Gloster Garden Chairs Made for Long Afternoons Outside
A lounge chair is the most useful thing you can buy for a garden. It fills the gap a sofa cannot reach, it moves when you need it to, and it lets one person sit in the sun while everyone else stays in the shade.
Gloster Furniture has been making outdoor furniture since 1981, and these chairs are built to stay outside all year. Frames are solid teak, powder coated aluminium or stainless steel. Seats come in three quite different constructions, which is worth understanding before you choose. The guide below walks you through it, or you can call our team on 01277 812777.
The Different Kinds of Gloster Lounge Chair
Not every chair here does the same job. Work out which type you need first and the rest becomes simple.
Classic Lounge Chairs
These are the everyday armchairs of the garden. You sit upright enough to hold a conversation, but back enough to relax.
Kay is the broadest family, with high back and low back versions. High back supports your head and shoulders properly. Low back keeps the view open behind the chair, which matters if it sits in the middle of a terrace rather than against a wall.
Bay and Zenith are lighter and more open in look, and Zenith is also offered with teak arms if you want the warmth of wood against an aluminium frame. That combination gives you the best of both worlds.
Fresco and Archi are the most compact designs here, so they suit balconies and smaller terraces where a full sized armchair would crowd the space.
Saranac, Bora, Mistral, Maya and Wrap each bring a different silhouette, from softly rounded to sharply architectural.
Rocking and Reclining Chairs
Kay rocking chairs come in high back and low back. A rocker is a genuinely different experience from a fixed chair, and it suits people who sit outside to read or think rather than to entertain.
The Bay reclining chair adjusts back through several positions and includes a headrest. If your main plan is to put your feet up with a book, this is the one to look at.
Loungers and Stacking Chairs
Sway, Kay and Zenith loungers sit lower and deeper, closer to a chaise than an armchair. They are made for stretching out rather than sitting up.
The 180 stacking lounger does something none of the others do. It stacks. If you need several chairs for guests but do not want them out all year, stacking chairs solve a storage problem that ordinary lounge chairs create.
Sling, Rope or Cushioned Seating
This is the detail most shoppers miss, and it changes how a chair feels far more than the frame does.
Sling seating uses a tensioned outdoor fabric panel stretched across the frame. It has a slight give, it dries almost instantly after rain, and there is no thick cushion to store. Bay uses sling. It is the lowest maintenance option by some distance.
Woven outdoor rope wraps the back or seat in a rope panel. Saranac and Archi use it. It is soft to lean against, it has real texture and character, and it handles weather well.
Cushioned seating gives you the deepest, softest sit, closest to indoor furniture. Kay and Mistral sit in this group. Cushions use quick dry foam and outdoor fabric, but they last longer if you bring them in over winter.
There is no best option. Sling is easiest, rope looks the most characterful, cushions are the most comfortable for long sitting.
How to Choose the Right Chair for Your Space
Buy in pairs where you can. Two matching chairs facing each other read as a deliberate seating area. One chair on its own often looks like something left over.
Check the seat height against your table. If the chair will sit beside a coffee table, aim for a seat that is level with or slightly above the table top.
Measure the depth, not just the width. Lounge chairs are deep. A chair that fits your terrace on paper can still block a walkway once someone sits in it and stretches their legs.
Add an ottoman if you plan to relax rather than chat. The difference between a nice chair and a chair you never want to leave is usually a footstool.
Adding Chairs to a Set You Already Own
You do not have to buy everything from one range. Some of the best outdoor schemes mix a sofa from one collection with chairs from another.
The trick is to hold one thing steady. Keep the frame material the same and let the shapes differ, or keep the shapes similar and let the materials vary. If you already own a Gloster sofa, a pair of chairs in the same teak or the same powder coated finish will pull the whole terrace together even if the designs are not identical.
Not sure what will work? Our interior design service can plan it with you, and the showroom lets you see two ranges side by side before you commit.
Caring for Gloster Lounge Chairs Outdoors
These chairs are made to live outside come rain or shine, but a little care goes a long way.
Wash teak with warm soapy water once a year, and never use a pressure washer on it. Aluminium and stainless steel need even less. Sling panels can simply be wiped down. Cushions are best stored somewhere dry through the coldest months, or kept in a cushion box.
Teak will slowly turn a soft silver grey outdoors. That is normal, it does not weaken the wood, and plenty of people prefer the aged look. If you want to keep the original honey colour, clean and treat it once a year.
Complete Your Outdoor Space
Lounge chairs rarely go in alone. These pair naturally with them:
Still weighing up brands? Manutti offers sharper, more tailored lines with a strong Belgian design signature. Royal Botania is known for precision engineering and quietly restrained shapes. Paola Lenti is the most colourful of the three, built around woven yarns and soft, rounded forms. Our outdoor lounge seating collection gathers them in one place, and you can browse all luxury garden furniture or the wider outdoor furniture range too.
Planning a covered terrace? These chairs sit well under our Umbris pergolas, which stretch the season at both ends.
Why Buy Gloster Lounge Chairs From The Modern Furniture Company
We publish our prices. Every chair here shows what it costs. You should not have to fill in a form to find out whether something fits your budget.
You can sit in them. Our showroom is just off junction 29 of the M25 in Childerditch, Essex. Seat depth, back angle and the difference between sling and cushions are things a photograph cannot tell you.
We tell you the lead time before you pay. Some chairs are in stock. Others are made to order.
Free delivery across mainland UK on orders over £500, with most deliveries handled by our own team.
FAQs
Can Gloster lounge chairs stay outside all year?
Yes. The frames are built for permanent outdoor use in the UK. Cushions will last longer if stored dry over winter.
What is the difference between sling and cushioned seating?
Sling is a tensioned fabric panel with no separate cushion. It dries fast and needs almost no storage. Cushioned chairs are softer and more comfortable for long sitting, but the cushions want putting away in winter.
Should I choose a high back or low back chair?
High back supports your head and shoulders and suits longer, more relaxed sitting. Low back keeps sightlines open and works better where the chair sits in the middle of a space or in front of a view.
How much do Gloster lounge chairs cost?
Most sit between roughly £1,800 and £5,800 depending on the range, frame material and seat construction. Current prices are shown on each product above.
Do they need assembly?
It varies by design. Some arrive ready to use, others need arms or legs fitting. We will confirm before your order goes through.
