Outdoor Daybeds

Start with how you'll use it. An outdoor daybed is part sofa and part bed, a wide cushioned platform you can sit on with friends or stretch across for a nap. An open daybed gives you the most lounging room for the money. A canopy daybed adds shade you can raise or fold back, which matters by a pool or on a patio with no cover. Loveseat daybeds pair a loveseat with an ottoman, so they sit like regular seating most of the time and become a daybed when you push the pieces together. Sun beds and double loungers adjust at the head, the foot or both, so two people can recline at their own angle.

Then measure. For two adults lying side by side, look for a lounging surface about 50 inches wide or more. For a tall adult to stretch out fully, 75 inches or more of length helps, and our oval canopy daybed and two-person sun bed both clear that easily. Loveseat daybeds and daybed sofas are shorter, which suits curling up and saves floor space. Round daybeds need a circle of roughly six feet, and every daybed wants two to three feet around it to walk past comfortably.

Material decides how much care it asks for. All-weather PE wicker woven over steel or aluminum handles sun and rain and cleans up with a hose, and aluminum frames won't rust. Acacia brings warm, natural wood to a covered porch; a yearly coat of exterior oil keeps its color, or you can let it weather to a soft silvery tone. A breathable fabric sling, like the one on our rocking sunbed, stays cooler than a cushion and has nothing to bring inside.

Cushions and canopies are the parts to look after. Water-resistant covers shed spills, and zippered covers come off for washing, but any cushion lasts longer if you bring it in or cover it during long rainy stretches. Fold or retract a canopy when the wind picks up, and check each product page for the frame's weight rating before you buy.