Corner Garden Furniture With Fire Pit

Why choose corner garden furniture with fire pit tables?

A corner sofa set makes the most of the one part of a garden that usually goes to waste: the angle where two fences, or a wall and a fence, meet. Put a fire in front of it and the seating wraps round the heat on two sides. Everyone faces the flame and each other, which is why these sets are so popular for entertaining friends outdoors.

The centre piece does three jobs. With the flame on it's an outdoor heater for cool spring and autumn evenings. With the lid on it's a coffee table, or a dining table on the taller models. And with a gas burner there's no smoke, no ash and no logs to store, so you can light it for half an hour after dinner and switch it off at the knob. It's the easiest way to turn a patio into an outdoor space you use from March to October, not just in July.

Corner fire pit sets compared

These are the corner garden furniture sets in our range, with figures from the makers' listings. Where a maker doesn't give a figure, it's left blank rather than guessed.

Set	Seats	Frame	Fire pit	Gas bottle	Seat cushions	Size / weight
Club Rattan Isobella 5 piece	Corner sofa, bench, stool	Aluminium, woven	Rising, CE registered	5-13kg	12cm	286 x 222cm sofa, 150kg
Club Rattan 9404F	9	Aluminium, woven	Rising, CE registered	5-13kg	12cm	-
Goods Emporium GE-ALUM-CSS-9SFT	9	Aluminium	Gas, windshield	5kg	12cm	250 x 70 x 89cm
Goods Emporium Premium 9SFP	8-9	PE weave	40,000 BTU	5kg	12cm	-
Goods Emporium 066-CS-FT	L-shape + ottoman	PE weave	40,000 BTU	5kg, stored inside	-	196 x 67 x 64cm, 55kg
Udpatio 9-piece	2 corners, 5 singles	Steel, PE wicker	50,000 BTU, CSA	Propane	10cm	-
Azrbopo DF-04-NFireT	9	Steel, woven	Gas, dining height	Propane	8cm	180kg, arrives built
Birchtree 4-seater	4	Woven	Square, glass top	-	-	135 x 65 x 65cm, 56kg

Two things stand out. The aluminium garden furniture sets from Club Rattan and Goods Emporium all have 12cm seats and high backs, so they're the ones to sit in for a whole evening. And only the two Club Rattan sets take a 13kg bottle; most others are built round a 5kg bottle that hides in the base.

How to choose corner garden furniture

Measure the corner first

Measure both walls from the corner, then allow room to walk round the set and pull the centre piece out. The long side of an L-shaped sofa runs from about 135cm on the Birchtree four-seater to 286cm on the Isobella, which is 222cm on the short side. Add a stool or bench, and a nine-seat set needs an outdoor space of roughly 3 x 3m. On a small patio or balcony, a four-seater or a small fire pit with a couple of chairs fits better.

Left hand or right hand?

Brands don't all mean the same thing by left hand and right hand, so go by the diagram on the listing, not the name. Better still, buy a modular set that can be built either way. The Goods Emporium sets are left/right configurable, and the Club Rattan corner sofas come apart in sections with clip fittings, so you can build them as a left or right L, or take the armless piece out and make a square.

How many seats you really get

"9 seater" usually counts the stools and bench as well as the sofa. The 9404F is a two-part corner sofa, a bench and a stool; the Udpatio set is five single seats and two corner seats. If you want everyone on proper backed seating, count the sofa sections, not the total. Modular pieces are handy, though: a stool doubles as a footrest or an extra seat when family come round.

Rising or fixed?

A fixed top sits at coffee-table height, which is right for lounging. A rising table has a lift top that sits low or comes up to dining height, so one set works as an outdoor dining set for dinner and a lounge set for drinks round the fire. Both Club Rattan sets here use one. We have more in our rising table fire pits.

Rattan, aluminium or steel garden furniture?

Nearly all corner garden furniture uses PE rattan: a plastic weave that doesn't rot, crack or fade the way natural cane would. What's underneath it matters more.

• Aluminium (Club Rattan, Goods Emporium GE-ALUM) can't rust, so it's the best frame to leave outdoors all year in a British garden. It costs more.
• Powder-coated steel (Aweather, Udpatio, Azrbopo) is stronger and cheaper and still weather resistant when new, but if the coating chips and the weave wears through, it can rust. The Azrbopo set weighs 180kg, so it won't blow about.
• All-aluminium with no weave is the modern, slim-line look. Our metal fire pits cover the standalone versions.

Whatever the frame, check the warranty, as British weather is hard on cheap joints and fixings. Specialist garden furniture shops offer anything from a 2 year guarantee to 5 years on the frame; on Amazon it's set by each brand, so read the listing before you buy. For a woven look round a single burner, see our rattan fire pit tables.

The fire pit: BTU, gas bottles and heat

Almost all garden furniture with a fire pit uses a gas burner, not wood. Wood would scorch the weave and drop embers on the seats. The burner sits in a tray of lava stones or glass beads in the middle, behind a wind guard, and the gas bottle goes in a cupboard in the base.

• 40,000 BTU (about 11.7kW) is the usual output, as on the Goods Emporium and Aweather sets. Enough to keep the people on the sofa warm on a cool evening.
• 50,000 BTU (about 14.6kW) is what the Udpatio gives. More reach for a nine-seat layout. See our 50000 BTU fire pits for stronger burners.

Most run on propane: in the UK that's the green patio gas bottle, usually 5kg. A 5kg bottle fits inside most bases; a 13kg bottle lasts longer but only fits the bigger Club Rattan sets. None of the sets here come with a bottle, so budget for one and a regulator if it isn't supplied. All our gas fire pits work the same way.

Cushions, covers and winter care

Seat depth is the quickest way to tell comfortable garden furniture from a cheap set. 12cm pads (Club Rattan, Goods Emporium) feel like an indoor sofa; the 8cm pads on the Azrbopo are firmer. Look for zipped, removable covers: Club Rattan's wash at 30 degrees, and Goods Emporium uses fade-resistant Olefin fabric. Grey and dark grey hide grime best, which is why most of these sets come in grey.

Weather-resistant fabric shrugs off a shower, not a week of rain. Bring the seat pads in or keep them in a box like the one built into the Birchtree corner seat, and put a fitted rain cover over the frame. Several Goods Emporium sets include one free. Over winter, disconnect the gas bottle and store it outside, upright and away from drains.

Safety with a gas fire pit

• Use it outdoors only, never in a conservatory, garage or fully enclosed gazebo. Burning gas makes carbon monoxide; the NHS lists the symptoms.
• Check the hose and regulator for cracks each season, and do a soapy water test on the joints after changing the bottle.
• Keep the wind guard on. It stops gusts blowing the flame across the top.
• Turn the gas off at the bottle, not just the knob, when you've finished. The HSE guidance on LPG covers safe storage of bottles.

Look for CE registration (Club Rattan) or CSA certification (Aweather, Udpatio): both mean the burner has been tested to a recognised gas safety standard. The HSE gas safety pages explain what a Gas Safe engineer can do if you'd rather have a fixed supply.

FAQs

Can corner garden furniture with fire pit tables stay outside all year?

The frame can, especially aluminium garden furniture. Seat pads should come in over winter, and the set lasts longer under a fitted cover. Take the gas bottle out when it's not in use for weeks at a time.

Do fire pit sets come with a gas bottle?

No. You need a propane patio gas bottle, usually 5kg, plus the regulator if the set doesn't include one. The Club Rattan sets take 5kg to 13kg bottles.

How warm does it get?

At 40,000 to 50,000 BTU the people on the sofa will feel it, especially with the flame up. It won't heat a whole garden. For a bigger group spread wider, a set from our large fire pit and chairs sets helps.

Can I use it on decking?

Yes, a gas burner is much safer on decking than a wood fire because there are no sparks or embers, and it sits well above the floor. Keep the set level and away from overhanging branches.

Can I eat off it?

With the lid on, yes. The Udpatio and Aweather lids are metal and the Club Rattan sets have a 6mm tempered top, so they work as a coffee table or a dining surface for outdoor meals. Don't put plates near the burner when it's lit. Just want the centre piece? See our fire pit tables.

What's the difference between left and right hand?

It's which side the long run of the sofa sits on, and brands measure it from different viewpoints. Check the diagram, or pick a modular set that builds either way.