This huge outdoor sofa from Amazon totally transformed my screened-in porch — and it's under $500

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My spouse and I bought our first home in 2021 during the pandemic, trading in our tiny Brooklyn apartment with a deck for a cape-style house with a backyard and porch. To be honest, the porch looked a little rough when we first moved in — red-stained wood walls, old IKEA furniture, spiders from hell — but I had a vision!

After a few years of prioritizing indoor renovations, we finally got around to doing a porch makeover in 2024, and I remember kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Having this huge new living space with freshly painted walls, a comfy sectional sofa, an outdoor TV, and a dining area had turned our crappy-looking porch into an indoor-outdoor oasis. And the best part was that we did it all on a major budget.

The highlight of our "outdoor living room" is the cozy sofa, and it just so happens that this was also one of our best budget finds ever. When I began shopping for the sofa, I started my research with our buying guide to the best places to buy outdoor furniture online and found myself browsing Amazon (one of our team's go-tos for affordable finds) until I landed on a super cute, well-priced sectional from a brand called Lausaint with a ton of positive reviews and customer photos.

The option we went with was a 6-piece, modular sectional for under $550.

We worried that the price was too good to be true, but we crossed our fingers and bought it anyway. A year later, I'm so glad we took the risk! This couch has been the backdrop for so many fun evenings with friends and breezy morning coffee dates with my spouse. Sure, it's not the kind of thing that will last a lifetime, but it has held up incredibly well so far, and I'm really pleased with the quality for what we paid.

The couch also comes in an 8-piece configuration, so there are other options to consider. Plus, it's modular, so you can always reorganize or split it up into multiple seating areas. Our current configuration is about 111 inches wide and 55 inches deep on the ends with the ottomans. The product listing on Amazon has specs for each piece of the couch, so you can more accurately measure for the needs of your configuration

Assembly was so easy and I love that the pieces are all modular so I can rearrange them whenever I want.

The couch is really easy to assemble and comes with all the tools you need. You're basically just connecting a base and a back, then attaching four legs to each piece. The legs even have little levelers on them in case your floor is uneven. The instructions are clear, and the visuals will guide you through each step.

Whenever we have parties, it's also easy to move the ottoman pieces to the other side of the room so people can face each other. It's also nice knowing that there are a ton of configurations in case we ever totally rearrange the porch again.

The couch is pretty comfy, but you might want to add some pillows and remember to rotate the seat cushions every once in a while.

The seat cushions aren't super dense or thick (they're about 4 inches tall), but they're also not too flimsy. The back and arm cushions are squishier than the seats, but I still recommend adding a few outdoor pillows to the couch to make it feel extra cushy.

I've sat on the couch for hours at a time because it's my favorite work-from-home spot when the weather is nice, and I find that after a couple hours, the seat cushion has sunk in enough that I need to stand up and let it fluff back up. I rotate the seat cushions every couple weeks just to make sure I'm not wearing out the one in the spot I usually prefer.

It's held up really well over the past year with just a little bit of care, but I would only buy this if your outdoor area is covered.

Our porch screens let in a lot of pollen, rain, and dust, so the cushions get dirty easily. But I vacuum them every couple of weeks, and the material doesn't hold onto the dust or pollen particles at all. Even a year later, with just a little bit of care, the cushions still look brand new.

We did buy a $50 cover for big storms where the wind blows a lot of extra water into our porch, but I've found that I barely need to use it. We also opted to buy some Velcro tape to keep the cushions more secure on the base, which has helped the couch feel a little more sturdy.

It's worth considering that while the polyethylene rattan is fully waterproof, the legs are metal, so there's a significant chance they'll rust over time if left out in the rain. Plus, the cushions aren't designed to be soaked. That said, if you're really, really good about remembering to put a cover on the couch, you can probably get away with putting this on an open deck.

The bottom line? This budget outdoor sofa from Amazon is a great value for screened-in or well-covered porches.

If you've got the space for it, I highly recommend this couch. It's not the fanciest or most luxurious option, but it's an excellent pick if you're a budget-conscious shopper looking for flexible seating in a covered outdoor space.