The Complete Guide to Nardi Chairs: Dining, Bistro, Lounge & Relax

There is a particular moment every Irish spring when the light stretches a little longer in the evening, the first warm afternoon arrives, and we all suddenly remember that we own an outdoor space. A balcony, a patio, a courtyard, a strip of decking by the back door. And almost immediately comes the question that has launched a thousand garden-centre wanders: what do we actually sit on out there?

If you have started researching, you have almost certainly met the name Nardi. This Italian family firm has quietly become the default answer for good-looking, genuinely weatherproof outdoor seating across Europe, and the range is enormous. Dining armchairs, dining side chairs, bistro chairs, folding chairs, rocking chairs, relax loungers, bar stools — the choice can be paralysing precisely because it is so complete.

So this is the guide I wish every customer had before they started. As a designer who specialises in colour and outdoor spaces here in Ireland, I want to walk you through the entire Nardi chair family the way I would if we were standing in the showroom together: what each type is actually for, how they differ in comfort and footprint, which colours behave well in our particular light, and — most importantly — which one belongs in your space. Let's sit down.

First, why Nardi? A little context before you choose

Before we get into individual chairs, it helps to understand what you are buying, because it explains a lot of the design decisions across the range. Nardi is a family-run company founded in 1990 and based in Chiampo, in the Vicenza province of Italy's Veneto region — a part of the world with a deep tradition of precision plastics and industrial design. That heritage shows.

The chairs are made predominantly from fibreglass-reinforced resin — a polypropylene enriched with glass fibre that gives them their reassuring rigidity without weight. This is the second thing worth knowing: Nardi's materials are engineered to be genuinely UV-stabilised and weather-resistant, which for an Irish garden means they will shrug off rain, salt air and the kind of damp that destroys lesser furniture. They do not need oiling, covering or storing over winter. A wipe with soapy water and they look new again.

And the third fact, which increasingly matters to my clients: much of the modern Nardi range is fully recyclable, and their Regeneration collection is produced from regenerated raw materials — post-industrial fibreglass and polypropylene given a second life. Beautiful furniture with a smaller footprint is a rare and welcome thing.

With that in mind, let's break the range down by what you actually want to do: dine, perch and chat, or recline and switch off.

Dining chairs: the workhorses of the outdoor table

Most people start their outdoor journey with a table, and a table needs chairs. Within Nardi's dining category there is one distinction that trips everyone up, so let's clear it immediately: armchairs versus side chairs.

Armchairs vs side chairs — what's the real difference?

A dining armchair has arms; a dining side chair (sometimes just called a chair) does not. It sounds obvious, but the decision has real consequences. Armchairs are more comfortable for long, lingering meals — you have somewhere to rest your elbows, and getting the psychology of a two-hour Sunday lunch right often comes down to those arms. But they take up more width and usually cannot be tucked fully under a table, so they eat into your space.

Side chairs are lighter, more compact, easier to stack and store, and let you fit more people around the same table. My rule of thumb: if you have the room and you host, go armchair. If space is tight or you are seating a crowd, go side chair. Many of my clients mix the two — armchairs at the two heads of the table, side chairs down the sides. It looks considered and it works.

The Nardi Doga family: the modern dining classic

If I had to recommend one dining chair to the largest number of people, it would be the Doga. The name means "stave" in Italian, a nod to the slatted back that defines the design — a run of horizontal ribs that reads as both contemporary and softly organic. The Doga Armchair is a monobloc (moulded in one piece) with a gentle flex to the back that makes it far more comfortable than its clean lines suggest.

What I love about the Doga Armchair for Irish gardens is its colour range. Beyond the safe neutrals of Antracite (anthracite grey) and Bianco (white), Nardi offers it in genuinely designer shades — the soft sage of Agave, the warm terracotta-brown of Tabacco, the muted mint of Menta, the dusky rose of Marsala. These are colours drawn from a Mediterranean palette, and they do something clever under our grey skies: they add warmth without shouting. A set of Tabacco Doga armchairs around a pale table is one of the most quietly sophisticated things you can put on a patio.

Its sibling, the Doga Bistrot, is the armless side-chair version — same slatted language, smaller footprint. It stacks, it tucks under, and it is the chair I specify constantly for cafés, courtyards and any space where flexibility matters more than sprawl.

The Trill family: crisp, slatted and endlessly popular

If the Doga is soft and horizontal, the Trill is its crisper cousin, with a fine vertical-slat back that has become something of a modern icon. Nardi makes it both ways — as the Trill Bistrot side chair and the Trill Armchair — so you can play exactly the mix-and-match game I described above within a single, coherent design.

The Trill Bistrot is, frankly, one of the best-value serious outdoor chairs on the market. It stacks generously (important if you need to clear the patio for a party or the lawnmower), it is light enough to move with one hand, and it comes in a colour range that spans the reliable neutrals right through to Ottanio, a gorgeous petrol teal, and Senape, a warm mustard yellow. Those two in particular are the shades I reach for when a client wants their outdoor space to feel joyful rather than merely tasteful.

The Trill Armchair adds arms and a touch more presence — it is a chair that anchors a dining set beautifully. Pair Trill Armchairs at the ends with Trill Bistrots along the sides and you have a table that looks like it was styled for a magazine, for a fraction of what that impression usually costs.

Costa and Riva: texture and simplicity

Not every dining chair needs slats. The Nardi Costa chair takes a different route with a subtly textured, closed back that gives it a solid, grounded feel — it is the quiet team player of the range, happy to sit under a table and let a bold table or planting take the spotlight. It comes as both the standard Costa chair and the armless Costa Bistrot.

The Costa's colour palette — Bianco, Antracite, the warm greige of Tortora, and Agave green — is deliberately restrained, which is exactly why it works so well in high-traffic or hospitality settings where you want the furniture to read as calm and consistent. For a restaurant terrace or a busy family patio, a run of matching Costa Bistrots is hard to beat for durability and value.

The Nardi Riva chair, meanwhile, is all about clean geometry — a smooth, gently curved shell with a refined profile that suits contemporary and minimalist schemes. It is offered in some of the prettiest colours in the whole catalogue, including Celeste (a soft powder blue) and Rosso (a confident red), alongside the usual neutrals. If your garden leans modern and architectural, the Riva is your chair.

The Bora: the stacking specialist

A word for the Nardi Bora, which deserves its own mention because it does one thing exceptionally well: it stacks. The Bora is a lightweight, resin-mesh-backed chair designed for spaces where furniture needs to appear and disappear — event terraces, spill-out café seating, or simply a small patio where you want six chairs but only have room to store a single neat tower of them. Its perforated back also means rain runs straight through and it dries in minutes, which in an Irish summer is no small thing.

Bistro chairs: the art of the small space

Let's talk specifically about bistro chairs, because they are quietly the heroes of small-space living — and in a country of apartments, terraced houses and compact courtyards, that matters.

The term "bistro" comes, of course, from the pavement cafés of continental Europe, where every square centimetre of footpath is precious and the furniture has to be light, stackable and easy to reconfigure a dozen times a day. That is exactly the brief a Nardi bistro chair answers. If you have a balcony, a tiny back yard, or a narrow side-return you want to turn into a morning-coffee spot, this is your category.

We have already met the Doga Bistrot, Trill Bistrot and Costa Bistrot in their dining role, but they are equally at home paired two-up with a small bistro table for a space that is more about the ritual of a coffee than a full sit-down dinner. The Bora Bistrot joins them here — the armless, ultra-stackable version of the Bora, and about as practical a small-space chair as exists.

My honest advice for a balcony: choose a light colour for the chairs if the space feels enclosed — a Bianco or a soft Tortora will keep things feeling open and airy — and save your bold colour for a cushion or a single potted plant. In a bright, open courtyard you can be braver and let the chairs themselves carry the colour. This is where Nardi's palette really earns its keep: an Agave Bora Bistrot or an Ottanio Trill Bistrot can turn two square metres of concrete into a place you genuinely want to be.

Folding and rocking chairs: the specialists

Beyond the everyday dining and bistro chairs sit a couple of clever specialists that solve very particular problems, and both come from the wonderful Folio family.

The Folio armchair — and its folding trick

The Nardi Folio is a genuinely elegant lounge-leaning armchair with a curved, enveloping back and generous arms — the kind of chair you sink into with a book. Its defining feature is that it folds flat, which makes it the perfect answer for anyone who needs occasional extra seating without permanently surrendering the floor space. Overnight guests, a summer party, a balcony that needs to double as a drying space on wet days — the Folio simply folds away against a wall.

It comes in a beautifully curated set of shades — Bianco, Agave, Tortora, Antracite and Tabacco — that lets it slot into almost any scheme. Because it reads as more of a relaxing chair than a dining chair, I often specify a pair of Folios flanking a small side table as a little conversation nook, separate from the main dining set.

The Folio Rocking chair — pure joy

And then there is my sentimental favourite in the entire range: the Folio Rocking chair. Nardi took the enveloping Folio shell and set it on a sculptural, cantilevered rocker base, and the result is a chair that is impossible to walk past without wanting to sit in. There is something deeply restorative about a gentle rock in the open air — it is the outdoor equivalent of a slow exhale.

This is the chair I put on a covered porch, in a quiet corner of the garden facing the best view, or beside a fire bowl. It is not a dining chair and it does not pretend to be — it is a chair for switching off. If you are buying one thing to reward yourself, buy the rocker.

Relax and lounge chairs: seating that says "stay a while"

Dining chairs are for meals; relax chairs are for everything else. This is the category people forget to buy and then most regret skipping, because a garden without somewhere to properly lounge is a garden you visit rather than one you live in. Nardi's relax and lounge offering is deep, so let's go through the key players.

The Net family: mesh comfort, endless colour

The Net range is built around Nardi's signature perforated mesh shell, and it spans three very different chairs. At the everyday end is the Net Chair — a light, all-weather chair whose open weave means it never holds water and dries almost instantly after a shower. It is available in some of Nardi's most joyful colours, including Corallo (coral), Senape (mustard) and Salice (a soft willow green), which makes it a brilliant way to inject personality into a space.

Step up to the Net Relax and you get a deeper, more reclined seat with a higher back and armrests — a proper "sit back and watch the evening" chair rather than a perch. It keeps the quick-drying mesh but adds the geometry of genuine relaxation.

And at the top sits the Net Lounge, a low-slung, deeply reclined lounge chair designed for serious downtime — think long summer evenings, a cold drink and no intention of getting up. Its relaxed angle and enveloping shell make it the closest thing in the mesh family to a garden armchair you would happily nap in.

The Doga Relax: dining looks, lounging comfort

One of the cleverest chairs Nardi makes is the Doga Relax, which takes the beloved slatted Doga aesthetic and reworks it into a reclined lounge chair. This means you can furnish a whole outdoor space in one visual language — Doga dining armchairs at the table, Doga Relax chairs off to the side for lounging — and everything speaks to everything else. For a designer trying to create a cohesive scheme, that consistency is gold.

It shares the Doga's full colour spectrum too, so those lovely Marsala, Menta and Tabacco tones are all on the table. A pair of Doga Relax chairs in a soft, earthy shade with a low table between them is one of the most elegant lounging setups you can create on a modest budget.

The Ninfea Relax: a folding lounger

The Ninfea Relax rounds out the relax offering with a folding lounge chair — the same store-it-flat convenience as the Folio, but tuned for reclining rather than dining. Named for the water lily (ninfea in Italian), it is a graceful, easy chair that folds away when the season turns, making it ideal for anyone short on winter storage or wanting flexible extra seating that appears only when guests do.

The Bit: a sociable little armchair

I want to give a special mention to the Nardi Bit, a compact, cheerful armchair with a fine mesh shell that sits somewhere between a dining chair and a lounge chair. It is sociable and light, easy to pull into a circle for a chat, and — like the Net range — it comes in those irresistible brights: Corallo, Senape, Salice. For a young family, a shared courtyard, or anyone who wants their outdoor space to feel fun rather than formal, a set of mixed-colour Bit chairs is pure delight.

The Zac: a comfortable classic

Finally, the Zac Classic — a comfortable, generously proportioned chair with a timeless, softly moulded form. It is the sort of unfussy, dependable chair that suits a traditional garden or a client who wants comfort without a strong design statement. Not everything needs to be a design icon; sometimes you just want a good, roomy chair to sit in, and the Zac delivers exactly that.

Bar stools: seating that lifts the mood (and the eyeline)

No chair guide is complete without a nod to bar-height seating, because outdoor bars, tall poseur tables and kitchen-island-style garden counters have become genuinely popular. Nardi's stool offering — including the stackable ReGen Stack Maxi and Stack Mini stools from the Regeneration line — brings the same weatherproof, recyclable construction up to bar height.

The design logic is the same as the chairs: light enough to move, tough enough to live outside year-round, and stackable so they store neatly out of season. If you have invested in a high outdoor counter or a garden bar, matching stools finish the look and keep everyone at a sociable, standing-height eyeline — perfect for parties where people drift between mingling and perching.

A note on comfort: monobloc doesn't mean uncomfortable

There is an old prejudice, left over from the flimsy stacking chairs of decades past, that moulded resin furniture is hard and unforgiving. Modern Nardi chairs put that to rest quickly. The trick is in the engineering: the shells are shaped with a deliberate flex in the back and seat, so that when you lean into a Doga or a Trill the material gives just enough to cradle you. It is a quality that photographs cannot convey and that surprises almost everyone the first time they sit down.

That said, comfort is partly a matter of matching the chair to the duration. For a quick coffee or a brisk lunch, any of the bistro chairs is perfectly comfortable as-is. For a long, lingering meal, the armchairs earn their keep — the arms change everything over two hours. And for genuine downtime, the relax and lounge chairs, with their reclined angles, are in a different comfort league altogether. If you want to soften a dining set further, Nardi and its partners offer tie-on seat pads in coordinating tones; just remember to bring the fabric in out of the wet.

One more comfort consideration specific to our climate: mesh-backed designs like the Net, Bora and Bit breathe and drain, which means no damp seat after a shower and no clammy back on a rare hot day. Solid-shell designs like the Costa and Riva feel a touch more substantial and hold warmth slightly better on a cool evening. Neither is better — it is simply another axis to choose along.

How to choose: a designer's cheat sheet by space

Let's make this practical. Here is how I steer clients depending on what they actually have:

• A small balcony: Go for a bistro chair — Bora Bistrot, Trill Bistrot or Doga Bistrot — in a light colour, paired two-up with a compact table. Prioritise stackability. If you want lounging too, a single Folio that folds flat is your friend.
• A patio for dining: Choose a coordinated dining set. Armchairs (Doga, Trill) at the ends, side chairs down the sides. Pick a colour that flatters your table and hard landscaping — warm neutrals like Tortora and Tabacco are almost foolproof.
• A family courtyard: Durability and cheer win. Costa or Bora for the table, plus a scattering of colourful Bit or Net chairs for casual overflow. Mix two or three colours for a relaxed, un-precious look.
• A lounging garden: This is where Net Lounge, Net Relax, Doga Relax and the Folio Rocking chair shine. Group them around a low table or a fire bowl and orient them toward your best view.
• A hospitality or rental space: Stackability, consistency and toughness are everything. Costa Bistrot, Bora and Trill Bistrot in a single neutral will look sharp, wear well and store flat.

A quick word on colour in Irish light

Because colour is my specialism, indulge me for a moment. Our light in Ireland is soft, cool and often overcast, and that changes how colours read compared to a Mediterranean terrace. Bright whites can feel a touch stark under grey skies; I often steer clients toward Bianco's warmer neighbours — Tortora, Perla, Corda — which hold their warmth even on a dull day.

The earthy, muted tones in the Nardi palette — Tabacco, Marsala, Agave, Menta — are genuinely well suited to our climate because they were designed to sit against greenery and stone, and Ireland has plenty of both. And when you do want a hit of pure joy, the brights (Senape mustard, Corallo coral, Ottanio teal) are best used as an accent — one chair, a pair, a set of cushions — rather than across an entire scheme, so they lift the space without overwhelming it.

Caring for your Nardi chairs

Here is the genuinely good news, and one of the strongest reasons to buy Nardi in the first place: maintenance is almost nonexistent. Because the chairs are moulded from UV-stabilised, fibreglass-reinforced resin, they do not rot, rust, flake or fade the way timber, metal or cheaper plastics do. A few simple habits will keep them looking their best for many years:

• Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or sponge. Avoid abrasive scourers and harsh solvents, which can dull the finish.
• Rinse off salt and grime periodically if you are near the coast — a quick hose-down is plenty.
• No need to store them away for winter, though stacking chairs under cover or securing lightweight ones in exposed, windy spots is sensible during storms.
• Mesh and perforated designs (Net, Bora, Bit) dry fastest — simply tip off any pooled water and they are ready to use.
• Cushions and pads, if you add them, should be brought in or stored dry, as the fabric — unlike the chair — will appreciate shelter.

That is genuinely it. No annual oiling, no sanding, no re-painting. Buy well once, wipe occasionally, enjoy for years.

Common questions I get asked

Can Nardi chairs really stay outside all year in Ireland?

Yes. The UV-stabilised resin is designed for permanent outdoor use, and Irish weather — for all its damp — is far gentler on furniture than the intense sun of southern Europe, which is actually the harsher test for colour-fastness. The only real caution is wind: lightweight chairs can travel in a storm, so stack or tuck them away when a serious blow is forecast.

Which chairs stack, and how many high?

The dedicated stackers — Bora, Bora Bistrot, Trill Bistrot, Costa Bistrot and Doga Bistrot — stack generously, typically several high, making them ideal where storage or flexibility matters. Armchairs and relax chairs generally do not stack (or stack fewer), which is the trade-off for their extra comfort and presence. If clearing the space quickly is a priority, lean toward the bistro chairs.

Will the colours fade?

Because the pigment is part of the material rather than a surface coating, Nardi colours are impressively stable and there is no paint layer to peel or chip. Deep, saturated shades will always be very slightly more susceptible to change over many years of strong sun than pale neutrals — but again, in Irish light this is rarely a practical concern.

Are they heavy enough to feel solid?

They strike a deliberate balance: light enough for one person to rearrange a whole set effortlessly, yet rigid and planted enough not to feel cheap or skittish underneath you. The fibreglass reinforcement is what gives them that reassuring stiffness without the dead weight of metal or the bulk of timber.

Bringing it all together

The beauty of the Nardi range is that it is a system, not a scattering of unrelated products. You can furnish an entire outdoor space — the dining table, the coffee nook, the lounging corner, the bar — in a single, coherent design language and a single, considered colour story. The Doga speaks to the Doga Relax; the Trill Armchair speaks to the Trill Bistrot; the Net Chair speaks to the Net Lounge. That is what turns a collection of furniture into a designed space.

So start with how you live outdoors. Do you dine, or do you lounge, or — like most of us — a bit of both? Measure your space honestly, be realistic about storage, and then choose the chair whose job matches your life. Get that right and the rest — the colour, the styling, the little pot of lavender on the table — is the fun part.

When you are ready to choose, browse the full the Nardi chairs collection to see every dining, bistro, folding, rocking and relax chair side by side, or step back and explore the full Nardi collection to plan tables, loungers and stools alongside your seating. Your best outdoor summers start with the right chair — and now you know exactly which one is yours. Pull it up, sit back, and enjoy.