Outdoor Benches

Start with where the bench will live and what you want it to do. A garden bench with a backrest and armrests is the one you settle into with a morning coffee or a book, so it belongs on a porch, under a tree, or at the end of a path. A backless bench is the flexible one: it slides under a dining table, lines an entryway, or fits along a balcony railing where a full bench would crowd the space. A storage bench adds a seat and a place to hide cushions and garden gear, and a glider gives you a gentle back-and-forth motion without hanging anything from the ceiling.

Material decides how much care the bench asks for. Acacia and eucalyptus are warm, dense hardwoods that hold up well outdoors, and a yearly coat of exterior oil keeps their color, or you can let them weather to a soft silver-gray. Powder-coated steel and cast iron bring a classic park-bench look, and a dab of exterior metal paint on any chips keeps them rust-free. HDPE never needs paint, stain, or sealer, and all-weather PE wicker cleans up with a hose, so the cushions are the only part to keep dry.

Then measure. Plan on roughly 20 to 24 inches of seat per adult, so a 48 to 52-inch bench seats two comfortably and a 60-inch bench seats three. For an outdoor dining bench, a seat around 17 to 18 inches tall pairs with standard 28 to 30-inch tables, and a bench a few inches shorter than the table tucks in neatly. Leave room to walk behind a bench with a back, and a little extra clearance behind a glider.

Storage benches are measured in gallons, and it pays to check how they close. Some come with zippered liners and gas struts that hold the lid up for you, while slatted wooden boxes breathe well but aren't watertight, so they're happiest under a porch roof or eave. Wherever your bench ends up, bringing cushions in during long rainy stretches and covering wood over the winter does more for its life than anything else.