RAMBLINGS

Allow 60cm of table edge per person. A 180cm outdoor table seats six in chairs or up to eight with benches. Then add 90cm of clear space behind the chairs — that clearance, not the table, is what most people get wrong.

Powder-coated steel and marine-grade aluminium hold up best across most of Australia. Teak lasts decades but needs oiling to stay honey-coloured. Cheap synthetic wicker is the one that fails first — usually within two or three summers.

In Australia we live outside for most of the year, so why do we still treat the sun lounge as pool-only furniture? Here is the case for taking it off pool duty and giving it a home wherever you actually slow down, whether that is a terrace, a courtyard, a balcony or the backyard.

The best small apartment furniture in Australia is not simply smaller furniture. It is furniture that earns its footprint: a round coffee table that keeps movement easy, a vertical bookshelf...

If your balcony feels cramped, the fastest fix is bench-first seating: a bench can stay pushed in (or tuck under the table), while chairs usually “live” pulled out and eat...

Standard dining table height: 71–76 cm (28–30 in), with 76 cm (30 in) being the most common. Chair pairing (seat height): most dining chairs land around 40.6–50.8 cm (16–20 in),...

Everyday: Lay a linen runner, build a simple triangle of heights (tall/medium/low) with the centrepiece ≤ 30–35 cm, and keep a 30–40 cm clear lane down the middle for weeknight...

Lay a runner that echoes your room palette, build a balanced centre using three heights (tall/medium/low) while keeping sightlines clear, and leave a 30–40 cm serving lane down the middle....

Place your coffee table 35–45 cm from the sofa for easy reach, keep 45–60 cm of walkway so people can pass, choose a table height ≈ your sofa seat ±...

Keep 35–45 cm between sofa and table for easy reach, maintain 45–60 cm walkways, choose a table height about your sofa seat ±5 cm, then style with the Triangle of...

For a rectangular coffee table, keep 35–45 cm from sofa to tabletop (comfortable reach), allow 45–60 cm walkways (easy pass-through), set table height ≈ sofa seat ± 5 cm, and...

Choose a coffee table that’s ≈ two-thirds of your sofa length, sits within ±5 cm of your sofa seat height, leaves 35–45 cm between sofa and tabletop, and keeps 45–60...