Over the past several years, we have witnessed the launch of several online, direct-to-consumer outdoor furniture brands. These new entrants have become popular due to their focus on making furniture out of high-quality materials at competitive prices.Â
For this review, we focus on four popular direct-to-consumer companies: Outer, SunHaven, Yardbird, and Neighbor. Have you heard of them? Maybe you have, but you may be looking for more information before you make a purchase. If so, you have come to the right place.
This review will introduce you to these brands and detail some key features of these companies and their furniture. With this information, you will be prepared to make an outdoor purchase from one (or more!) of these companies.Â
So, let’s get started!
Summary: Excellent Outdoor Furniture Brands
If you are looking to purchase high-quality outdoor furniture, you cannot go wrong with buying any product from Outer, SunHaven, Yardbird, or Neighbor. They all use premium materials that are designed to endure the outdoor elements and still look great from season to season. Although these materials may carry a higher price compared to some other furniture brand options, you should have peace of mind of knowing that you have excellent furniture designed to weather the outdoor elements – and look great too!
In all, we rate these four brands as 5-Star outdoor furniture companies using our patio furniture ranking guide. In the sections below, you will see why we rate these companies so highly and how these brands compare on key criteria.
| Category | Winner | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Frame Material | Tie | All use high-quality materials like teak, aluminum, and/or HDPE |
| Fabric Material | Tie | All use high quality fabrics like Olefin or Sunbrella |
| Cushion Material | Slight edge to Outer and Neighbor | Outer's cushions are designed to repel water; Neighbor's are designed to dry quickly |
| Assembly | Outer, SunHaven, Yardbird | Each of these brands have many little or no assembly furniture options |
| Shipping and Delivery | Slight Edge to SunHaven | SunHaven has free shipping and in-stock orders ship in one-week |
| Warranty | Outer and Yardbird | Outer and Yardbird have 10-year frame and 5-year fabric warranties |
| Return Policy / Trial Period | Slight edge to Outer | Outer has a 14-day full refund trial period; 365-day return period |
| Price | SunHaven | SunHaven has some of the lowest prices on comparable sets |
- High-quality frame materials
- High-quality Olefin fabric
- Comfortable cushions with waterproof cover
- Great warranty and trial period
- Higher price than comparable brands
- High-quality frame materials
- Sunbrella and Olefin fabric
- Modular furniture; delivered fully assembled
- Great prices
- Average warranty
- Restocking fee on some returns
- High-quality frame material
- Sunbrella fabric
- Many furniture collections and styles
- Great warranty
- Free shipping only on orders over $2,000
- Processing fee and shipping costs on returns
- High-quality frame materials
- Sunbrella fabric
- Quick-drying foam cushions
- Great warranty and trial period
- Some assembly required on popular items
Brand Overviews: Who are these companies?
Outer
Outer launched its first outdoor sofa in May 2019, and the company’s popularity grew after Outer was featured during an episode of Shark Tank in late 2019. Since then, the outdoor furniture company has experienced rapid growth and launched new product lines. Not only do they focus on premium materials in their products, but they also use materials that are sustainably sourced and can be recycled. To see these products in person before you purchase, you can visit a ‘neighborhood showroom’ – the home of an Outer customer that the company has selected to showcase the furniture to potential buyers.
Outer names their collections by the frame material: Wicker, Teak, and Aluminum. Their main products include sofas, sectionals, loveseats, chairs (with or without armrests), ottomans, and coffee tables. They sell sets of furniture that seat up to 7, but you can buy additional pieces if you need more seating. You can also find decor and items like their fire pit to complete your backyard set up.
SunHaven
SunHaven was founded in 2017 with the idea to provide stylish and durable outdoor furniture at an affordable price directly to the consumer. Since its launch, SunHaven has grown to offer many types of outdoor furniture collections that include sofas, chairs, tables, ottomans, and more. What was once only a wicker-styled patio furniture company, SunHaven has recently launched aluminum and eucalyptus framed patio furniture to offer a wider selection of high-quality and affordable patio furniture.
SunHaven has several collections to shop: Kensington, Cromwell, Cascade, Stamford, Seabrook, Parker, Ashton, and Olivia. Their main products include sofas, sectionals, loveseats, chairs, chaise lounges, ottomans, coffee tables, and end tables. You can find furniture sets that seat up to 10, but you can buy additional pieces if you need more seating. And you also find outdoor decor to style your new furniture perfectly.
Yardbird
Yardbird was founded in 2017 by a father and son duo. The company launched with an aim to make high-quality and eco-friendly (they use ‘intercepted ocean plastic’ to make their wicker) outdoor furniture at affordable prices. Like other companies featured in this post, their products quickly sold, and they have expanded their offerings to multiple collections. You can visit some of their showrooms around the country to try their products out in person if you happen to live close to one of their locations. Additionally, since Yardbird was recently acquired by BestBuy, you can find their products featured on BestBuy’s website and in some of their stores.
Yardbird has several collections to shop that feature furniture made out of wicker, teak, and aluminum: Langdon (Wicker), Eden (Aluminum), Luna (Aluminum), Winnie (Teak), Waverly (Wicker), Pepin (Aluminum and Sunbrella Sling), Colby (Aluminum), Hariet (Wicker), Lily(Aluminum), and Elliot (Wicker). Their main products include sofas, sectionals, loveseats, chairs (fixed and swivel), chaise lounges, ottomans, dining sets, coffee tables, and fire pit tables. You can find furniture sets that seat up to 6, but you can buy additional pieces if you need more seating.
Neighbor
Neighbor launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this company is a relative newcomer on the list compared to the other outdoor furniture companies. Like other companies on this list, the mission of Neighbor is to make high-quality, durable, and sustainable outdoor furniture. Since this company is relatively new, the furniture options are somewhat limited compared to others, but this may change in the future as this company is forecasting rapid growth. If you live in the Phoenix area, you can visit their only showroom to try out their products in person.
Neighbor now has four different collections: the Haven, Terra, Reel, and Bluff. You will find plenty of seating options across these different collections that include a sofa, sectional, loveseat, chair, ottoman, dining table, dining chairs, and coffee table. You can buy as many items as necessary to fit your seating needs.
Our Ranking Criteria and Brand Comparison
We understand (because we are buyers of outdoor patio furniture, too) that shopping for outdoor furniture can be confusing. It is not always easy to find the best patio furniture because there are many different materials to understand, seating options to evaluate, brands and retailers to shop, and prices to compare in the outdoor furniture market.
So, that is why we developed an 8-criteria guide to rank patio furniture. In our view, these eight criteria provide a simple and consistent way to compare outdoor seating or table options. Read our ranking guide to understand how we review furniture and for you to use as you compare outdoor furniture options.
We will use these ranking criteria on these four brands below to highlight the key features of each brand for:
- Frame Material
- Fabric Material
- Cushion Material
- Assembly
- Shipping and Delivery
- Warranty
- Return Policy / Trial Period
- PriceÂ
1. Frame Material
Winner: Tie
Reason: All of these companies use some of the very best, high-quality materials for outdoor furniture like Grade-A teak, powder-coated aluminum, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
These companies use high-quality frame materials, which we highly recommend (and rate as 5- and 4-star materials) to anyone looking to buy patio furniture, like Grade-A teak, powder-coated aluminum, HDPE, and/or eucalyptus. Below is a summary table of the frame materials used by these companies.Â
| Material | Outer | SunHaven | Yardbird | Neighbor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Grade A Teak | Eucalyptus | Grade A Teak | Grade A Teak |
| Metal | Aluminum | Aluminum | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Plastic / Wicker | HDPE | HDPE | HDPE | HDPE |
2. Fabric Material
Winner: Tie
Reason: All of these companies use high-quality fabric materials of Sunbrella or Olefin.
All of these companies are using top-notch fabrics, either Sunbrella or Olefin, which are both popular weather-resistant fabrics. You can read our detailed comparison of Sunbrella and Olefin to see why we rate these as 5-Star fabric materials.
- Outer: Proprietary Olefin fabric
- SunHaven: Olefin and Sunbrella fabric
- Yardbird: Sunbrella fabric
- Neighbor: Sunbrella fabric
3. Cushion Material
Winner: Slight edge to Outer and Neighbor
Reason: Outer and Neighbor come out ahead here because their cushions are designed to help repel water or quickly dry.
Most manufacturers tend not to disclose too much information about the filing of their cushions, so it is nice to find that these companies are open about using high-quality foam in their furniture. In all of these companies, you are getting great cushions that should last for several years. A great feature about Outer furniture is the waterproof OuterShell that you can use to cover your cushions when you are not using them to protect them from the outdoor elements. Additionally, Neighbor’s choice to use reticulated foam (meaning that water can pass through quickly) is an excellent option for potential buyers who may worry about how quickly a cushion will dry (this cushion is designed to dry quickly).
- Outer: The OuterShell will help protect the cushion from the elements, and the cushion is designed with a waterproof layer in its thick, high-resiliency foam cushion.
- SunHaven: SunHaven has great cushions that are >5″ thick and made from high-density foam that is wrapped in polyester foam batting.
- Yardbird: Yardbird’s cushions are made from thick high-density foam
- Neighbor: Neighbor’s thick cushions are made from reticulated foam, meaning that water should pass through the foam quickly and dry faster than typical foam.
4. Assembly
Winner: Outer, SunHaven, and Yardbird
Reason: Each of these brands have many patio furniture items that require no or very minimal assembly.Â
In most cases for Outer, SunHaven, and Yardbird, the furniture is preassembled – all you will need to do is remove protect packaging, place the furniture where you want it, put on the cushions, and you are ready to start enjoying your furniture! In other cases, you may need to attach some legs to seating or tables. For all brands, however, many of the furniture items are modular, meaning that you have a lot of flexibility in how you can configure the patio furniture items to perfectly fit your outdoor space.
- Outer: Little or no assembly is required on most items. For wicker seating, you will need to attach legs.
- SunHaven: Little or no assembly is required. Items like tables may require attaching table legs.
- Yardbird: Little or no assembly is required. Items like tables may require attaching table legs.
- Neighbor: Assembly is required for most of Neighbor’s furniture in order to screw the frame pieces together. The time needed can vary depending on the furniture item.
5. Shipping and Delivery
Winner: SunHaven is slightly ahead of Outer and Neighbor
Reason: Each of these brands offers free shipping to the contiguous US states, but SunHaven comes out slightly ahead with a guarantee that in-stock orders ship within one-week.
- Outer: Free shipping and contactless, curbside delivery on all orders.Â
- SunHaven: Free shipping on all items. In-stock items ship within one week.
- Yardbird: Free shipping on orders over $2,000. In-stock items ship within 3 weeks.
- Neighbor: Free shipping on all items to contiguous US states.
6. Warranty
Winner: Outer and Yardbird
Reason: Outer and Yardbird take the top spot in this category with long 10-year warranties on frame materials and 5-year warranties on fabric.
One thing to note: All Sunbrella fabric, regardless of the furniture manufacturer, comes with a 5-year warranty backed by Sunbrella itself. Additionally, please read each company’s warranty to understand what is covered under the warranty and how to make a claim.
- Outer: Outer offers an industry-leading 10-year warranty on their frames and a 5-year warranty on wicker and cushions.
- SunHaven: Offers an industry-average warranty of 1-year for its patio furniture.
- Yardbird: Yardbird offers an industry-leading 10-year warranty on frames, and the Sunbrella fabric comes with a 5-year warranty.
- Neighbor: Neighbor offers a 3-year warranty on its teak frames, 5-year warranty on aluminum frames, and the Sunbrella fabric has a 5-year warranty.
7. Return Policy / Trial Period
Winner: Outer slightly ahead of Neighbor
Reason: Outer’s 14-day full-refund trial period and 365-day return period are hard to match. But, Neighbor’s 45-day return window with no fees if the furniture is in new condition is a close competitor.
- Outer: Outer offers a 14-day trial to return the furniture for a full refund and no extra fees. After 14 days, furniture can be returned within 365 days but incur a 20% restocking fee and shipping costs.
- SunHaven: SunHaven comes with a 15-day trial period. The company notes that returned items are subject to a 20% restocking fee.
- Yardbird: Yardbird offers a 30-day trial to return products. There is a 5% restocking fee, and customers will have to cover a $250 shipping fee.
- Neighbor: Neighbor has a 45-day trial period in which you can return for a full refund (as long as the furniture is packaged in original shipping material). A 15% restocking fee may be applied if items are returned in poor condition.
8. Price
Winner: SunHaven ahead of Yardbird
Reason: Although Yardbird has a slightly ($19!) better price on one of its aluminum sets compared to SunHaven, SunHaven has low prices across the board.
This category is a bit difficult to compare since not all companies have easily comparable sets to make a true like-for-like comparison. So to do our best here, we looked at a loveseat conversation set (a loveseat, 2 chairs, and a coffee table) for each material choice (wood, metal, plastic/wicker) below to find a typical price for each brand. In some cases, we had to add the prices of individual pieces to make a complete set. These prices are from the fall of 2022.
Please note that the SunHaven price for the Wood category is based on a set made from eucalyptus, whereas the other companies use teak. Eucalyptus is a great material, but it usually carries a lower price than teak for various reasons.
| Material | Outer | SunHaven | Yardbird | Neighbor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | $8,090 - Teak | $1,799 (Ashton) - Eucalyptus | $4,285 (Winnie) - Teak | $4,900 (Haven) - Teak |
| Metal | $6,850 | $2,299 (Parker) | $2,280 (Luna) | $6,440 (Terra) |
| Plastic / Wicker | $6,850 | $2,199 (Kensington) | $3,030 (Langdon) | N/A |
Final Thoughts: Which one is better?
Winner: Too Close to Call
It is hard for us to anoint an overall winner in this comparison because each of these brands ranks very high on having high-quality materials that should look great and last a long time in your backyard. While we find that SunHaven tends to have more affordable prices than the other companies, the deciding factor may be your style preference and what each brand offers in its collections. Overall, you can’t go wrong picking patio furniture from anyone of the brands.
