Bring the living room out onto the balcony

We do not make outdoor furniture, and this story is not going to pretend otherwise. What we make is furniture for a covered balcony, a veranda, or a sunroom: anywhere with a roof over it and a wall at its back. The balcony here is covered on 3 sides and open on the fourth, and its owners eat out there 8 months of the year.

Roof first, then furniture

The rule is simple. If rain can reach it, it has to be outdoor furniture. If rain cannot reach it, it can be anything you would put inside, as long as it comes back in for the winter or lives under a cover. So the seating sits against the back wall, out of the weather, and the open edge is left for standing with a drink.

Sit low, eat high

We skipped a sofa. 2 Elva dining chairs with a Pillar side table between them make a seat for 2 that is light enough to carry in when the forecast turns. A pair of Tove counter stools at the balustrade gives you somewhere to eat looking out, and they stack against the wall when the floor is needed.

Tables that move

The Saga nesting tables earn their place out here. The small one is a drinks table beside a chair, the large one a coffee table in front of 2, and together they come inside in 1 trip.

Fabric and wood under a roof

• Oak and ash are fine under cover. Wipe them down after a dusty week and oil them twice a year, the way you would a table by a sunny window.
• Walnut darkens faster in sun. Keep it in the shaded corner, or accept the color it is heading toward.
• Cushions come in at night. Not because of rain, but because of dew, which is what makes a cushion smell.
• Cover anything that stays out past May.

If your balcony is open to the sky, none of this applies, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a chair that will not last the winter.