Spring is almost here, and that means it’s time to get your outdoor space ready for gatherings and the warm summer nights that wait right around the corner. I moved into my apartment in the fall, and my placeholder fold-out chairs have simply overstayed their welcome. So if you are looking for an upgrade like me, the good news is that there is a lot of chic garden furniture on the market right now — and one particular piece has me dreaming of sipping coffee on the patio.

This bench set from Habitat is the perfect blend of modern meets vintage, but it is its ‘modular’ design that makes it a real boon if you’re working with a smaller outdoor space. “I have a small courtyard garden, so I know the pain of trying to balance having enough garden furniture to entertain friends outside with, without your space being cluttered with chairs the rest of the time,” Hugh Metcalf, Livingetc‘s editor, explains to me. “This is such a good idea from Habitat, because the design lends itself to being a bench most of the time, but you can separate a chair off so you don’t have to all sit in one long row when more than one of you wants to sit outside.” All sitting in one long row? It’s hardly great for good conversation, after all.

When looking for the best outdoor furniture, consider how you will interact with the space. Will you be hosting guests for hors d’oeuvres in the evening? Or will you be making the most of your work-from-home days? You can style this set together as one long bench or divide it up to create a loveseat and chair arrangement, proving that metal outdoor furniture can be chic and practical.