LexMod Taiji Outdoor

LexMod Taiji Outdoor Rattan Daybed with Ottoman The idea to make this purchase came from our many vacations on Carnival cruise ships. On the "serenity deck" of a Carnival ship they have round day beds with clamshell covers... which are great for snuggling with the one you love. We needed something similar in our back yard. When sitting on the patio with my wife in individual patio loungers, I always think about how much more fun it would be if we could be together on one big lounger... like on a cruise ship. We only have one local place that sells this kind of high-end outdoor furniture and the prices were outrageous! So, I went online and found the prices weren't quite as shocking, but were still uncomfortably high at well over $1000... plus some really serious shipping charges. Finally, I stumbled on to this particular daybed at Amazon. The price was right, and the free super saver shipping was the icing on the cake. I'm not sure how they can afford to do free shipping on something this large... I have to think it cost Amazon at least $150 in shipping charges to get it here, as it shipped out of what I assume is the manufacturer's warehouse in Pennsylvania and travelled all the way to me on the California coast. That had to be expensive! But that's Amazon's problem, not mine.

LexMod Taiji Outdoor Rattan Daybed with Ottoman

In looking at all the various outdoor daybeds online, I saw some that had clamshell covers so you can block the sun on hot days. I ruled those out, as it never gets real hot where we live on the California coast. I also saw some round daybeds that were all one piece, as opposed to the 2-piece "ying/yang" design of this particular daybed. LexMod Taiji Outdoor Rattan Daybed with Ottoman I liked the idea of the 2-piece design, as we will sometimes be moving this daybed to follow the sun and avoid the shade. In the mornings, one part of our patio is in the sun, and in the afternoons a different part is. So, with a 2-piece design, it's going to be easier to move because each piece is lighter than if it was all one big thing. If you look around on Amazon you will see that this particular daybed is available in several different color choices. We liked the idea of the white cushions because of the experience we have had with one of our existing pieces of patio furniture that has dark brown cushions... on a warm sunny day, those dark brown cushions get really hot, and you can almost burn your skin sitting on them. In the pictures on Amazon, the cushions look bright white... and the product description also uses the word white. In reality, however, I'd have to say it's a soft cream color. I like it a lot, but style-wise it's a little boring with the matching cream colored pillows. My wife says she's going to make some colorful pillow covers to add more color to it and make it "pop". Yes, I did see the one on Amazon with the multi-colored pillows, but it was out-of-stock when I was ready to buy... and I'm not sure if I like the yellow main cushion on that model or not.

 

< I was a little worried about the size. Sometimes you buy something on the Internet that looks big in a picture and you get it and realize it's not quite as big as it looked. Well, that certainly was not the case with this daybed. There is more than enough room for me and my wife to sprawl out comfortably on this thing... and for our dog to join us, too! The actual diamater of the circular cushion (when you put the "ying" and the "yang" together) is 63 inches. I'm 70 inches tall, so you might tend to think that wouldn't work... but in reality you either dangle your feet over the edge, or you bend your knees and lie on your side. Trust me... unless you're really tall, this should be plenty big enough for you. Speaking of the size, this thing comes fully assembled... it is not one of those frustrating "ready to assemble" deals like most patio furniture you buy these days. It comes all together in one gigantic box. The box is 71" long, 54" wide, and 31" tall. It's sturdy and well protected. One thing that pleasantly surprised me about this daybed is the thickness of the cushions. They're 4 inches thick! That's tremendously thicker than the cushions on any other patio furniture I've owned... and the result is a really soft, comfortable place to relax. It's fantastically comfortable! 

LexMod Taiji Outdoor Rattan Daybed with Ottoman

Before I wrap this review up, I've got to tell you the story of the shipment of our daybed! In spite of how sturdy the packaging is, I guess the first one they shipped to us must have somehow got damaged in shipment... run in to by a forklift blade, or something... I can only guess. The reason I think this is based on the tracking information for the shipment. I was anxious for this thing to arrive... so I watched the tracking information every day. It shipped from Pennsylvania and started making the journey west to us in California. Day two it made it to Ohio, and day three it made it to Chicago. Then nothing for about five days... and the next time it showed up on the tracking it was (to my great surprise) back in Pennsylvania where it started. The only explanation I can come up with for this is that it got damaged in shipment, and had to go back to the shipper and a new one had to be shipped out. After that, it started heading west again and eventually showed up here at my house 18 days after I ordered it. (And 7 days after the estimated delivery date that was posted on Amazon along with the tracking information.) 18 days is a long time to wait for something, and I've never had an Amazon product take anywhere near that long to get to me before... but I'm just happy that when it did finally arrive, it was in perfect condition... and that I didn't have to pay for the shipping charges! LexMod Taiji Outdoor Rattan Daybed with Ottoman To make a long story short, I am just thoroughly satisfied with this daybed and I strongly recommend it to you.