The Weatherproof Sunbed – new for the great outdoors

In recent years the trend has been to live more outdoors, by blurring the lines between what we do “inside” and “outside” of the home; the patio has become an extension of the living room and dining rooms. Now in 2007, your patio can become an extension of your bedroom. Sleep under the stars. And I don’t mean in a sleeping bag. The hot new trend this season is weatherproof mattresses with teak, metal or woven-resin frames, mildew resistant cushions, and mosquito netting canopies (for obvious reasons).

Called sunbeds, daybeds, or lounges, furniture in this new category is now available at a major retailer near you. The Del Mar Daybed, from Restoration Hardware is pictured top left. Bottom left, the Royal Hall Sunbed from Smith & Hawken.

Why the big move outside?

“There is a total celebration of nature going on,” says Marian Salzman, executive vice president at J. Walter Thompson and coauthor of Next Now, a book on forces shaping our culture. “We are so worried the environment is a precarious place, we want to embrace nature whenever we can. There is something very special, even mystical, about anything that we do outdoors.”

Of course, there’s also this compelling reason to move outside: “We already have so much stuff that they could not sell us anything more to put inside the house,” Salzman says. “So where else can we go but outside the walls?”

Read more: What’s new in outdoor furnishings? The bed.