Apartment living: maximising views without overcrowding the space

Apartment and unit living is steadily increasing around the country, especially in Sydney. Here, we have a large population and blocks of units are being developed in many suburbs. First home buyers often start in units for their affordability and spatial attributes. Also there are many baby boomers who are shifting their living situation to apartments and units as they make the decision to downsize.

With this compartmentalised living, there is a growing demand for outdoor furniture that is suitable for a smaller space. Yet this furniture needs to remain both functional and stylish. Apartment and unit living can impose restrictions when it comes to what can fit, where it can fit it and how many can be seated – a new problem that wasn’t so apparent with larger homes.

However, this does not mean resorting to low quality outdoor furniture. As we will see, you really can "have your cake and eat it too"!

Do I really have to compromise now that I have a restricted space?

There are some incredible views in many of these new development locations. There is such stunning scenery in Australia - particularly the harbour and city skylines. But there are also beautiful bays, rivers, beaches and stunning bushland that are peppered across the country.

There is no need to compromise when it comes to outdoor furniture in Sydney. We have a few tips and tricks for maximising a small space to maintain your beautiful scenic view. There is nothing like lounging on great outdoor furniture, sipping on a cuppa or a glass of vino and enjoying the amazing view.  It is great news that this is certainly not out of reach.

What can Woodbury offer to achieve quality, style, and practicality with outdoor furniture?

There are quite a few collections of outdoor furniture within the Woodbury range that are designed for tight spaces. A good starting place is to work out your depth and capacity as this is often the biggest restriction.

You may have already started searching for furniture on line or in retail stores and have found that a lot of table options are either 100cm or 120cm wide. When you take into consideration another 100cm on each side to allow for chairs, that means you need around 300cm available in depth and this is often not possible.

This is where Woodbury outdoor furniture may be able to help.

We have 85cm wide tables in both our Classic Plantation Teak Extension Range, as well as our Reclaimed Teak Miami Collection.

For particularly narrow balconies, it may be that the the amount of space saved using a slim width table is still not enough.  In this case, the space can be amplified further by pairing the table with bench seats on one or both sides of the table. Woodbury has bench seats available in a few different sizes, some will allow for storing the whole way under the table, while others will recess a little once they meet the leg of the table.

Regardless of which one is chosen; it can save over 150cm in space. With outdoor furniture and apartment living – every centimetre is precious.

The Linden Teak Bench Setting

How can I make the most of my beautiful views? 

We’ve come across customers who have spectacular views and do not necessarily need excessive outdoor furniture to comfortably seat many people. For them, we like to suggest the idea of pushing the table right up against the balcony wall and have seating on one side only, as well as possibly having seats on the ends of the table. While this eliminates 3 or 4 potential seats, doing so allows them to appreciate the views without the obstruction of guests dining on the other side of the table.  It also optimises the space. Again, they have potentially saved over 150cm in depth with a small adjustment to their outdoor furniture setup. 

Another idea based on this concept, is a console table. We have a console table in our Vinegard collection of outdoor furniture which is available in two sizes- 180cm and 240cm. It’s only 40cm deep and is perfect to pop snacks and beverages on whilst soaking in the gorgeous scenery on offer.

While traditionally console tables aren’t designed to be seated at, we find this to be a great solution that we can offer our customers.

None of these options will work for me, what now?

While we have presented a few options, there are always going to be spaces that will not work with what we have put forward. For customers who are still keen to use plantation or reclaimed teak, which is always the recommended and best material to use for outdoor furniture – we pride ourselves on being able to offer customisation and top-tier service for our Woodbury customers.  

Give us a call, send us an email, or pop in to one of our two Sydney showrooms to discuss what outdoor furniture you are seeking. You can present us with a concept, a picture for inspiration or some dimensions of what you are hoping to achieve.  We will liaise with our designers and production team who are likely to be able to solve your need.

There are no obligations or consultation fees for this and no custom designed outdoor furniture will be put into production until it is fully approved by the customer.