The build is at lock-up, the benchtop is on order, and the landscaper has pencilled you in for the week after handover. Then someone asks what is going on the alfresco slab, and the honest answer is nothing yet. Choosing new home outdoor furniture is the job that always slides to last, which is why so many new builds spend their first summer with a borrowed plastic table and four folding chairs.
This guide is for anyone with a handover date on the calendar and an empty outdoor area to fill. It covers measuring off your plans, choosing between an outdoor lounge setting and a dining set, and timing the order so the truck and the keys arrive in a sensible sequence. If you would rather organise the whole area in one go, start at our outdoor fitout page.
Why new home outdoor furniture gets left until last
Everything inside a new build has a trade attached to it, so cabinetry, flooring and tiling all get chased every week. The alfresco slab has no trade attached once the concrete cures. It quietly becomes your problem on handover day.
Outdoor areas are also hard to picture from a drawing. A 4.2 by 3.6 metre alfresco reads as generous on paper and feels much tighter once a table, six chairs and a BBQ are sitting on it. Ordering early forces you to do the arithmetic while you can still change your mind cheaply.
Measure off the plans, not the finished slab
Your working drawings already carry most of the numbers you need. Find the alfresco or deck on the floor plan, write down the slab dimensions, then mark everything that steals space from it: the sliding door track, the downpipe, the hot water unit and the switchboard.
Then subtract circulation. Allow close to a metre behind each dining chair so people can push back and stand up, and roughly 600 millimetres between a lounge and a coffee table. Doing that on paper usually rules out a whole size class before you have looked at a single product photo.
Two other numbers matter just as much: the clear width of the access path from the street, and the narrowest gate or doorway the furniture must pass through. A lounge that fits the slab perfectly is no use if it cannot get past the side gate.
Decide what goes in first: lounge, dining or shade
Almost nobody fits out the whole outdoor area at handover. The more useful question is which setting earns its place first, and that comes down to how you will use the space in the first six months.
| Order first | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Dining setting | Families and everyday meals | Chairs need the most clear floor space around them |
| Lounge setting | Couples, evening use, a covered alfresco | Cushions need somewhere dry to live over winter |
| Shade first | Uncovered slabs and west-facing backyards | The base or ballast must be ordered with the umbrella |
| Staged, both | Larger alfresco plus a lawn or deck zone | Two orders and two delivery windows to track |
If the alfresco is covered and most of your entertaining happens after dark, the lounge wins. The Austin Corner Lounge Set ($3,313) is the shape most new-build buyers picture when they see a covered alfresco on the plans. A corner layout tucks neatly into the two walls a slab usually gives you.
If the space is open to the sky and the family eats outside, dining wins. The Nebraska Extension Dining Set ($2,799) extends, which matters when one table has to handle a Tuesday night dinner and a twelve-person Christmas lunch. Browse the rest of the outdoor dining settings before you commit to a shape.
Staging the fitout when the build has eaten the budget
A new build empties an account, and there is no shame in filling the outdoor area across two seasons. Buy the piece you will use every week first, then add the second zone once the landscaping is in.
The Louis Lounge ($574) covers the "somewhere to sit outside from day one" job without committing to a full corner setting. It can move to a deck or a courtyard later when the bigger lounge arrives.
On the dining side, the Mudgee Bench Set ($1,582) uses benches rather than individual chairs. Benches slide under the table when they are not in use, which is worth knowing if your alfresco doubles as the walkway between the kitchen and the backyard.
Timing the order around your handover date
This is where new-build orders come unstuck. Most Neat Furniture orders are dispatched in three to 10 business days, with Australia-wide delivery and free delivery on orders over $100. Work backwards from that window rather than from the day you want to sit outside.
Order too far ahead and the furniture arrives at a house you cannot get into yet. Order on handover day and you spend a fortnight eating inside. Ordering once your builder confirms a practical completion date is usually the sweet spot.
Order anything that needs a base or a weight at the same time. An umbrella without ballast is a fence-denting accident waiting for the first southerly, and a Concrete Cantilever Umbrella Ballast Weight ($99) is the item people forget until the umbrella is already standing.
The Australian angle: February handovers, heat and site access
February and March are busy handover months, and they are also the tail of the hot season. A slab that has baked all afternoon is not somewhere anyone wants to eat at six o'clock, so shade often deserves a higher priority than a new-build wish list gives it.
Site access is the other February problem. New estates around Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth often still have kerbs and neighbouring lots under construction, and a delivery truck needs somewhere legal to stop. Under a strata or body corporate scheme, check the rules on lift bookings and loading zones before you lock in a delivery window.
It is worth reading our guide to the measurements that make or break an outdoor area before you order. The numbers in it apply just as well to a slab on a plan as to a finished alfresco. Rules on pool fencing, pergolas and permanent structures vary by state and council, so check with your local authority before you fix anything to the new slab.
New home outdoor furniture — frequently asked questions
When should I order outdoor furniture for a new build?
Order once your builder gives you a firm practical completion date, not before. Most orders are dispatched in three to 10 business days, so a fortnight of lead time is usually enough. Ordering earlier only helps if you have somewhere secure and dry to store it.
Can I choose outdoor furniture off the house plans?
Yes, and it is the most reliable way to avoid a setting that does not fit. Take the alfresco dimensions from the floor plan, subtract the door swing and any services on the wall, then allow close to a metre of clearance behind dining chairs. Compare that working number against the dimensions on each product page.
What happens if my handover date moves?
Handover dates slip all the time, so keep the order as flexible as you can. Neat Furniture offers 30-day returns with no restocking fee, which softens a delivery that lands earlier than expected.
Should I buy a full setting or start with one piece?
Start with one piece if the build has stretched the budget. A half-used full setting is worse value than a smaller setting you sit in every night, and the second zone can wait until the landscaping and fencing are done. Installation is available on request if assembly is the part you are dreading.
Shop the range
If your handover date is set, start with the zone you will use most. That means the outdoor lounge settings range for covered alfrescos, or the dining range for households that eat outside all summer. Everything ships Australia-wide, delivery is free on orders over $100, and installation is available on request. For a whole outdoor area planned in one go, the outdoor fitout page is the place to start.
