Wooden Benches for Garden Areas

Wooden benches are always going to be found somewhere in the world.  No matter how sophisticated metal and plastic models become in imitating wood, there will always be people who prefer the natural substance over the synthetic.  Sometimes this preference is driven by a desire to remain connected to nature in an increasingly technological, complex world.  At other times, however, it is motivated by a practical need to compliment historical structures or buildings that are constructed with a deliberate, period architecture that reflects the purpose of the institution. 

Wooden benches are ideal for garden areas in office parks.  Many of these landscapes are characterized by very large trees that created large shaded areas.  Because there is so much natural wood already present in the form of tree growth, outdoor wooden furniture provides a ready accent that compliments surrounding natural forms.  Not only does it accent wood with wood, but it also communicates a sense of the historical, the past remembered nostalgically, and a feeling of being directly connected to the earth.  Often too, the design of wooden furnishings correlates to more traditional or historical building architecture.

In more modern and contemporary facilities, a garden area may be cultivated in a corner between two buildings, or it may take the form of an atrium that is built into the building interior.  While the architecture and landscape as a whole is notably contemporary, small islands of lush vegetation are often used to create break areas where employees can better relax in a total change of scenery.  Wooden benches are ideal for this purpose because they help make a person feel psychologically connected to the natural environment around them.

Because of their notably classic look, wood benches are ideal for any municipality looking to renovate their historical town square.  There has been a great deal of this renovation going on in the past decade.  Many people have become disenchanted with the large retailers who move into small towns and drive local merchants out of business.  Towns who want to be more than satellites of strip centers and new housing developments can often bring new business to existing local merchants simply by remodeling the old 19^th and early 20^th Century buildings that put the town on the map in the first place.  Garden areas are typically cultivated in the middle of the square, or in key locations along the downtown walkways.  wooden benches with curved, comfortable backrests that feature a noticeably warm, inviting look to them that looks remarkably reminiscent of late 1800s to early 1900s furniture styles.

Professional landscapers and do-it-yourself landscapers also show a strong preference for wood benches.  Residential landscapes almost always have some sort of garden design.  Even in the most minimalist of plantings, wooden furniture can make a powerful aesthetic statement.  In some gardens, such as tropical gardens and historical gardens in the English, French, or Italian tradition, wood is the only appropriate compliment to forms and styles that are clearly reminiscent of the past.

Wooden benches are available both with backrests and without backrests.  Backrests tend to encourage people to sit on the bench for longer periods of time.  This can be advantageous for town squares because it keeps customers in a retail district longer.  Some companies, however, may want to limit break times, so backless benches may be better for areas where people take their 15-minute morning or afternoon breaks.