Relax into summer: traditional deckchairs

New Colours available on DYG - traditional garden deckchairs, made in the UK from beech and cotton.

For anyone feeling a little nostalgic about the past, they will be happy to hear that one of its most charming features, the deck chair, is alive and folding in a range of cheery colours.  Well designed garden furniture, constructed from natural materials and made in our part of the world, is unfortunately not readily available. Most garden furniture these days is made of hardwood, plastic or woven polypropelene and the vast majority of it is produced a long way from home. Luckily, we have found a factory in the UK that uses two simple materials: beech and cotton canvas. They make their chairs to the proper design. They are supremely comfortable and allow you to sit at a number of angles. They fold into something about an inch thick, so they can be stored in the tightest of spaces - and they look fabulous. (Click here to purchase...)

As a van driver and scavenger, my eyes always scan over every skip I pass, and last year I was fortunate to spot three lovely deck chairs outside a smart house in Dublin 4. These chairs were the real article and reminded me of happy summers as a child when the whole family sat down on a Sunday to read the papers in the back garden. What we have on our site is much the same thing: built in Bournemouth in a factory which employs people with disabilities, beautifully finished and made of fine materials.