When shopping for an outdoor sofa, price often comes first for most people, regardless of their budget. And you can find great options at various price points. For example, I once bought an outdoor sofa from World Market for around $400, and it was so good-looking that I ended up buying it again. It lasted about two years each time. While it’s true that you generally get what you pay for, this particular sofa was pretty durable, easy to clean, and surprisingly comfortable, even the cushions!
Now, I have upgraded our outdoor furniture to Sunbrella fabrics, because they are the actual easiest to clean and hold up to almost anything—even power-washing! There are a lot of factors that go into finding the outdoor sofa that works best for you. Let me walk you through some considerations that all affect the price.
Outdoor Sofa | End Tables | Loveseat | Ottoman | Coffee Table
Frame Material
Wrought-iron furniture vs. teak wood? Rattan or polywood? There are so many options in the marketplace. How do you choose? There are so many pros and cons, but I’ll give you a quick overview from my perspective:
- Plastic/fiberglass: The most inexpensive with endless style options. Very lightweight, can be flimsy and feel cheap.
- Pine or Cedar wood: Inexpensive and lots of color/stain options. Can wear quickly in harsh weather. Needs to be repainted/resealed.
- Teak wood: Beautiful texture and more durable than many woods. Needs to be re-oiled/maintained but can last.
- Rattan: Very lightweight, with a high-end look. Can’t get wet, will show sun damage, and may topple over in wind.
- Metal (e.g. steel, wrought-iron): Traditional design and highly durable. Also very heavy, may rust, and conduct hot & cold.
- Polywood: Look of wood but durability of synthetic—less maintenance required. Often very expensive and fewer styles.
We have cast aluminum chairs out back now, and while they were an investment, they absolutely fit our moody, modern, traditional home design style. They’ll never go out of style in my book, and require very little maintenance, which is what I need in this stage of life. My sister Andi went with teak furniture (below) that has a really warm, classic look.
Patio Set (Daybed Only) | Throw Pillow | Fire Pit | Propane Tank Cover | Outdoor Floor Lamp | Lumbar Pillow
Quality of Fabrics
You can spend $400 or $4,000 on an outdoor sofa, and a lot of that is related to the fabric used and the filling. Premium performance fabric from brands like Sunbrella and Outdura. These are developed to be highly durable with UV resistance and water repellency. They pride themselves on saying you can leave their fabrics out year-round. And that can be great peace of mind for an uncovered patio.
If you’re using a sofa on screened-in porch or a three-season room with E-Z-Breeze windows, you can consider a performance fabric without the name brand attached, which will be a big cost savings.
Outdoor Furniture Covers
Since the weather here is a little more mild—and we have a heated pool—we sometimes find ourselves enjoying the backyard into late November and again in late February! For the first few years, we just left our white cushions on the furniture. While we ultimately purchased furniture covers from the original brand, numerous universal options fit perfectly.
Cushion Replacement vs. Buying All New
Nowadays, there are some options to get patio furniture cushions sans the frame—which is amazing if you inherited a piece that just needs a fresh look. I was really impressed by the options for patterns and fabrics (the stripes on this one!). It can be much more cost-effective to simply replace the cushions instead of buying an all-new outdoor couch. Be sure to measure the current cushions so that you know if a piece will fit or not. I recommend doing this over getting someone to reupholster your cushions. The labor and materials cost will probably be more than a brand-new sofa. Have them re-cover your vintage dining room chairs instead!
When it comes to style I like to ask myself “would I put this inside my house?”. I think part of why we use our outdoor spaces so frequently is because it feels like an outdoor living room. The sofas, loveseats, and chairs are made to be outdoor but they have all the same lines of furniture that I’d use inside. The end result is an outdoor space that feels like a true extension of what you experience indoors.
Backyard Sources
Round-Up: Outdoor Sofas That Could Pass as Indoor Sofas!
A lot of times outdoor furniture just looks like a wicker box with some cushions on top, but there are so many great options across all price ranges and materials that look more furniture-like. I rounded up a bunch of great options for every budget below!