Outdoor Essentials: the furniture that finishes an outdoor living room

outdoor tables and stools

Imagine your family room was furnished with only a few armchairs, a sofa and perhaps an ottoman. Where would you place a lamp? Or set a drink or a book?

While tabletops and serving spaces are must-haves for the great indoors, they’re often overlooked in outdoor living areas. So if your alfresco space is feeling a little less than inviting, consider these finishing furniture pieces that will make any patio, deck or porch feel like a room where you can settle in.

Coffee Tables

Want to ground a seating area, boost its function and make it feel like a destination, all in one swift step? Add a coffee table.

There are styles that would look just as comfortable indoors, like our Eloise Tables, and those that approach the level of artwork, such as the Root Table. Others, like the Mirada Three-piece Coffee Table and the Pasadena Teak Coffee Table, can even split apart to cater to different seating configurations.

Our Brooks Coffee Tables feature a removable beverage tub that keeps your favorite drinks within easy reach.


Side Tables

This is one furnishing that you may not appreciate fully until it isn’t there – and you’re left holding your drink in your lap.

Like their coffee-style cousins, side (or end) tables such as Sonora can put a tabletop in reach of every outdoor seat. If space is an issue, designs like our Teak Nesting Tables and Harper Storage Side Table pack a lot of function into a small footprint.


Accent Stools

We love accent stools. And here’s why: They’re the ultimate multifunctioning outdoor furniture piece. When positioned to the side of a seat, they’re end tables or occasional seating. Cluster two or three together in the center of a seating area, and you’ve got a pseudo coffee table.

And lest we need more reasons to adore these lightweight heavy-hitters of outdoor design, let’s not forget they’re accents, after all. Each can be a means to introduce fun colors and shapes into your space.


Buffets and Serving Carts

To truly make an outdoor room feel like its own entity – not tethered to the kitchen for drink refills and serving supplies – you’ll want a buffet or serving cart with a built-in beverage tub and plenty of storage space.

Like their indoor counterparts, stationary pieces like the contemporary Luca Bar Cabinet and chevron-slatted Westport Console go beyond providing serving surfaces and stowing bottles and glasses. They become critical elements of your outdoor room’s style and layout. Or, if your outdoor space boasts more than one “room,” consider our Teak Bar Cart or Ultimate Serving Cart. Their wheeled designs make it easy to set up a serving station wherever you decide to gather.

With everything you need close at hand, expect to spend a lot more time living in your outdoor room. Shop our entire collection of tables and buffets and serving carts to find a style that meets your needs.

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