great strung up above a kitchen island in a row of three or four, and even outdoor string lights can weave through bookcases to illuminate a reading nook.
Rachel Whiting
In the kitchen of stylist Marie Nichols, pots and planters sit alongside a silver watering can and outdoor bench.
2. Small storage
Vintage-style seed boxes with compartmentalised interiors organise everything from jewellery to craft supplies and weathered wooden crates stack to create a bespoke shelving system.
Terracotta pots can hold kitchen utensils, pens, pencils and bathroom accessories, or you can fill the bottom with sand for a simple, heat-resistant vessel for burning incense.
3. Trugs
The Sussex trug, that quintessentially English basket designed for harvesting fruit and vegetables, has a shallow profile and sturdy frame that excels at organising.
Use it in a hallway to corral letters and keys, in a living room to hold magazines or firewood, or as an elegant caddy for rolled-up hand towels in a guest bathroom. It makes for an easy centrepiece too, displaying seasonal arrangements on a dining table.
Styling Marie Nichols, Photography Rachel Whiting 4. Galvanised containers
Galvanised metal and zinc pieces are virtually indestructible and will acquire an attractive patina with time and use. Small feed troughs can be used to hold a little windowsill herb garden and larger ones can be filled with ice for outdoor entertaining.
Florist buckets, originally designed for cut flower displays, make superb wastepaper baskets or umbrella stands. Even metal plant saucers can become serving trays for drinks.
Brent Darby
An outdoor pot holds a collection of antique canes and old garden scissors and a jute bag are displayed on a run of hooks.
5. Potting tables
Robust wooden potting tables designed to withstand outdoor conditions and heavy use make exceptional console tables, bathroom vanities and even kitchen islands. They are often made with visible joinery – a detail that would cost an arm and a leg in a traditional furniture stores – and practical features such as built-in shelving, draws, rails and hooks.
Styling Marie Nichols, Photography Rachel Whiting
A repurposed garden sieve holds a floral display. These can be mounted on walls, too.
6. Gardening accessories
The more charming gardening tools such as cast-iron scissors, brass thermometers and rain gauges, slate plant labels and spools of natural twine can be dotted around the home as simple decorative accessories.
If you overdo it, it can all look a bit staged, so use them sparingly on a windowsill, tucked onto a bookshelf or placed in a ceramic bowl.
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Rachel Edwards is the Style & Interiors Editor for Country Living and House Beautiful, covering all things design and decoration, with a special interest in small space inspiration, vintage and antique shopping, and anything colour related. Her work has been extensively translated by Elle Japan and Elle Decor Spain. Rachel has spent over a decade in the furniture and homeware industry as a writer, FF&E designer, and for many years as Marketing Manager at cult design retailer, Skandium. She has a BA in French and Italian from Royal Holloway and an MA in Jounalism from Kingston University. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelaed
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