This Built-in Outdoor Seating Trend Brings Color, Texture, and Style to Your Garden — And It’s Easy to DIY

Tiled benches aren’t just practical for outdoor spaces, they make for an easy-to-achieve finish that packs in design drama

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a small woodchip garden with a tiled, rust colored outdoor bench
(Image credit: Lourenço Teixeira Abreu. Design: Constante Design)

Built-in outdoor seating isn’t just economical in size, it can be a good option for your wallet, too, especially given the price of good garden furniture. However, finding the right materials for outdoor banquette can be challenging — it’s got to withstand the elements, and stay looking good summer after summer.

I think I’ve found the best solution: tiles. With the right underlying structure for your outdoor seating, you can utilize a whole range of styles for outdoor spaces. As with any material, there’s going to be some upkeep, especially if you find yourself in a particularly cold and rainy climate. My top tip for making it work? Use a frost-proof, outdoor grout, as it’ll resist the elements better and look better for longer, and research proper sealing for your choice of tile.

If you’re still nervous, stick to outdoor-rated porcelain floor tiles, repurposed into architectural style seating — you might just not find as many exciting colors, textures and patterns as in this round-up of four projects I found that really sell this micro garden trend.

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1. Use Tiles That Make Your Bench a Focal Point

a garden with a tiled built in bench

Contrast tiles were used on the planter to make the bench a stand out.

(Image credit: Lourenço Teixeira Abreu. Design: Constante Design)

This bench, clad in hand-crafted, glazed tiles, becomes a natural draw for this small garden, "connecting to the tradition of tile use in Portuguese architecture," explain Luis Cardoso de Freitas and Juan Fernando Vergara of Constante Design. "In contrast to the more organic feel of the plants, the tiled surfaces bring a sense of order and permanence."

2. Use as a Way to Introduce Color

an outdoor dining space with a green tiled bench and terracotta walls

At this riad in Marrakech, color plays a bold role in the outdoor design.

(Image credit: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco)

In artist and designer Laurence Leenaert’s Moroccan riad Rosemary, which is bookable for stays, a green tiled bench-meets-planter brings an unexpectedly deep green contrast to the otherwise neutral landscaping through zellige tiles in a texturally-rich basketweave layout.

It's a classic, yet still dramatic color to pair with the terracotta surrounds.

3. Create Striped Patterns for Your Seating

a garden with a dining area with a wood table and striped tile bench surrounded by foliage

This tile design creates a slightly coastal aesthetic for a garden.

(Image credit: Studio Philomena)

A less rustic take on the idea, interiors creative Valerie Paas of Studio Philomena took an elevated approach to her garden’s seating with this striped tile design. "Stripes are the perfect print when you're looking for classy yet playful," Valerie says. "The contrast between the stripes makes the bench look more interesting and also more of an eye-catcher."

4. Blend Into your Surroundings

a green tiled outdoor bench with a planted top

This smaller tiled bench is made from patterned cement tiles.

(Image credit: Leila Viegas. Design: Tatiane Waileman)

This bench seat incorporated into a tiled planter isn’t meant to steal focus. Designed by architect Tatiane Waileman for her own garden, it acts as both a resting spot and planter for a herb garden and small flowers. "I chose cement tiles in a shade of green so that it would blend with the greenery of the garden, allowing nature to remain the main highlight," Tatiane says.

Luke Arthur Wells
Luke Arthur Wells
Contributing Writer

Luke Arthur Wells is a freelance design writer, award-winning interiors blogger and stylist, known for neutral, textural spaces with a luxury twist. He's worked with some of the UK's top design brands, counting the likes of Tom Dixon Studio as regular collaborators and his work has been featured in print and online in publications ranging from Domino Magazine to The Sunday Times. He's a hands-on type of interiors expert too, contributing practical renovation advice and DIY tutorials to a number of magazines, as well as to his own readers and followers via his blog and social media. He might currently be renovating a small Victorian house in England, but he dreams of light, spacious, neutral homes on the West Coast.