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Made from innovative and exclusive materials, such as the rope by the Italian firm Paola Lenti or Dedon fibre by the German company of the same name, new garden furniture involves pieces of avant-garde design which are totally different to the traditional exterior formats. 

Dedon is the former Bayern Munich footballer Bobby Dekeyser’s project. He set up a high quality garden furniture company, after creating a new and especially resistant synthetic fibre which is registered as a commercial trademark called Dedon, the same name as the company, founded in 1990. Dedon fibre is washable, easy to look after and withstands the sun, salt water and abrupt temperature changes. 

Paola Lenti is an Italian company which has enjoyed a great deal of success during the last decade. It has three product lines, rugs, indoor and outdoor furniture, and for this last division, it has developed its own material, a rope which is similar to those used in sailing and derived from a high performance polyolephine thread. The rope, created by Paola Lenti in collaboration with one of the main Italian thread manufacturers, is manipulated using innovative technology in order to compose resistant frameworks in numerous different colours. 

Both companies have transformed modern green spaces with their surprising annual launches. Imaginative designs which replace the traditional deckchairs and armchairs and encourage creativity. Some Dedon collections have been awarded prizes for design, specifically Leaf, Orbit and the most recent, Ying Yang. Pieces by Paola Lenti, original circular chairs, curved deckchairs without legs, pouffes and simple, bright-coloured floor mats, make up avant-garde, elegant and distinguished settings.  

Unique and unclassifiable
The new garden items and accessories are difficult to classify because they do not fall into the classic categories of hammocks, deckchairs, chairs and armchairs. Some do not have arms, legs or backs, they are made from a single piece, usually of fibre or plastic, and are comfortable and functional, and in many cases are suitable for both inside and outside. They come in different shapes and innovative shades, and go with any kind of garden without the need for accessories. Beds, areas complete with a shelter, sunshades or pergolas, tent-shaped designs, torches, lanterns made from methacrylate with candles, candelabras, which are currently very fashionable, flowerpots…, are pieces which have turned gardens into areas full of design and creativity.  
 
The chair sculpture is a key element of this new outdoor area tendency. One example is the collection that the architect Frank Gehry has designed for the US company Heller, which is distributed in Spain by the Valencian firm Andreu World. It is a spectacular set of three cubes, a bench, an arm chair, a coffee table/seating unit, and a sofa, made from silver resin. Functional sculptured seating which works well inside and outside, and which inspired the famous architect’s latest design for the same company, the Ultra Cube, which is characterised by its shiny black, white or silver coating, and was successfully launched at the recent Milan Furniture Fair (April 2007). 

Moving away from separating ambiences and creating pieces which can be used inside and outside is a growing tendency which has been endorsed at the most recent international decoration exhibitions. The contemporary designer thinks globally and creates concepts rather than items. The limits are blurred and relaxed until they eventually disappear.

Design has burst onto the garden scene through tools, lights and accessories. The first no longer come in boring colours and there are now orange, green and yellow watering cans, spades and other tools. The second include numerous models which replace the traditional outside lights, and modern accessories represent the biggest explosion of fun and originality. Varied accessories to hang from trees, to attach to the floor or place on the lawn. Objects which come in animal shapes (birds, ladybirds, frogs…), flower and fruit shapes in order to brighten up the area and confuse real insects. Little tables, stools, candles, crockery, baskets, tablecloths, fabrics and all kinds of items created by well-known designers and young talents form part of the new collections which have helped to reinvent the garden.