How to Decorate with Garden Stools

This weekend brought the first truly warm weather New York City has seen in quite some time (you would not believe the blinding whiteness of our legs), and with the first dose of sunshine, we hightailed it straight to the beach. We spent Sunday afternoon getting just a bit too sunburnt (hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!), and daydreaming about all the ways we’d decorate our dream outdoor space in New York City. Imagining our dream outdoor space got us thinking about one of our favorite ways to add seating to the backyard and on the patio: garden stools.

Now comes the question, how to decorate with garden stools? Garden stools have been quite the design “do” over the past few years. Gone are the days when a garden stool was only good for adding seating in the pool area. These days, garden stools are popping up both indoors and out, and we couldn’t be happier. They’re a chic, simple, easy way to add both surface storage and seating, and they work both indoors and out. Need a little mini table between two chairs by the pool? Insert a chic garden stool. Looking for a place to rest your Kindle and glass of water during your nightly bath? A garden stool can help. Want to spruce up your bedroom and add a pop of color? Garden stool, at your service.

Garden stools can be so many things: a colorful accent piece, a charming side table, a textural element. They can sit on their own, or be clustered in sets of twos and threes in lieu of a traditional coffee table. They’re a great solution for small spaces, such as reading nooks, bedside tables, vanity areas, or bathrooms, and can be nested under console tables in entryways and living rooms for added visual interest (and extra seating in a pinch!).

At first glance, it can be difficult to envision how to decorate with garden stools inside the home. After all, garden stools were originally designed for use in Chinese courtyards during the Ming Dynasty. But that’s what we’re here for! Below, we’ve put together a variety of ideas for decorating with garden stools, and, as a bonus, we’ve rounded up twelve of our favorite garden stools to inspire you to start the decorating process in your own home.

Here’s how we handled how to decorate with garden stools:

 

SHOP ALL GARDEN STOOLS (INCLUDING THE TWELVE ABOVE) HERE.