Gaze Burvill

From a midweek breakfast on the terrace to Sunday lunch on the lawn with the family, spending time in the garden is one of life’s essential pleasures – which is why choosing the right furniture for an exterior space is just as important as for the home interior. Cue Gaze Burvill, founded by Christian Gaze and Simon Burvill in 1993 with the aim of making the finest outdoor oak furniture you can buy. The company is renowned for its A La Carte kitchens and elegant furniture for all outdoor occasions, from bar stools and poolside sun loungers to luxuriant sofas. It can even provide under-table heating, so that gatherings can keep going until the early hours.

In the 26 years since Gaze Burvill has been in business it has built up such an expertise in designing and making exterior furniture that clients – both private individuals and garden designers – come back again and again to add to their collection. Thanks to the company’s international client base, they ship furniture all over the world, from the Hamptons to Hong Kong, though today the company has moved just a mile across the fields from where it started to a new state-of-the-art workshop, design studio and showroom in East Tisted, Hampshire. Every Gaze Burvill piece is designed and made by skilled craftspeople from sustainably sourced oak and, latterly, chestnut. The collection includes sculptural spirals, ideal both for meditative moments in quiet garden nooks and as a way of creating a visual point of interest, plus seating that has been designed with comfort top of mind, as well as beauty. New this year is the Wisley Woodland Seat, made from British chestnut. Without a single straight component, it showcases a masterful blend of state-of-the-art technology with traditional skills. The twists that make the piece unique echo the natural torsion in the trunk of a mature sweet chestnut tree.

As an alternative to its bespoke kitchens, Gaze Burvill offers a number of stand-alone A la Carte units that can be easily mixed and matched, so you can add in a fridge, sink or teppanyaki grill, as required. A must-have addition to the A La Carte range this year is the Grill Station, a mini kitchen in its own right. This cooking unit not only provides a grill or ceramic oven, fridge, worktop for prep, and plenty of storage, it also has wheels that make it adaptable and manouevrable, even on the smallest terrace. All that and exquisite cabinetry to boot.

The Levity dining collection has also been expanded, with a D-Table that fits either as an extension to existing tables or works on its own as a beautiful small table for a tight space. All three new designs will be on show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2019, as part of a display by garden designer Ross Allan.

Gaze Burvill also works on special commissions, both for kitchens and furniture – the Broadwalk collection, for instance, was inspired by a project for the RHS for a long seat for the Broadwalk Lawn at their show garden at Wisley. A go-to for exquisitely crafted outdoor furniture that elevates any alfresco space.