A patio furniture set works once you draw the terrace before you pick the chairs. This guide covers measuring, zoning and filling the plan from one Tribù family.
Most patio furniture sets go wrong on the floor plan. A sofa blocks the kitchen door, a table eats the path to the pool, and chairs hit a planter each time a guest stands up. Tribù, a Belgian family house that has made outdoor furniture since 1966, builds its collections as families that share a frame and a weave. That suits a planner: you draw the whole terrace first, then fill it from one family.
Start with the floor
Measure the terrace and draw it on paper. Mark the doors, the steps, the grill and the planters. Then draw the routes people walk: kitchen to table, living room to pool, gate to house. Keep those lines empty.
Two numbers help. A dining chair needs about 3 feet behind it so a guest can push back and stand. A walking path needs about 3 feet too, a little more if people carry trays along it. Take the paths out and the floor left for furniture often shrinks by a third.
Split the terrace into zones
A patio set covers up to three jobs: eating, lounging and lying in the sun. Few terraces fit all three at full size, so rank them. A family that eats outside five nights a week needs the table first. A couple who read on Sunday afternoons need the sofa.
Put dining close to the kitchen door, because plates travel that route. Put the lounge group where the evening light lands. Give loungers the sunniest strip, and check it at the hour you plan to use them. A spot that bakes at noon can sit in shade by four.
Planning
Five steps from a bare terrace to a set
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Measure
The floor, the doors and the routes people walk.
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Zone
Split the space into dining, lounging and sun.
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One family
Frames and weaves then match from zone to zone.
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Tables
Sized to the number of seats you chose.
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Winter
Decide where the cushions go in November.
Fill the plan from one family
Tribù Mood by Studio Segers covers the most ground. It has nine pieces: a lounge bed, a daybed, a sofa, a lounge chair, an armchair, an ottoman, a coffee table, a bar chair and a counter-height chair. A teak frame keeps out of the way and hand-woven Tricord carries the seat, so rain runs through the weave. Mood suits sheltered terraces and covered outdoor kitchens. See the Mood collection.
Tribù Tosca by Monica Armani runs to ten pieces and suits pool decks. Wide flat braid wraps a rounded shell on tapered, powder-coated legs. The lounger adjusts at the back, from flat for sleeping to upright for reading. For meals you pick between two heights: a dining table, or a low dining table with low dining chairs that sits closer to lounge height. A counter-height chair covers a raised bar. See the Tosca collection.
You can mix the two. Mood around the outdoor kitchen and Tosca at the pool read as two rooms of one house, because both keep to muted, natural colors. Two families on one terrace look planned. Four start to look like a showroom.
Size the tables to the seats
Pick the seats first and let them set the table. Four dining chairs sit well at a square table, and six need a long one. Give each diner about 24 to 30 inches of table edge. A coffee table works at about two thirds of the sofa length, placed 14 to 18 inches from the seat so you can reach a glass without standing up.
To print
What fits on your terrace
| Terrace | Dining | Lounging | Sun | Tribù pieces to look at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balcony, up to 60 sq ft | Two chairs, small table | One lounge chair | None | Mood armchair, Tosca armchair |
| City terrace, 150 to 250 sq ft | Four chairs, square table | Sofa and two armchairs | One lounger if the sun reaches | Mood sofa and armchairs |
| Garden terrace, 300 to 500 sq ft | Six chairs, long table | Sofa group with a coffee table | Two loungers | Mood for dining, Tosca loungers |
| Pool deck, 500 sq ft and up | Low dining table and low chairs | Sofa, lounge chairs, daybed | A row of loungers | Tosca across the deck |
Plan the winter before you order
Ask where the cushions go once the weather turns. Teak and Tricord can stay out through a wet season, and the Mood care sheet asks you to take daybed cushions inside for the winter. Tosca cushions lift out of the shell in one move. The braid takes a soft brush and soapy water. Keep a pressure washer away from both weaves: it drives water into the braid faster than the braid can shed it.
Send us the plan of your terrace through the form below. We reply with a set drawn from one Tribù family, the finish and fabric options, and a price for each piece. Tribù builds to order, and we confirm the lead time with the quote.
