Outdoor Living the Laura Ashley Way | Lifestyle

by JohnDuff

Garden furniture has found a new lease of life with the launch of the Laura Ashley Garden Furniture range. Classic design and quality garden furniture work closely together bringing elegance and style to your garden.

The stand out product in the range of Laura Ashley Garden Furniture is the Sandbanks deckchair. The frame is manufactured in the hardwood Balau and is carefully crafted to a high specification with some modern design improvements to the traditional original Edwardian deckchair.

One of the main improvements is the new click lock system for the 3 recline positions. The scourge of the deckchair consigned to history at a stroke. The positive click lock can be operated by ones foot and ensures the deckchair cannot collapse when one is in it.

The sun shade canopy is adjustable and can be moved up or down to protect ones face from the sun. The Lloyd fabric sun canopy is the reverse of the seat design which is dominated by the black coloured background with the classic Laura Ashley pattern in printed in biscuit.

The stylish and elegant footstool has a folding leg base so can be angled downwards or removed completely.

Laura Ashley is an environmentally responsible company as all the teak used in crafting their garden furniture iscertified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). The rainforests are not being depleted to make Laura Ashley Garden Furniture.

Teak is used in many products and it is said that boat decking manufacturers use 20 times more teak than that used by the garden furniture industry. What is important is that all teak used in consumer products should come from managed plantations.

Because the FSC is an independent organisation, it is free from influence of governments, forestry owners and producers, unlike some other notable schemes (Perum Perhutani is run by the Indonesian Government and the Tropical Forestry Trust has B and Q as a founding member).

The FSC organisation not only ensures that all the teak certified comes from managed environmentally sustainable plantations, but also that the workers in those plantations have access to proper healthcare, education and safety equipment.

By using FSC certified products, you can be sure that you are not funding illegal govenrment operations which seek to strip a country of its natural resources for its own financial gain. Countries such as Burma, which have a great deal of naturally ocurring teak, are destroying their natural resources without ensuring the sustainability of the forests.

According to John Duff, director of Garden Furniture Scotland Ltd, only two countries worldwide have FSC certified teak whih is suitable for manufacturing Garden Furniture. Mature teak is durable, However, many producers sell garden furniture made from immature teak which has both light and dark areas in the same piece of timber.

Also in the range of Laura Ashley Garden Furniture supplied by Garden Furniture Scotland Ltd, is a stunning 6 seat table and chair set. The Chelsea Set is sourced from sustainable materials and is FSC certified.

The Laura Ashley Chelsea FSC Teak Set is delightful and seats 6 people. The table extends from 132-180cm and cleverly has 2 leaf extensions. The design is great as it has an auto slide mechanism, which as one extends one side, so the other side opens as well. By having two extensions, either side of the central spar, the table is very flexible, and the parasol can be used in the centre of the table in whichever configuration you have it.

Laura Ashley's Chelsea teak folding armchairs can be stored and moved with ease. Their beautiful warm hue is set off by the luxury seatpad cushions in Laura Ashley's Lloyd fabric on one side and Laura Ashley's Biscuit on the reverse.

The double skinned, teak stemmed parasol compliments the table and chairs perfectly. This parasol is crafted from FSC teak, so like the table and chairs is contributing to protecting the environment. The double skin of the canopy is a layer of Lloyd, backed by a layer of Biscuit. the two together create a beautiful dappled effect upon looking up into the underside. It is a unique look and one which is not to be missed.

The range has something for everyone, from traditional teak garden benches, to contemporary aluminium and glass dining sets. With the Laura Ashley name, you can be sure of quality.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

John of Garden Furniture Scotland introduced the elegant Laura Ashley Garden Furniture range.