How To Choose The Right Size Outdoor Lounge For Your Space
The most common outdoor furniture mistake is not choosing the wrong style. It is choosing the wrong size. The setting arrives, it goes outside, and it either crowds the space or gets lost in it. Neither is comfortable. Neither looks right.
Getting the size right before you buy is a straightforward process once you know what to measure and what the numbers actually mean.
Start with the footprint, not the seating count
Outdoor lounge settings are typically described by seating count: a four seater, a six seater, a seven piece setting. These numbers are useful for understanding capacity but they do not tell you what the furniture actually occupies on the ground.
Before you look at seating count, measure your outdoor space and establish how much floor area you are working with. A general rule: leave at least 60 to 80 centimetres of clearance on all sides of the setting where people will move past it. Around a coffee table, leave 40 to 50 centimetres between the table edge and the front of the sofa for comfortable seating and easy movement.
What the proportions need to do
An outdoor lounge setting needs to seat the people who will use it comfortably. It needs to leave enough room around it to move without the space feeling tight. And it needs to be proportionate to the outdoor area so the setting reads as belonging in the space rather than being squeezed into it.
A small lounge in a large outdoor area looks marooned. A large lounge in a confined courtyard makes the space feel like a showroom. The right setting sits in the space and lets the space breathe around it.
Pictured: Noosa White Outdoor Corner Lounge showing furniture scale in an alfresco space. Source from lavitafurniture.com.au.
Measuring for an L-shaped or corner configuration
Corner outdoor lounges and modular settings configured in an L-shape are among the most popular choices for alfresco areas because they use corner space efficiently and provide more seating than a straight sofa of the same depth.
When measuring for a corner configuration, note that the two arms of the L extend outward from a corner point. Most corner outdoor settings measure between 220 and 280 centimetres along each arm. The outdoor lounge settings at Lavita Outdoor include the footprint dimensions for each configuration. Bring those measurements to your outdoor space before making a decision.
Balconies and small courtyards
Smaller outdoor spaces require more discipline, not less furniture. The temptation is to fill the space. The better approach is to select one piece that works well in the space and leave enough room around it to use it comfortably.
For a balcony under 15 square metres, a two or three seat sofa with a single low coffee table is typically the most functional arrangement. A modular setting that can be reconfigured is worth considering in small spaces. The ability to remove a section or rearrange the configuration as the use of the space changes is a genuine practical advantage.
Think about how the space will be used
The right size also depends on how you use your outdoor space, not just how big it is. A household that entertains regularly in a large outdoor area needs meaningful seating capacity. A couple who use the alfresco area primarily as a quiet outdoor room need something different.
The alfresco furniture range at Lavita Outdoor includes settings across a range of scales. The showroom team can help you work through your specific measurements and use case.
Come and see the settings in person with your measurements in hand. It is significantly easier to assess scale in a showroom than from a product page. Find your nearest showroom.
