Choosing a garden armchair for your outdoor space
A garden armchair invites a different kind of time outside. Where a dining chair keeps you at the table, a garden armchair gives you somewhere to settle, properly, with a view of the garden rather than across it. The choice between designs comes down to how you want to use the space and the character you want the chair to bring to it.
The majority of Neptune's garden armchairs are crafted from all-weather wicker, a woven resin fibre that has the warmth and texture of natural rattan but is engineered specifically for outdoor use. Within that material, the designs vary considerably in character. The Harrington has a lattice wicker weave and a classic profile that suits both contemporary and traditional gardens. The Compton takes a more relaxed approach, with a cushioned seat and back that make it well-suited to longer, unhurried afternoons outside. The Purbeck offers a gently curved, arched back and sloping arms for a welcoming, settled feel, while the Longmeadow takes the most contemporary position in the range, its minimal lattice design and generous proportions making it one of the most comfortable outdoor lounge chairs in the collection. The Hayburn is the most sociable of the wicker designs, its open, sweeping sides making it ideal for gathering around a firepit or creating a relaxed seating arrangement where conversation flows easily. Its wider loveseat version offers a generous perch for one or a comfortable seat for two.
For those drawn to natural timber, the Kew garden armchair combines a solid teak frame with handwoven all-weather rattan panels, bringing a mid-century character and a more architectural presence to outdoor spaces. The Cheltenham takes a different approach entirely, its galvanised steel frame and scrolled, fretwork design rooted in the Regency ironwork of its namesake town. Both designs sit comfortably within a lounge arrangement or alongside a garden dining table, depending on how the space is used.
Materials built for life outdoors
The appeal of wicker garden furniture has endured for good reason. The woven texture brings warmth and a natural character to outdoor spaces that metal and timber alone cannot provide, and it has a lightness that makes it easy to move and arrange. Natural rattan, the plant-based material that inspired the wicker aesthetic, has been used in furniture-making for over two thousand years. Neptune's all-weather wicker takes that same visual quality and rebuilds it for outdoor performance. Rather than natural plant fibres, it is a woven resin fibre engineered to resist water, UV light and the drying effects of prolonged outdoor exposure, without drying out, flaking or fading over time. The result is a garden armchair that looks and feels like wicker but is built to live outside year after year without the maintenance that natural rattan would require.
On some designs, the all-weather wicker is woven around a lightweight aluminium frame, which adds structural rigidity while keeping the overall weight manageable. The Kew takes a different approach, pairing a solid teak frame chosen for its naturally high oleoresin content and inherent resistance to water and pests with handwoven all-weather rattan panels for a design that brings the character of both materials together. Neptune's garden furniture story began with durability and timelessness at its core, and that same principle runs through every material decision made in this collection.
