Most Singaporeans have found ways to transform their apartment balconies into what looks and feels like their dream garden. One way of doing this is by using outdoor furniture. Australian design brand SP01 Outdoor has a new collection that serves this purpose.

Tables and chairs from the SP01 Outdoor range are made entirely in Italy to ensure quality. Salt mist testing is carried out on each item for over 1,500 hours to check for corrosion resistance. The furniture designs are simple. They use metal wires that are intricately bent — like a fine rope woven into a deco rative piece of art — and serve as the basis for the chairs’ comfort and strength.

This is seen in the Jeanette chair collection that is both attractive and functional. The elegant lines on the chair back and the gently curved seat give your back the support it needs.

Another interesting chair, from the Chee collection, has wires that overlap in a pattern that looks like a spider web. To increase the comfort level, you can choose to have an ethylene-vinyl acetate foam cushion covered with a 100% polyester fabric fitted onto the seat.

You can match the chairs with a table from the Eileen collection, which is coated with high-pressure laminate or Accoya timber for a less industrial look. Just like the chairs, the timber has been put through rigorous tests to ensure it will withstand the harsh elements and last 50 years outdoors.

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The man behind these designs is Australian-born and UK-educated Tom Fereday, who won the Space Furniture Design residency in 2014. As part of his prize, Fereday worked alongside Marcel Wanders and Moooi in The Netherlands. Before that, he was under the mentorship of fellow Australian designer Marc Newson.

The principle behind Fereday’s creations for SP01 Outdoor is simple: He believes in designing from the inside out. His aim is to connect people with objects by using natural materials that have tactile finishes.

In a recent Vogue Living (Australia) interview, Sydney-based Fereday said he found his calling in industrial design when he began creating objects with his hands — a throwback to his childhood, when he used to build things, and his fascination with how things are made.

SP01 Outdoor is available at Space Furniture Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

This article appeared in the Options of Issue 761 (Jan 9) of The Edge Singapore.