Seeking a stylish yet flexible seating solution for alfresco lunches, dinners and parties? Wish your guests to feel relaxed and at home? Never quite sure how many people are going to rock up?!
Armadillo Sun’s Monaco range, consisting of standalone and interlocking luxury bean bag chairs and ottomans, solves all these challenges. The modular pieces can be arranged to create a bespoke seating area that suits your outside space – whatever size and shape it is. It works perfectly around a focal point such as a fire pit, or if you have an outdoor room with a view. And, when everyone’s gone home, it’s a blissfully comfortable place to relax and put your feet up!
The Monaco Modular collection of bean bag chairs is an innovative, contemporary addition to your garden that’s not just somewhere to sit, but a talking point.
The ingenious interlock design of our Monaco furniture
Each piece features a ‘D’ ring which allows you to connect the chairs and ottomans together in multiple combinations. It’s ideal for informal dining – it’s easy to add extra seats for surprise guests, or take them away again to avoid a ghostly, empty chair! Create a cosy seating area for the family, or a substantial one for entertaining on a grand scale. Monaco ottomans are your flexible friends – they can attach to a bean bag chair, transforming it into a lounger; act as a table for canapes and cocktails; or as a seat.
All of our luxury furniture is lightweight and portable. The handles – in plain fabric or in contrasting Palm print – allow you to move the pieces quickly and easily. If it’s too hot on the patio, up sticks to find some shade under a tree. If it’s cooler, chase the sun as it moves around the garden.
Comfortable and stylish luxury bean bag furniture
Armadillo Sun’s Monaco collection is handcrafted in Kent, England, to the very highest quality and standards of durability, and will stay beautiful for many years with the simplest of care. Created in three classic colourways – Navy, Pumice (a perfect, light grey neutral) and Ocean (a lovely clear blue), this bean bag furniture, complete with piping detail, looks stylish in any setting. Add coordinating or clashing cushions to add splashes of colour, match your glassware or echo your party theme.
Monaco chairs, generously filled with beans, are wide and plump to sink into, providing brilliant support. Soft and squishy, with no awkward edges for children, they make a great choice for family gatherings when little guests are running about and clambering over the furniture (let’s try not to think about that too much!)
The collection’s modern, laidback style goes a long way to creating a relaxed vibe. All your guests will be super-chilled – the only problem you might have is persuading them to leave!
Outdoor furniture you don’t have to worry about
Armadillo Sun furniture is ideal for entertaining – you never have to fret about it getting ruined by spills, because we have designed it in a unique, solution-dyed, stain-resistant acrylic. From rosé to ice cream, simply wipe up spills as they occur. You can be the host with the most and keep on smiling! If it begins to rain and you have to beat a hasty retreat, you can leave your furniture outside, safe in the knowledge that it is weatherproof, fade-resistant and mould-proof. Indeed, you can leave it outside all summer long.
The perfect dining alfresco menu
So, the scene is set. But what to cook? A one-pot dish is perfect for summer entertaining, so we thought we’d bring you our favourite, fail-safe tagine recipe. The list of ingredients is daunting, but the slow-cook method couldn’t be easier.
Serve with a tabbouleh salad, a platter of oranges and honey, ice cream and cocktails, and you’re good to go. We wish you many good times dining alfresco this summer!
Moroccan lamb tagine
Preparation time: overnight
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1½ tbsp paprika
- 1½ tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.1kg/2½lb cubed lamb shoulder (5cm/2in chunks)
- 2 large onions, grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp argan oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 570ml/1 pint tomato juice
- 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 115g/4oz dried apricots, cut in half
- 55g/2oz dates, cut in half
- 55g/2oz sultanas or raisins
- 85g/3oz flaked almonds
- 1 tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
- 600ml/1 pint lamb stock
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
- Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan (or vegetable) oil in a large casserole dish. Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.
- In a separate frying pan, heat the remaining oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides then add the browned meat to the casserole dish. De-glaze the frying pan with ¼ pint of tomato juice and add these juices to the pan.
- Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, dates, raisins or sultanas, flaked almonds, saffron, lamb stock and honey to the casserole dish. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.
- Place the lamb in a tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve.