Whether your space is more of a porch than a patio, or you’re working with a sizeable lawn, right now the focus is switching to all things outdoors. As the weather warms up and the days get longer, we’re thinking of ways to make those outdoor spaces even more special. Interiors stylist and designer Jen Connell shares her favourite outdoor trends for 2025.
Comfort is king
This year garden furniture is taking inspiration from interior trends for clever design and stylish finishes, as well as delivering the comfort and style you’d expect from your indoor pieces.
Clever modular ranges offer multiple combinations and options for layout depending on your available outdoor space. With sustainability in mind, look for furniture made from responsibly sourced FSC wood and quality synthetic materials that offer both easy maintenance and durability.
The GoodHome brand from B&Q has some great options whatever your style. The Elos range is a great example of this. This modular collection includes two and three seater-sofas, chairs and tables, made from responsibly sourced FSC acacia wood and low-maintenance synthetic wicker. For those who like a sleeker profile, the Thilia range has a contemporary finish and for total relaxation, try out the Omalos Beige Egg chair for your outdoor haven.
Cooking with confidence
Cooking and eating food outdoors just hits differently and whatever your budget, garden size or cooking skills, there is a barbecue that will be perfect for you and your garden. Along with traditional charcoal barbecues and gleaming gas grills, you can choose a hybrid option or cooking over coals, whether on a smaller or larger scale, there is a huge selection to choose from.
B&Q have a wide range of barbecues for all types of outdoor cooking and living spaces – something like the Char-Broil Gas2Coal 2.0 Black 3 burner Gas Hybrid BBQ gives you the best of both worlds while GoodHome and Weber offer a selection of gas grills. The Powell 4 burner Gas BBQ is a great entry-level choice, while more experienced chefs will gravitate towards an option like the Weber Genesis E-315 Black 3 burner Gas BBQ.
When it comes to cooking over coals, GoodHome offers the Kiowa Black Charcoal BBQ for smaller spaces. If you want to cater to a crowd, the Tehama Black Charcoal BBQ is a great pick.
The garden livingroom
Increasingly, we’re viewing our exterior space as another room to use and enjoy. Emerging from the architectural trend of biophilic design, our homes are now more frequently connected to the outside thanks to large format glazing such as bi-fold patio doors or picture windows.
This visibility has become the catalyst for the trend of glam gardens that are just as nice to look at as our interiors, and offer the same comfort as our livingrooms. It’s so easy to create a cosy outdoor area with modular seating, recliners, tables and footstools.
Don’t forget a great dining area too, with a beautifully dressed table and comfortable chairs, all set off with some essential accessories or some well-designed shade for bright sunny days and outdoor heating such as a fire pit or chiminea for chilly evenings. Throw in a beautifully designed outdoor rug and some lighting and your outdoor space will be too inviting to resist.
GoodHome from B&Q offer great options for dining and stylish accessories. The Elos Beige Dining set has a clever space-saving design, seats four, and can be used even in smaller gardens.
Now, all you need to do is add some essential accessories such as a Multi-layer Steel Matt Black Firepit; Smart Garden Alfresco rugs that come in a range of colours and patterns; and the Mallorca Sand Overhanging parasol. These are the perfect finishing touches.
Pollinator-friendly plants
Including pollinator-friendly plants isn’t just a trend: it’s the right thing to do. A survey from the National Biodiversity Data Centre last year revealed that around a third of our wild bees are under extinction threat. Creating safe spaces for them in our balconies, yards and gardens is a great way to help them out and makes our outdoor spaces more beautiful too.
In a larger garden, consider planting some native tree and hedgerow species like hawthorn, blackthorn, rowan, willow, or crab apple. If you’ve less room to play with, a balcony can be dressed with pretty pots filled with rosemary or lavender. It all adds up to create safe spaces for our bees.
And your planting can extend to growing vegetables and fruit. With a simple greenhouse, even novices can try their hand at growing courgettes, lettuce, beans or tomatoes.
Those with smaller spaces to work with can plant in pots, or think about cultivating a herb garden. Using a 4 Tier Grozone Plastic Growhouse from Smart Garden Products is an ideal place to start your home grown plant journey.
Light is right
Lighting is a key element of any successful space, and gardens are no exception. Whether you choose the always-festive Noma Festoon Lights, or clever Clear Bulb Solar-powered LED Outdoor Hanging lights, choose something that looks as lovely during the day as it does when it’s shining in the evening.
Consider adding layers of light: wall lighting gently illuminates your space at night, while fairy lights bring the fun. Rechargeable LED lights are adding another element to deliver a bespoke touch and because there are no cables attached, you can move these lights around at will. Add a couple to a table setting for impact or sit beside one on a balmy evening with a good book. The GoodHome Quelea Rechargeable Integrated LED Table lamp is an ideal choice.
Colour pops
If you’re inspired by colour, and you’ve travelled to Tunisia or Morocco or pottered around Porto, you’ll have noticed the local fondness for beautiful colours in their ceramic tiles and glazing.
Happily, that decorative trend works just as well in Irish gardens, whatever the weather, because colour and pattern can brighten up even our grey winter days.
For inspiration closer to home, check out The Verve range, which offers pots and planters in shades of pink, green, orange and blue.
Water babies
Lying back and relaxing in warm, bubbly water with a glass of something fizzy in hand is the stuff of a great spa getaway. And it can be your daily reality at home now too as solutions from manufacturers have made having a hot tub at home both accessible and affordable.
With a 40 degree maximum temperature combined with Freeze Shield Technology, the Lay-Z-Spa St Lucia 3 person Inflatable hot tub is ideal for patios, while the Hawaii 6 person Inflatable hot tub suits a bigger area. Both have robust inflatable construction and you can use yours all year round.
Smarty pants
There are a host of smart, app-controlled gadgets to make your outdoor area work harder, while you relax and enjoy yourself.
Solar-powered LED lighting is a hard-working choice for making your outdoor space bright and beautiful and for the lawn why not consider using a robotic lawnmower which is rapidly becoming a must have. Check out the Flymo Easilife Go 250 Cordless Robotic lawnmower.
The Big You Can Do It sale is now on at B&Q and from Friday April 25th to Monday May 5th there’s 20 per cent off selected garden furniture and BBQs.
Ready to revamp your outdoor space? Head to your local B&Q or diy.ie for the latest offers, inspiring garden furniture, BBQs, accessories and must-have products to get your garden glowing this summer
