Slatted Outdoor Side Table, 18 Inch Recycled Lumber, Slate Grey

This is a rectangular outdoor side table in slate grey recycled lumber, 15 inches wide by 19 inches deep by 18 inches tall, for the spot next to a lounge chair where a drink and a book need somewhere to go. The top is slatted rather than solid, so rain drains straight through instead of pooling and leaving a ring, and the grey is a genuinely neutral cool grey that will not fight whatever cushion fabric is already on the patio.

Recycled plastic lumber is the material here, and the practical case for it is maintenance: nothing to paint, stain, or waterproof, ever. It will not splinter, crack, chip, peel, or rot, and it resists the substances that actually ruin outdoor furniture, which is to say oil, salt spray, wine, and condiments. A wipe with soap and water takes stains off rather than driving them in. The lumber is made in the USA and carries a 20-year limited residential warranty.

It weighs 11 pounds. Buyers rate it 4.8 stars across 2,026 reviews, which is a large enough sample to be confident the finish holds up, and the comment that comes up most often is that it reads as real wood at a glance while behaving nothing like it in weather.