Affinity Painted Accoya® Swing Seat Range

Every piece is made by hand, so sizes can vary by a centimetre or two. The figures below are the largest you should plan for. If you are laying slabs or a base, wait until your piece is delivered and positioned, then set them to its feet.

The Affinity frame is the same depth at every size – 1.6m front to back – so width is the only measurement that changes.

• One seater: footprint 2.0m wide by 1.6m deep
• Two seater: 2.3m by 1.6m
• Three seater: 2.6m by 1.6m
• Four seater: 2.9m by 1.6m

Allow at least 50cm clear in front of and behind the frame so the seat can swing without touching planting or walls. Frame height: max 2m. Our size guide has every range side by side.

Affinity uses the same frame dimensions as our oak Tranquillity, so the two can be compared like for like.

Affinity takes the same five back styles as our oak seats. Painted, the detail reads differently: Swirl and Heart stand out more crisply, and Slat looks more contemporary. Fan is the original and still the most chosen. Slat gives the firmest support to the lower back. Curve softens the top rail into one long arc. Swirl carries a hand-cut spiral at the centre. Heart is our Arts and Crafts-inspired design, often chosen for anniversaries, and is made with Walton style arms. All five are the same price.

Not sure which suits your garden? Send us a photograph of the space and we will tell you what we would choose. Our back styles guide explains the feel of each.

Choose from 132 colours across the Farrow & Ball and Cuprinol Garden Shades ranges, or give us a colour you already have in the garden and we will usually match it. Each seat is sprayed in the workshop, not dipped: five coats, which is slower but gives an even depth of colour on every face. Screen colours are a guide; ask and we can post a painted sample before you commit.

Our painted pieces are made in Accoya, a sustainably sourced timber modified all the way through by acetylation. The process changes how the wood takes on water, so Accoya barely swells or shrinks with the seasons – which is why paint stays on it. The timber manufacturer guarantees Accoya for 50 years above ground and 25 years in ground contact.

Stable timber lets us use a proper finish: five coats, sprayed in the workshop rather than dipped – stain block, primer, undercoat and two top coats. Colour holds through British winters without the flaking you see on painted softwood.

Affinity is for gardens where colour matters – against dark hedging, a painted house or a contemporary terrace – and where you want a painted seat you will not be repainting in three years.

Prefer the timber left natural? See the Tranquillity in oak.

Guarantee. Painted Accoya pieces are built on timber guaranteed by its manufacturer for 50 years above ground, and every piece carries our five-year Sitting Spiritually guarantee. Our first seats, made in 2004, still sit in our Lyme Regis garden: the five years is a floor, not a ceiling. If something is wrong through our fault, we put it right at our cost. Full terms are on our guarantee page.

Care. Clean the timber a few times a year with sugar soap or our wood cleaner so algae and dirt do not settle in the grain, and avoid a high-pressure washer, which raises the grain. Leave new oak unoiled for its first two to three years while the natural tannins wash out; after that, a feeding oil once a year in spring keeps it nourished. Our refurbishment kit has everything needed. Painted Accoya needs only a wash down. More in aftercare and maintenance.

Later on. If a piece has been left for a few years, our workshop can collect, restore and return it. See the refurbishment service.

A few additions, chosen at the point of order or after you have lived with the seat:

• Cushions made in our workshop by Maisie Shannon, in Agora solution-dyed acrylic that resists fading and dries quickly. See cushions
• Carved inscriptions – a name, a date or a line, hand-cut into the back rail. See carvings
• Embedded ammonites – an ammonite set into the timber, a nod to our home on the Jurassic Coast. See ammonites
• Drinks shelves and a waterproof cover. All accessories

Something else in mind? Ask. Most of what we add now started as one customer's request.

Choose your size, finish and details above and order online, or call Nick on 01297 443084 if you would rather talk it through. Ordering online does not lock anything in: we call every customer within a few days to confirm placement, access and the finished specification before your piece goes to the workshop.

Most pieces are made to order in four to six weeks. As yours nears completion we send you a photograph from the workshop, then book a delivery date with you. Cushions, covers and other additions can be added later – many customers live with their piece through a season first.

Buying from overseas? See international delivery – we deliver to Europe, North America, Australia and beyond.

Your seat is delivered, carried into the garden, assembled in position and levelled by Richard and Kevin of Saturn Removals, who have delivered our seats for years. Before they leave you are asked to sit in it. Installation is complete when you are happy with it, not before.

They call ahead to agree a date and talk through access – gate widths, steps, slopes and where the seat will stand. Their vans are Transit-sized and a seat and frame will pass through a standard door, so most gardens are straightforward; if yours is not, tell us when you order and we will plan it.

Delivery is priced by postcode and shown in the basket. Assembly in position is an option at checkout (typically £47 on a swing seat); a seat and frame can also be put together by two adults if you prefer. Delivery covers mainland UK; for Scottish Highlands, islands or anywhere with difficult access, call us first.

The seat and frame arrive painted and wrapped; nothing is painted on site.

Sitting Spiritually is endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society, and our seats are placed in RHS gardens at Wisley, Rosemoor, Harlow Carr and Bridgewater – you can sit in one before you buy. See the RHS collection and where to see our seats.

The RHS-endorsed Heart back is available on the Affinity in any of our colours.