Outdoor Furniture Trades the Sharp Edges

There is no excuse for average-looking outdoor furniture. With impressive residences making the indoor/outdoor experience a high aesthetic priority, how we furnish our exterior is just as important as the interior. High-end design brands are especially resolute on this point. Rather than subjecting us to stiff, intolerable plastic dining chairs or nylon-banded loungers that leave marks (lovely), these companies are creating furniture and accessories that have elevated the category so remarkably, that their indoor siblings keep checking the scoreboard. After a series of linear, minimal pieces—daybeds that float near infinity pools, crisp dining tables with definite edges—the last few seasons have seen a shift toward a softer, more sculptural approach. Curves continue to reign the high-design furniture world, and it’s a move that extends outdoors with softer, rounder forms that take the edge off. Here are a few excellent examples of how the look works.