The clocks will go back at the end of March, the evenings will get lighter (and hopefully warmer) and we’ll all start thinking about summer.

If you’ve got outside space, either a garden or a roof terrace, then now’s a great time to start thinking about making it a pleasant place to hang out.

Invest in some new garden furniture and it’ll save you money in the long run as you can soak up the sun and have al fresco dinner with friends without having to pay to go on holiday or fork out for expensive restaurants.

This season’s hot trend is for mixing and matching bright colours – clashing pink with turquoise and or orange with green – it’s a really cool, contemporary look.

Another trend is for mixing materials, choosing glass tables and plastic or metal chairs, for example.

If you want to introduce a little designer wow-factor to your garden, then you could even get yourself a moulded sofa-come-bench for the garden, positioning it next to a table, or elsewhere in the garden.

This year really is the year that the garden will become an extra room, as many of us can’t afford to move somewhere bigger, so we’re looking for ways to make the place we are living more comfortable and exciting.