Street furniture should be sturdy and practical, yet there is certainly nothing wrong with injecting a little personality too.

Streets, walkways and open areas throughout the world are decorated with style that often isn’t based on budget buying, but based on style and culture, as well as modernistic plays on traditional styles.

By using clever ways of reflecting the surrounding environment, lots of councils and land management companies across the UK are opting for a variety of street furniture that takes on a similar feel to the theme of lighting or other features around them.

Powerful strong lines, romantic and modern curves and natural material help build an area filled with unified furniture that blends perfectly with the environment.

So be it parks, public seating areas, gardens and more there are so many different types of street furniture that not only create convenience to the public, but that enhance and tidy up a city making it look much more attractive.

We decided to take a look at furniture placed around major cities across the world to see how it compares to that in the UK.

Australia

In Australia we found some very smooth lines were being used to really compliment the culture surrounding the Marina. The Marine benches showcased around Brisbane were built with a harbour type environment in mind, and the colourful benches manage to mimic the lines of yachts and boats that adorn stylish port.

Using galvanised steel, coating it in bright yellow colours and then creating shapes that are unusual yet very sophisticated, the benches stand out perfectly – perhaps because of their high level design and quirky shapes.

They enhance a sophisticated marina but still do remain in keeping with the surroundings. The benches sat around the marina manage to completely reflect the lifestyle and culture that goes hand in hand with coastal culture, whilst creating a real contemporary design statement.

Manchester

Custom made benches made way for a street scene in Manchester. With clever use of lighting and materials that are long lasting, the benches are immovable with no loose fittings which make way for sleek modern design that cannot be easily damaged, both by the public and by extreme weather.

The benches on this revamped street in Manchester are maintenance free – they require a little cleaning perhaps, so we believe the benches will look outstanding for years.

The lighting simply enhances the good design and helps increase the visual appeal of the surrounding environment by complimenting the nearby lighting from the glass fronted stores.

Using granite, the finish is fairly natural and simple, and blends in with the concrete in the nearby buildings, and the grey of the pavement surface.

New York

Technically not benches, but they can be used as so, the New York ‘cityracks’ have been designed in a way that we think reflects the city as a whole. The quirky designs have been built using sophisticated technology that compliments the city perfectly.

The furniture adds plenty of interest around the areas in which they are placed, and some of the yellow colouring reflects the obvious yellow cabs that New York is famed for, with the more subtle metal finish adds quite an industrial touch.

The designs are not particularly natural looking, but the styles take on innovation that reflects an almost industrial and arty type feel, whilst the wider pavements of the city can accommodate the larger designs easily.

Japan

Modern architecture and sleek styling are the two things we might expect from designers in Japan, and while we are not entirely sure how the mirrored surfaces of the benches / tables will stand up to heavy use, they certainly stand out and reflect, ahem, the surroundings perfectly!

The reflections in the mirrored finish mean that the more natural surroundings such as trees and floor surfaces are shown in the furniture, so it takes on the look of the environment around it.

The angles used and the thin material are a visual trick – the steel used to construct the benches can withstand the heaviest object, and the finish is very fluid which makes the furniture appear extremely modern and well designed.

Louisa provides SEO copywriting services and frequently writes content for a range of blogs across a variety of subjects.