Yardbird is one of the many popular outdoor furniture direct-to-consumer brands in the market today. Yardbird uses high-quality outdoor materials to make premium patio furniture at reasonable prices that can endure outdoor conditions for many years. They offer many great, eco-friendly outdoor furniture options across several different patio furniture collections that provide different styles to meet many backyard design needs. Yardbird backs their furniture with some of the best warranties in the industry to make sure that your furniture lasts many seasons.
Read more below to find out why patio furniture from Yardbird can be a great addition to your outdoor living space!
Overall Score
5.0
Ratings Summary
Frame Materials
Fabric Materials
Cushion Materials
Warranty
Trial Period / Returns
Delivery
Furniture Assembly
Price
Pros
- High-quality frame material
- Sunbrella fabric
- Many furniture collections and styles
- Great warranty
Cons
- Free shipping only on orders over $2,000
- Processing fee and shipping costs on returns
Yardbird Outdoor Furniture Overview
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. Since 2017, the company has grown rapidly, and they have expanded their offerings to multiple collections and patio furniture items. 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 few locations.
What we love about Yardbird, and always a top priority in our analysis of patio furniture, is its use of high-quality materials. Yardbird has patio furniture frames made out of Grade-A Teak wood, HDPE, and aluminum, which are all some of the best outdoor furniture materials. On its cushions, Yardbird uses the highly weather-resistant Sunbrella fabric. This fabric wrapped on its high-quality foam creates a very comfortable yet durable cushion. In all, these materials create highly durable outdoor furniture. Yet, the company stands behind its furniture by backing each piece of furniture with a 10-year warranty on its frames, a 5-year warranty on Sunbrella fabric, and a 3-year warranty to cover any defects from craftsmanship.
You will find Yardbird offers many different patio furniture style options across its multiple collections. And across these style options, you will find many different patio furniture options like sectionals, dining sets, bistro sts, chairs, and many other items.
1. Frame Materials
For its metal-style furniture, Yardbird uses powder coated aluminum as the frame material (and also as the inner frame material on wicker furniture) on its metal furniture. Aluminum is material that we highly recommend for outdoor furniture. Aluminum is an excellent outdoor material because it is lightweight, highly durable, and low cost and maintenance. We like aluminum because it is a very sturdy material that is hard to bend or dent, making it an excellent material for outdoor use. Aluminum is naturally resistant to corrosion in most environments (rust is a form of corrosion for steel and iron – bottom line: aluminum will not rust). but it can corrode if exposed to salt water or chlorine. Powder coating is a finish that protects the metal from corrosive elements like water, saltwater, and chlorine and enhances the durability of the metal. Read our post on powder coating to learn more about why you want powder coated metals for your backyard.
For its wicker-styled furniture, Yardbird makes it wicker out of a material called High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), which is another material that we highly recommend because this material can withstand nearly all outdoor conditions in any season without fading, cracking, or degrading. HDPE is a nonporous material that is very resilient against moisture, mold, and mildew. Also, this plastic is typically made with a UV treatment which enables it to withstand fading from long periods of exposure to the sun. The color of HDPE is dyed all the way through the material, so HDPE will not discolor. HDPE is a high-density material and is thus much harder compared to other materials. This high durability means it is harder to damage. Additionally, since HDPE is colored all the way through during the dying process, the color will appear the same if your furniture does get scratched or cracked. Finally, mild soap and water will be all you will usually need to clean this furniture.
For its wood furniture, Yardbird uses Grade A Teak, which is a highly durable and weather-resistant wood. Teak is one of the outdoor furniture materials that we highly recommend. This wood is one of the most popular wood options for outdoor furniture. It is an incredibly strong wood, and its natural oils make it exceptionally weather-resistant, making this material an excellent choice for outdoor and patio furniture. The natural oils of teak make it water-resistant, which helps prevent this wood from rotting, decaying, and cracking. Also, teak’s natural oils provide excellent protection from heat and UV rays. The oils prevent the wood from drying out over time which stops the wood from cracking and becoming brittle. The only effect the sun will have on teak will be the change of color from golden brown to gray, if not treated. Finally, teak can be very low maintenance if you don’t mind the wood turning gray over time. At most, you will need mild soap and water to clean off dust and dirt. However, if you want to retain the natural golden brown color of the wood, you will need to apply special teak oil or sealant regularly.
2. Fabric Materials
All of Yardbird’s patio furniture uses comfortable yet highly durable Sunbrella fabric, which is probably the most popular outdoor fabric. Sunbrella is a solution-dyed acrylic (which means the color is part of the fabric, not simply applied on top of the fabric) that is treated with UV-stabilizers throughout the manufacturing process of the fiber, making this fabric highly resistant to fading from UV-exposure and normal backyard wear-and-tear. Additionally, Sunbrella is designed to repel water and stains, enabling this material to be mold and mildew resistant.
3. Cushion Materials
Yardbird describes its foam as being a high-quality foam that “can be the deciding factor between long lasting furniture and the other guys.” This is backed up by customer reviews that describe the cushions as being very comfortable. However, like most foam cushions, you should expect that these cushions will soak up water if exposed to a heavy amount of rain. While the Sunbrella fabric on these cushions will provide some resistance against light rain and occasional exposure to water, these fabrics are not completely waterproof. Thus, heavy rain will likely soak the cushions, and it may take several days for the cushions to dry out fully.
4. Warranty
Yardbird offers a great warranty on its outdoor furniture. A 1-year warranty is an average warranty for outdoor furniture. Anything beyond 1-year is a plus and usually indicates high-quality materials. We rate Yardbird highly because most of its furniture materials come with a warranty longer than the 1-year average:
- 3-year warranty to replace any items because of defects from craftsmanship
- 10-year warranty on frames
- 5-year warranty on Sunbrella (mostly all Sunbrella fabric covers with a 5-year warranty backed by Sunbrella)
5. Trial Period / Returns
Yardbird offers a 30-day window to return any products as long as the products are in new condition. The company notes that all returns are subject to a 5% processing fee, and customers are responsible for a $250 shipping fee.
6. Delivery
Yardbird offers free curbside delivery on orders over $2,000. Orders under $2,000 are subject to a flat shipping fee of $145 for curbside delivery.
7. Furniture Assembly
One of the great aspects of Yardbird furniture is that there is minimal or no assembly on most items aside from unpacking and arranging your furniture to fit your backyard needs.
8. Price
We track the prices for hundreds of outdoor furniture items. We evaluate the typical cost of an outdoor sofa, sectional, loveseat, chair, dining table, coffee table, and other outdoor items and look for comparable features (frame materials, fabric materials, and cushion materials). Based on our analysis, the price of Yardbird outdoor furniture can be somewhat higher than some comparable brands, but mostly in line with other high-quality furniture. However, we think that any higher price is justified by the high-quality materials, craftsmanship, and great warranty.
Common Outdoor Furniture Questions
Rain: Can Yardbird outdoor furniture be left out in the rain?
Yardbird’s frame materials (Grade A Teak, Aluminum, and HDPE) are all great water-resistant materials. The natural oils of teak make the wood water-resistant, which helps prevent this wood from rotting, decaying, and cracking. Aluminum is naturally rust-proof. HDPE is a nonporous material that is very resilient against moisture, mold, and mildew.
Yardbird uses Sunbrella for all fabric on its furniture and this material is designed to repel water and stains, enabling this material to be mold and mildew resistant. Sunbrella specifically engineered this water and stain resistance throughout each fiber to help it endure outdoor elements for many years. However, the fabric is not waterproof and heavy rain may result in water penetrating through the fabric to the cushion.
Sun: Can Yardbird outdoor furniture be left out in the sun?
The teak, aluminum, and HDPE in Yardbird’s patio furniture are all materials that perform really well in the sun and heat. Teak’s natural oils provide excellent protection from heat and UV rays. The oils prevent the wood from drying out over time which stops the wood from cracking and becoming brittle. Aluminum will not degrade from sun exposure, although it may get hot to the touch from prolonged sun exposure. The color of the HDPE is dyed all the way through the material, so HDPE will not discolor from sun exposure like other plastics might. Additionally, HDPE is typically made with a UV treatment which enables it to withstand fading from long periods of exposure to the sun.
Sunbrella used on Yardbird’s cushions is a solution-dyed acrylic (which means the color is part of the fabric, not simply applied on top of the fabric) that is treated with UV-stabilizers throughout the manufacturing process of the fiber, making this fabric highly resistant to fading from UV-exposure.
Winter: Can Yardbird outdoor furniture be left out in the winter?
The frame materials of HDPE, teak, and aluminum used in Yardbird’s patio furniture perform very well in winter conditions. We rate HDPE as the closest material to a ‘set and forget’ type of furniture that can endure nearly all seasons and climates. Teak and aluminum are also known to weather winter conditions very well without any extra protection. Sunbrella and Yardbird’s cushions can likely withstand mild winter conditions without degrading; however, extra care should be taken if you expect snow or freezing conditions. In all, we recommend that outdoor furniture always be covered or stored in winter conditions or during extended periods of time that you do not expect to use the furniture.
Maintenance: Does Yardbird outdoor furniture require much maintenance and cleaning?
One of the great aspects of the materials used in Yardbird’s outdoor furniture is that all the materials used in the patio furniture require little maintenance. Teak, aluminum, HDPE, and Sunbrella typically only need mild soap and water to clean most dirt and stains away. If you would like the color of the teak to remain its initial golden brown color, you should consider applying special teak oil or sealant as required.
Eco-Friendly: Is Yardbird outdoor furniture environmentally friendly?
Yardbird uses HDPE that is made with recycled intercepted ocean plastics, and this has accounted for 64% of the plastic used on its wicker furniture. Additionally, HDPE is a material that you can recycle when your patio furniture is no longer useful. The same can be said of aluminum, you can recycle this material when you want to dispose of the furniture.
Sunbrella fabric is manufactured without any harmful chemicals, and the manufacturing process produces little wastewater. One drawback of Sunbrella is that solution-dyed acrylic is not directly recyclable. However, Sunbrella has a “Recycle My Sunbrella” program that allows end-users to send fabric that has reached the end of its useful life back to Sunbrella to find additional applications for the fabric like automotive insulation and felt.
Options: Are there many style options for Yardbird outdoor furniture?
Yardbird offers a wide range of styles of patio furniture that you can easily fit to any backyard design. Yardbird offers 10 different furniture collection lines that feature either aluminum, teak, or HDPE materials. In these collections, you can find sectionals, sofas, chairs, dining sets, chaise lounges and more.
Our Evaluation Criteria
Any furniture you place outside will face much more wear and tear than your furniture inside. As a result, you will need to find furniture that can handle the wear and tear and the elements of your backyard: rain, sun, heat, cold, spills, humidity, wind, scratches, excessive use, and anything else that may happen in your backyard. So, when we evaluate any type of outdoor furniture, these are the features that we look for in furniture materials:
- UV or Fade Resistance: If you expect your outdoor furniture to be exposed to the sun at any point, you want an item that is designed to withstand degradation or fading from the sun.
- Water or Spill Resistance: If you expect your furniture to be exposed to rain (even if it is under a patio) or get spilled on, you will want a material that can resist staying wet or holding water.
- Stain Resistance: Your outdoor furniture will get dirty at some point. So you will want to find furniture that can resist staining if you want it to continue to look like new for a long time.
- Mold and Mildew Resistance: This goes hand-in-hand with water and spill resistance, but you want to make sure that your furniture won’t have mold or mildew growth if it does get wet.
- Durability: Your outdoor furniture and other items will experience a high amount of wear and tear being outside. So, items that promote being scratch, tear, crack, dent, etc. -resistant or -proof are always a plus.
- Low maintenance: Manufacturers may not always directly state if a piece of furniture is low maintenance. But, you can look for phrases like “mild soap and water” is only needed to clean the furniture or “machine washable” for fabrics to give a good indication of low maintenance requirements. Review manufacturers suggested maintenance and balance those recommendations with your expectations of how much maintenance you see yourself performing on your outdoor furniture.
We have evaluated numerous outdoor materials against these features and detailed our ratings for each material in our Complete Outdoor Furniture Materials Guide. We highly recommend that you use that guide as your reference and that you review our recommended materials in our Ultimate Outdoor Furniture Shopping Guide.
Using the features described above and based upon our experience of purchasing outdoor furniture, we rate outdoor furniture on these aspects:
- Frame Materials: We look for high-quality weather-resistant and durable materials to make the furniture.
- Fabric Materials: Just like frame materials, we look for fabrics that can withstand the wear and tear of backyard use.
- Cushion Materials: Some cushions are just better for outdoor use, especially those that dry quickly.
- Warranty: Ideally, you should find outdoor furniture with some kind of warranty.
- Trial Period / Returns: Some manufacturers offer a trial period to return the furniture without penalty if you are unsatisfied with your furniture.
- Delivery: Some brands and manufacturers offer delivery incentives, either as quick or free delivery.
- Furniture Assembly: The last thing anyone wants to do is spend hours setting up their new furniture. So, we look for furniture that has minimal or no assembly requirements.
- Price: Price is typically indicative of quality: higher price usually means higher quality; lower price usually means lower quality. However, some brands can offer great quality at comparatively lower prices.
