Sturdy , design-led all-weather furniture can transform a garden space into an extra room for the summer . Tim Harrison explores Barbed
Our Patch JUNE 2016
G local PARTNERs
Barbed co-founder Graham Sterry at the funky King Street showroom our patch
FEATURED PARTNER
BARBED
Sturdy , design-led all-weather furniture can transform a garden space into an extra room for the summer . Tim Harrison explores Barbed
With space at such a premium in west London , gardens become an extra room and take the pressure off the house to enjoy the warm spell that we ’ re surely owed . Which is where Barbed comes in .
The Hammersmith shop is an outdoor furniture specialist , packed with continental designs in a bewildering range of colours .
Graham and Annie Sterry set up the business in Barnes 12 years ago , after failing to find any good-quality , well-designed furniture for their own garden . “ We ’ d done our house up , and we were looking for something really contemporary ; something that inspired us … and we just couldn ’ t find it ,” said Graham .
He and Annie source all-weather garden furniture from Scandinavia , Spain , France , Germany , Italy and Belgium , touring the furniture fairs and particularly tuning in to the concept tables and chairs produced by young graduate designers .
Four months ago they opened in King Street . “ We have a shared interest in the beauty of good design , what makes quality furniture and the aesthetics of design ,” said Graham .
For both , the classic simple elegance of the Fermob bistro folding chair – the kind you see outside every Parisian café – reigns supreme ; a stylish , sturdy and evocative piece of workmanship that hasn ’ t altered in 127 years . Hammersmith ’ s tastes are expressed in the 23 colours which Fermob furniture supplies , with bright , dramatic hues capable of lighting up darker garden corners .
Genuinely all-weather cushions , able to withstand hard use and heavy rain , are very popular , while the curved-edge cool of the Bellevie table is the top choice for local gardens .
Barbed is located at 391 King Street , Hammersmith . Call 020 8878 1994 or visit : www . barbed . co . uk
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