The secret to enjoying autumn outdoors? A warm, snug place to sit!
As the days shorten, is your outdoor seating area – that oasis in the summer – looking a little damp and dejected? Is it feeling more ‘left out in the rain’ than ‘cosy seasonal hideaway’?
Before you throw in the towel on outdoor living and hibernate until April, here’s some good news: you don’t need to build a pergola, invest in a chiminea (although that would be nice), or string up another 200 festoon lights.
The real secret to a cosy garden is the furniture you choose – the depth of the seat, the softness of the fabric, the warmth of the colour. The way it invites you to sink in and stay a while.
Choose wisely and you’ll be back outdoors, soaking up the golden light with a steaming mug in hand, feeling deliciously snug – and quietly smug!
Your guide to cosy garden furniture
Cooler weather calls for outdoor furniture that goes beyond mere summer styling. You need more than just good looks – plenty of backbone too! It needs to be a welcoming, appealing space to hibernate in – soft, warm, weather-ready, and irresistibly comfortable.
These ten essential features turn your outdoor seating area into somewhere you’ll actually want to spend autumn afternoons and clear, starlit evenings.
1. Easy-to-move seating to gather around a roaring fire
Autumn doesn’t mean packing up the BBQ and retreating indoors – it means changing pace and adapting for cosy get-togethers, warm drinks, and firelit evenings.
When you choose lightweight movable seating, you can gather it around a firepit or nudge it into a sheltered nook – or carry it easily around to chase the 3pm patch of sunshine. Armadillo Sun bean bag loungers and garden sofas are famously featherlight, so rearranging your garden for cosiness takes seconds, not a gym membership!
Find out more about the premium bead filling that makes Armadillo Sun outdoor furniture so light and comfy.
“I love that they’re so light – I carry them around the garden to follow the sun”~ Roanna C (Garden Sofa Chairs)
2. Deep-seat designs for curl-up comfort
Cosy means cocooning. Sitting perched on the edge of something upright is not going to do.
To truly snuggle in, you need a seat you can sink into. The deeper the cushion, the better – sit back, tuck your legs under you, and curl up like a contented dormouse.
Armadillo Sun bean bags and outdoor sofas are generously proportioned with plenty of filling and room for the dog too… size really does matter!
3. Soft fabrics to snuggle into (that won't turn soggy)
To feel cosy outdoors, upholstered fabric furniture cannot be beaten. Tactile fabrics bring living room comfort into the garden.
The fabric must feel good. Cold? Stiff? Plasticky? Absolutely not. Being weatherproof doesn’t have to mean tarpaulin-like.
Armadillo Sun’s marine-grade fabrics are soft and tactile but shrug off rain, snow, and the occasional spilt glass of mulled wine too!
Order a full set of Armadillo Sun outdoor fabric samples to see and feel the difference for yourself.
4. Warm from the inside out
Feeling cold is cosy’s kryptonite. One of the lesser-known benefits of bean bag furniture is its natural insulation – the premium polystyrene beads trap air, creating a pocket of warmth that guards against the chill.
When you sink into a garden bean bag or Armadillo Sun sofa, it hugs your shape and holds in your body heat, wrapping you in an invisible blanket.
Unlike solid wood or metal furniture, the free-moving beads of bean bag furniture trap your body heat close to you – keeping your seat (and you) perfectly cosy. Even when the weather isn’t.
5. Plush, supportive outdoor sofa cushions designed for real comfort
Comfort is everything when you want to feel cosy. To switch off and relax, you need support and softness.
We tested and experimented for ages to find just the right fill for our bean bag sofa furniture so that each piece moulds around your body without swallowing you up.
So you can cosy up and finish that book, or sip mulled wine as the afternoon sun dips.
6. Warm up your outdoor seating with colour and texture
Colour sets the mood, and cosy means warm tones, deep hues, rich textures.
Think charcoal and navy for a sophisticated autumn palette or dial up the cheer on grey days with Armadillo Sun’s bestselling orange designs.
Add tactile throws and textured cushions, and your patio will look temptingly cosy, even in the November chill.
7. Versatile garden sofas that flex with the seasons
To create ‘cosy’ in the capricious British climate, your seating must be adaptable. One day you might be chasing a patch of sunshine onto the lawn. The next you're sheltering from a brisk northerly tucked into the kitchen wall. Modular lightweight furniture means you can reconfigure your space as the weather – and your mood – shifts.
Armadillo Sun garden sofa sets can be pulled together with their fastenings or used as individual chairs. At only 7kg, an Armadillo Sun sofa chair is easily moved to wherever you need it: whether a quiet nook for a book or a sociable circle for friends around the firepit. Same furniture, different vibe.
8. Rounded, enveloping shapes for snug seating
Cosy is curved, comforting, and cocoon-like – not hard, straight lines and blunt edges.
The rounded silhouettes and low-slung seating of garden bean bags create a sense of enclosure – and tuck neatly into corners to create cosy sheltered dens.
9. Low maintenance, because comfort must feel easy
Cosiness evaporates the moment you start sniffing the air for rain and dragging the cushions indoors.
Instead, choose outdoor furniture that stays out, all season long – no worrying about mould, no fabric fading, no fuss. Plus, this wipe-clean fabric furniture shrugs off spills of hot chocolate or mulled wine.
Embrace spontaneity and capitalise on the sunny spells in autumn, without needing to first dig the outdoor sofa cushions out of the shed!
10. 'Blanket-ready' with space to layer
Autumn comfort thrives on layers. Throws, cushions, a hot drink… ideally the dog curled up next to you.
Choose furniture with space to throw on blankets, wrap up, and tuck in.
Picture it: legs curled under you, woollen throw, steaming tea in hand. Bliss. Try that on a metal outdoor dining chair – no thank you.
Final touches for a cosy corner in the garden:
☕ Surround yourself with greenery – use containers filled with evergreens, ferns, and bulbs for eye-level interest that surrounds your seating and creates a feeling of seclusion.
☕ Add a firepit – pull your garden furniture in a circle around a firepit to contain the heat and create a cosy focal point.
☕ Spruce up the greenhouse – if you’re lucky enough to have a large greenhouse, add fairy lights, a bean bag, and a low table for tea to stay connected to the garden, but be protected from the wind and the wet.
☕ Turn up the lighting – festoon lights, fairy lights, outdoor lanterns strung under the pergola or along fences for a warm, cosy glow.
☕ Add in something that's uniquely you – a quirky cushion, a found treasure, even a garden gnome if you must. Something that makes the space yours!
If you’d like to try for yourself the very best of cosy garden furniture, come and visit our showroom in Kent – or browse our seasonal favourites online.
And if you need gentle encouragement to embrace your winter garden, I’ve got a few tips for that up my (fleece-lined) sleeve too: read "how to enjoy your garden in winter – 10 tips for getting outside all year round."