The Ultimate Guide to Nardi Sun Loungers

The Ultimate Guide to Nardi Sun Loungers: Poolside & Patio Relaxation

There is a particular kind of pleasure that belongs entirely to the sun lounger. It is the moment you finally stop, stretch out, tip your face toward the light and let the day slow to the pace of a gently swinging garden. In Ireland we chase that moment more than most, because when the sun does arrive we want to be ready for it in an instant — no dragging heavy furniture from the shed, no wrestling with rusted hinges, no cushions that have turned to sponge over a damp winter. This is exactly where Nardi has quietly become the name that discerning Irish gardeners, hoteliers and poolside designers reach for again and again.

Nardi is a family firm from Chiampo, a small town in the Vicenza province of northern Italy, where the company has been designing and moulding outdoor furniture since the mid-twentieth century. What sets Nardi apart is not just Italian styling — it is the material science underneath it. Every lounger is made from batch-dyed, anti-UV, fibreglass-reinforced resin: the colour runs all the way through the piece rather than sitting on top as a coat of paint, and it is stabilised against ultraviolet light so it does not chalk, fade or go brittle in strong sun. Just as importantly for us, that same resin is fully weatherproof and, in Nardi's newer ranges, recyclable — which means a lounger left out through an Irish autumn of horizontal rain and salt-laden coastal wind will look the same next May as it did the day it arrived.

This guide walks you through the entire Nardi sun lounger range as we stock it at Custom Wood Designs. We compare the models side by side — reclining mechanisms, wheels, armrests, stacking and storage, the materials, and which lounger suits a pool, a timber deck or a family garden best. We finish with colour, cushion and care advice so that whichever lounger you choose, it keeps earning its place in the sun for years.

Meet the Nardi Sun Lounger Range at a Glance

Nardi's genius is that it does not make one lounger and hope it suits everyone. Instead the range is a family of models, each solving a slightly different problem. Before we dive into the detail, here is the shape of the collection.

• Plano — the sculptural, single-piece hero lounger: elegant, contemporary and endlessly comfortable, with a smooth multi-position recline.
• Atlantico — the classic stackable poolside recliner, breathable and built for hotels and busy family pools alike, with optional clip-on armrests.
• Alfa — a full-featured stacking recliner that includes fixed armrests as standard, for those who like something to push against as they rise.
• Omega — the pared-back sibling of the Alfa, armrest-free and gloriously easy to stack in quantity.
• Eden — the do-it-all lounger: armrests and wheels and stacking, the most feature-complete model in the family.
• Tropico — the wheeled, stackable recliner built to be moved: reposition it around the deck as the sun travels.

Alongside the loungers proper, Nardi makes a pair of low relax chairs — the Doga Relax and the Net Relax — for people who want a reclined seat rather than a full-length bed, plus the accessories that turn a lounger into a proper outdoor room: a side table to hold your book and your glass, and a sunshade for the hottest part of the afternoon. We will come to all of them.

Plano: The Sculptural Statement Lounger

If the Nardi range has a showpiece, it is the Plano. Where most loungers announce themselves as garden equipment, the Plano reads more like a piece of outdoor sculpture — a single, flowing form with a gently waved profile that cradles the body and looks as good empty as it does occupied. It is the lounger you choose when the setting itself is part of the pleasure: an architect-designed pool terrace, a minimalist courtyard, a boutique hotel deck where every object needs to earn its keep visually.

Underneath the good looks, the Plano is seriously practical. The backrest reclines through several positions, from fully upright for reading or conversation down to flat for sunbathing or a proper afternoon doze, and the mechanism is smooth and intuitive rather than fiddly. The whole lounger is moulded from Nardi's fibreglass-reinforced polypropylene resin, so it is light enough to reposition on your own yet stable enough not to skate around on a windy terrace. Because the resin is batch-dyed, there is no paint to scratch and no finish to maintain — a wipe with a soft cloth is all it ever asks.

The Plano arrives in a beautifully judged palette that leans into its contemporary character: a crisp White, a soft sage-toned Menta, a warm earthy Tobacco, a muted Dove grey and the deeper Croda. These are colours designed to sit in a landscape rather than shout over it, which is exactly why designers love the piece.

Best for: design-led pool terraces, contemporary courtyards and anyone who wants a lounger that doubles as a sculptural focal point. It is the least "stackable-utility" of the range and the most "furniture as art".

Atlantico: The Breathable Poolside Classic

If the Plano is the statement, the Atlantico is the workhorse — and one of the most popular loungers Nardi makes. This is the lounger you picture beside a Mediterranean hotel pool: a slim, elegant frame with a breathable textilene-style bed suspended within it, so air moves freely around you and water drains straight through rather than pooling on the surface. On a hot day that breathability is the difference between comfort and clinginess; after a rain shower it means the lounger is dry and ready far faster than a solid seat.

The Atlantico reclines through multiple back positions and — crucially for hotels, gyms and busy family gardens — it stacks. A column of Atlantico loungers takes up remarkably little floor space, so you can put a dozen out when the sun shines and tuck them neatly against a wall when it does not. The frame is Nardi's UV-stabilised resin, and the mesh bed is engineered for years of outdoor use without sagging.

One of the Atlantico's best tricks is that it is part of a system. Armrests are not built in, which keeps the base lounger sleek and stack-friendly, but Nardi makes a dedicated clip-on armrest — the Bracciolo Atlantico — that lets you add arms only to the loungers where you want them. It is a genuinely thoughtful piece of modular design.

The colour range is where the Atlantico really flexes, because both the frame and the bed can be specified — Tortora with Tortora, Tortora with Agave green, Bianco with Celeste blue, Antracite on Antracite for a moody all-charcoal look, and several more combinations besides. That two-tone flexibility makes it easy to match a hotel's brand palette or simply to have a little fun with your own scheme.

Best for: pools, hotels, gyms, spas and any garden where you want serious comfort, easy storage and the option to colour-match. If you buy in multiples, the Atlantico is hard to beat.

Alfa: The Recliner With Armrests Built In

The Alfa answers a very human request: give me something to push against when I get up. As we get a little older, or simply on a lazy afternoon when everything feels heavier than it should, fixed armrests transform a lounger from a low seat you have to lever yourself out of into a chair you rise from with ease. The Alfa builds those armrests in as standard, integrated cleanly into the moulded frame so they never wobble or work loose.

Despite the arms, the Alfa still stacks, which is a genuinely clever bit of engineering — most armrest loungers refuse to nest, but the Alfa's geometry lets a stack of them sit neatly for winter storage. The back reclines through several positions, the bed is the same breathable, quick-drying textilene the Atlantico uses, and the whole thing is built on Nardi's weatherproof resin frame. It is, in effect, the Atlantico's more supportive cousin.

Because comfort is the Alfa's whole pitch, Nardi offers a matching parasol accessory — the Parasole Alfa e Omega — that clips to the lounger to shade your head and shoulders while your legs stay in the sun. On a bright Irish afternoon that adjustable shade is the detail that lets you stay out for hours rather than retreating indoors.

The Alfa comes in a considered set of frame-and-bed combinations including a crisp Bianco Bianco, warm Bianco Beige, cool Bianco Blue, natural Tortora and a smart all-over Antracite.

Best for: comfort-first gardens, guests who appreciate the help of an armrest, and anyone who wants recline, stacking and support in a single well-mannered package.

Omega: The Streamlined Stacker

The Omega is the Alfa with the armrests taken away — and that is not a downgrade, it is a different priority. Remove the arms and you get a cleaner, more minimal silhouette and, above all, tighter stacking. For a hotel that needs to store forty loungers over winter, or a family that wants to slide half a dozen behind the shed door in October, the armrest-free Omega packs down beautifully.

Everything else you would want is present: a multi-position reclining backrest, the same breathable bed, the same UV-stable resin frame that shrugs off Irish weather, and compatibility with the Parasole Alfa e Omega shade. The lack of arms also makes the Omega marginally lighter to lift and carry, and it sidles right up to a pool edge or a low table without arms getting in the way — handy if you like to lie on your front and read over the side.

Colour options mirror the Alfa's, from Bianco combinations through Tortora to Antracite, so you can run Alfas and Omegas together in one scheme, giving armrests to the loungers that need them and keeping the rest sleek.

Best for: high-volume settings where stacking and storage are king, and for anyone who simply prefers the cleaner, arm-free line.

Eden: The Feature-Complete All-Rounder

If you want one lounger that does everything, the Eden is it. This is the model where Nardi combines the lot: fixed armrests for easy rising, integrated wheels for easy moving, and stacking for easy storage. It is the Swiss Army knife of the range, and for a lot of real gardens it is the smartest single choice you can make.

The wheels are the quiet hero here. A full-length lounger is not heavy, but it is long and awkward to carry, especially across gravel or around planting. With two discreet wheels at the foot end, you simply lift the head end a few inches and walk the Eden wherever the sun has moved to — off the damp morning shade of the house wall and out onto the open lawn by lunchtime. For anyone with mobility considerations, or simply anyone who dislikes lugging furniture, that single feature changes how often the lounger actually gets used.

The Eden reclines through the usual generous range of positions, uses the breathable quick-drying bed, and is built on the same recyclable, weatherproof Nardi resin. It stacks despite the arms and wheels, which is a real feat of moulding. It comes in a clean pairing of Tortora and Bianco — restrained, versatile shades that suit almost any setting.

Best for: the household that wants a single lounger to cover every base, gardens where furniture needs to move to chase the sun, and anyone who values armrests and wheels together.

Tropico: The Lounger That Loves to Move

The Tropico shares the Eden's love of mobility but strips back to the essentials: it is a wheeled, stackable recliner without fixed armrests. That makes it the natural pick when repositioning is your top priority but you prefer the leaner, arm-free profile of the Omega. Think of it as the touring model — light, mobile and quick to redeploy.

On a timber deck or a smooth patio the Tropico's wheels really come into their own, letting you glide it from the breakfast corner to the afternoon sun trap without lifting a thing. It reclines fully, stacks for storage, and is finished in the same durable UV-resin as the rest of the family. Available in Bianco and Tortora, it slots effortlessly into both crisp modern schemes and softer natural ones.

Best for: decks and patios where the lounger needs to travel, and for people who want wheels and stacking without the bulk of armrests.

How the Loungers Compare: Reclining, Wheels, Armrests and Stacking

The models overlap deliberately, so the right choice comes down to which combination of four features matters most to you. Here is the quick logic.

• Reclining positions: every model in the range reclines through multiple back angles, from upright to flat. The Plano's mechanism feels the most sculpted and seamless; the stacking models (Atlantico, Alfa, Omega, Eden, Tropico) use a robust ratchet-style adjustment that is quick to set and holds firmly.
• Armrests: built in on the Alfa and Eden; clip-on option on the Atlantico via the Bracciolo; absent by design on the Omega and Tropico for cleaner stacking; the Plano is armrest-free by its sculptural nature.
• Wheels: the Eden and Tropico have them, and they are the two to choose if you constantly move furniture to follow the sun.
• Stacking and storage: all five recliner models stack; the armrest-free Omega and Tropico stack most tightly, while the Alfa and Eden manage the impressive trick of stacking even with their arms. The Plano is the one to buy for looks rather than storage, as it is a single sculptural piece.

A simple way to decide: if you want a design centrepiece, choose the Plano. If you want the classic breathable poolside experience with optional arms, choose the Atlantico. If armrests matter, choose the Alfa. If tight stacking matters most, choose the Omega. If you want everything in one, choose the Eden. And if mobility without arms is the goal, choose the Tropico.

Materials: Why Nardi Resin Survives an Irish Winter

It is worth pausing on the material, because it is the reason these loungers make sense in our climate. Nardi moulds its frames from fibreglass-reinforced polypropylene resin that is batch-dyed — the pigment is mixed through the whole material before moulding, so a scuff or scratch shows the same colour underneath rather than a pale wound. The resin is treated with UV stabilisers, which is what stops sun-exposed plastic garden furniture from going chalky, brittle and faded after a season or two.

For Irish buyers the headline is simple: this furniture is genuinely weatherproof. It does not absorb water, so it will not rot, swell or harbour damp the way timber can. It is unaffected by salt air, making it ideal for coastal and estuary gardens. It does not rust, so unlike aluminium or steel there are no fixings to corrode. And it is frost-resistant, which means you can, if you wish, leave it out all winter and simply wipe it down in spring. Nardi's newer resins are also fully recyclable, part of the company's genuine push toward a circular, lower-waste approach to outdoor furniture — a reassuring thing to know about a product you hope to keep for a decade or more.

The breathable beds on the Atlantico, Alfa, Omega, Eden and Tropico deserve a word too. This tensioned textilene-style fabric is engineered for the outdoors: it lets air circulate so you do not overheat, it dries within minutes of a shower or a splash from the pool, and it resists mould and UV degradation. It is the reason these loungers feel cool and comfortable in a way solid moulded seats sometimes do not.

Best for Pools, Decks and Gardens

Poolside

Around water you want breathability, quick drying and easy cleaning, which points straight at the Atlantico as the definitive poolside lounger — it is exactly what it was designed for, and its stackability suits the way pool areas fill and empty with the weather. The Alfa and Omega are equally at home here, with the Alfa's armrests welcome when wet feet make rising a little precarious. The resin frames shrug off splashes, sun cream and chlorine alike.

Timber Decks

On a deck, the wheeled models shine. A Tropico or an Eden rolls smoothly across boards so you can chase the sun as it arcs over the house, and because the resin will not scratch or mark timber the way metal feet can, you can reposition freely. The lighter, arm-free Tropico is especially easy to nudge into place single-handed.

Family Gardens

For a lawn or a mixed garden, wheels earn their keep again — grass and gravel make carrying a lounger awkward, so the Eden is a superb all-round family choice with its arms, wheels and winter-friendly stacking. If your garden is more about looks than logistics, the Plano turns a corner of the lawn into a design moment. And for smaller courtyards and balconies, consider the low relax chairs, which we turn to next.

Beyond the Lounger: Relax Chairs, Tables and Shade

Doga Relax and Net Relax Chairs

Not everyone wants to lie flat. Sometimes the ideal is a deep, reclined chair you can sink into with a coffee and a view — upright enough to chat, low and laid-back enough to properly unwind. Nardi makes two lovely answers to this. The Doga Relax is a curvaceous low armchair with a slatted seat and a comfortably reclined back, moulded in one piece from the same coloured resin and offered in one of Nardi's richest colour ranges, from Agave green and Marsala through soft Perla and Cappuccino to classic Antracite and Bianco.

The Net Relax takes a different, airier approach: a rounded shell chair with a distinctive perforated net back that lets light and breeze pass through, paired with a footrest-friendly reclined posture. It is a wonderfully relaxed, contemporary seat that comes in cheerful shades including Corallo coral, Senape mustard, Salice willow-green, Tortora, Antracite and Bianco. Both chairs are ideal for balconies, reading corners and any spot where a full lounger would be too much.

A Side Table for Book and Glass

A lounger is twice as civilised with somewhere to set down your drink, your sun cream and your phone. The Nardi Cube 80 is a neat, robust outdoor side table that partners beautifully with any of the loungers — the same weatherproof resin, a clean cube form, and a height that sits perfectly alongside a reclined bed. It comes in Tortora, Antracite, Tabacco and Bianco, so you can match or contrast with your loungers as you please.

Shade for the Hottest Hour

Even in Ireland, the middle of a clear summer day asks for a little shade. For lounging areas built around Nardi's Komodo system, the Komodo Ombra 3 sunshade provides an elegant canopy that shelters the seating without closing it in, in colourways such as Bianco Velo, Antracite Velo and Agave Velo. Paired with the clip-on Parasole for the Alfa and Omega, it means you can tune exactly how much sun reaches you as the afternoon wears on.

Choosing Colours That Work in an Irish Garden

Because Nardi colours run right through the resin and stay true for years, colour choice is a decision you live with for a long time — so it is worth getting right. A few principles help.

• Neutrals disappear beautifully. Tortora (a soft warm greige) and Antracite (deep charcoal) are the two most versatile shades in the range. Tortora flatters natural settings — timber decking, sandstone paving, planting — while Antracite reads as crisp and architectural against render, glass and modern hard landscaping.
• White brightens grey days. Bianco lifts an overcast Irish afternoon and looks especially fresh poolside, though it shows the day's dust a little sooner and rewards a quick wipe.
• Colour is your accent, not your foundation. The joy of the two-tone Atlantico, or a single Agave-green Doga Relax, is that a splash of colour animates a scheme built on neutrals. Buy your loungers in a neutral, then let a cushion or an accent chair carry the season's colour.
• Think about your greenery. Menta and Agave greens sit gorgeously among foliage; earthy Tobacco and Tortora echo timber and terracotta; charcoal and white provide contrast against a green garden.

Cushions and Comfort

Nardi's loungers are genuinely comfortable bare, thanks to their contoured shapes and breathable beds — but a cushion adds a layer of luxury and a chance to inject colour and softness. When choosing cushions for outdoor use in Ireland, look for quick-drying, mould-resistant foam cores and covers in solution-dyed acrylic fabrics that resist fading and shrug off showers. Keep them tonal with your resin colour for a calm, hotel-like effect, or go bold with a contrasting accent if your scheme is otherwise neutral.

A practical tip for our climate: even the best outdoor cushions last longest if they are not left to sit sodden. A simple cushion storage box, or bringing them under cover during long wet spells, keeps them fresh for many more seasons — while the loungers themselves happily stay outside.

Caring for Your Nardi Loungers

The best thing about Nardi care is how little there is of it. Still, a few habits keep your loungers looking showroom-fresh.

• Routine cleaning: wipe down with warm water, a little mild soap and a soft cloth or sponge. Rinse and let air-dry. Avoid abrasive pads and harsh solvents, which can dull the resin's finish.
• Stubborn marks: for sun-cream residue or grime in textured areas, a soft brush and soapy water lift it easily. Nardi even offers a dedicated cleaner for deeper refreshes if you want it.
• The breathable beds: hose down the textilene and let it drip-dry — it is designed to shed water in minutes. Its mould resistance means occasional cleaning is all it needs.
• Winter: the resin is frost-proof and can stay outside, but if you have the space, stacking the loungers under cover or storing them keeps them cleaner and cuts down on spring washing. This is exactly where the stacking models earn their keep — a whole set nests into a corner of the garage.
• Wheels and mechanisms: an occasional check that wheels turn freely and recline ratchets are clear of grit keeps everything moving smoothly for years.

Do this little and the loungers will reward you with a very long life — which, given they are made to be recyclable at the very end of it, makes them about as responsible a piece of garden furniture as you can buy.

So, Which Nardi Lounger Is Right for You?

If you have read this far, the decision is probably already forming. Choose the Plano if you want a sculptural centrepiece that happens to be superbly comfortable. Choose the Atlantico for the definitive breathable poolside experience with optional clip-on arms and the widest colour play. Choose the Alfa when armrests and easy rising matter, or the Omega when you want that same recliner in its cleanest, tightest-stacking form. Choose the Eden if you want one lounger that does absolutely everything — arms, wheels and stacking together. And choose the Tropico when mobility is the mission and you prefer the arm-free line.

Whatever you land on, you are buying into more than sixty years of Italian design know-how from a family firm in Chiampo, built from a material that was made for exactly our unpredictable Irish weather. Add a Cube 80 table, a shade for the bright hours and a relax chair or two for the corners, and you have not just a lounger — you have an outdoor room you will use from the first warm morning of spring to the last golden evening of autumn.

Ready to choose yours? Explore the whole family — every model, every colour, in stock and shipping across Ireland — in the full Nardi collection. Your best summer of relaxation starts there.