The Swinging Day Bed - a garden day bed in oak

Every piece is made by hand, so sizes can vary by a centimetre or two. The figures below are the largest you should plan for. If you are laying slabs or a base, wait until your piece is delivered and positioned, then set them to its feet.

The day bed is 1.5m deep at every size – deep enough to lie across or stretch out along. Choose the length:

The day bed hangs inside its own oak pergola, built for it. The pergola takes the weight of the bed and the people on it, plus the sideways load when it moves – a garden pergola built for climbers is not designed for this. The frame can take UV screens, a roof and climbing plants, and it becomes a room in the garden rather than a piece of furniture in it. More on pergolas and garden rooms.

Everything that goes on or around the bed:

• A made-to-measure waterproof mattress in Nautolex maritime vinyl, designed to stay outside all year. Day bed mattresses
• Cushions made by Maisie Shannon in Agora outdoor fabric. Day bed cushions
• Glasses and bottle holders that clip to the frame
• A waterproof pull-over cover for the bed and softs. See the cover
• UV screens, restraining straps and suspension springs. UV screens · Restraining straps · Suspension springs

The bed is made in air-dried Prime Grade oak, the same timber as our swing seats. The pergola that carries it is green oak:

Our pergolas are built in fresh-sawn green oak from Hewins Timber, chosen for structural strength. Green oak is worked before it has dried, which is how oak-framed buildings have been made for centuries.

It then seasons in your garden. As the timber dries over the first year or two, the joints draw tighter and the frame becomes stiffer. You will see splits (called shakes or checks) open along the grain and small movements at the joints. This is expected and does not weaken the structure – it is the oak settling into its final shape. The pergola weathers to the same silver-grey as an oak seat.

More on our timbers.

Guarantee. Every piece carries our five-year Sitting Spiritually guarantee, and painted Accoya pieces are built on timber guaranteed by its manufacturer for 50 years above ground. Our first seats, made in 2004, still sit in our Lyme Regis garden: the five years is a floor, not a ceiling. If something is wrong through our fault, we put it right at our cost. Full terms are on our guarantee page.

Care. Clean the timber a few times a year with sugar soap or our wood cleaner so algae and dirt do not settle in the grain, and avoid a high-pressure washer, which raises the grain. Leave new oak unoiled for its first two to three years while the natural tannins wash out; after that, a feeding oil once a year in spring keeps it nourished. Our refurbishment kit has everything needed. Painted Accoya needs only a wash down. More in aftercare and maintenance.

In the first season. Fresh oak releases tannin when it rains, which can mark new paving (Indian sandstone especially) until it has washed through – stand the feet on something for the first few months. Small dark marks around screw plugs are a reaction between the tannin and traces of iron in water; they are cosmetic and weather in.

Later on. If a piece has been left for a few years, our workshop can collect, restore and return it. See the refurbishment service.

Choose your size, finish and details above and order online, or call Nick on 01297 443084 if you would rather talk it through. Ordering online does not lock anything in: we call every customer within a few days to confirm placement, access and the finished specification before your day bed goes to the workshop.

Most pieces are made to order in four to six weeks. As yours nears completion we send you a photograph from the workshop, then book a delivery date with you. Cushions, covers and other additions can be added later – many customers live with their piece through a season first.

Buying from overseas? See international delivery – we deliver to Europe, North America, Australia and beyond.

Need a different size? Day beds are often made to a specific span – see bespoke commissions. For one person or a smaller space, see the Single Day Bed.

Given the size of the Swinging Day Bed, delivery and installation are carried out by the maker, Alex De Bono, so the structure is assembled exactly as intended and positioned with care.

Before delivery we contact you to confirm a date and talk through access – paths, surfaces and final placement, beneath its pergola or within a garden room. On the day, the day bed is assembled on site, levelled and secured where needed. Mattress, cushions, roof elements and covers are fitted and every detail checked.

As with all our pieces, you are invited to step in, sit back and sway before we leave – so the balance and feel are exactly right.