Business & Pleasure Beach Furniture Review: The Outdoor Lifestyle Brand of Your Dreams

Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the web’s best products. If you purchase through our links, we may receive a commission. Our editorial team is independent and only endorses products we believe in.

When it comes to the beachy life, I'm a bit of a late bloomer. Having grown up in Southern California, it was always something I took for granted. While my classmates were skipping sixth period to surf at Strands Point, my study breaks were heavier on foreign films and vinyl collecting (yes, I was that guy). 

But after spending a few long winters on the east coast, when I came back to California to settle down, 24/7 beach access was as mindblowing to me as it always should've been. Now I never miss an opportunity to get my toes in the sand, and my formerly pasty-white complexion is now bedecked with some pretty respectable tan lines – this summer, anyway. 

Where I've yet to level up is in my accessories game: the most hardcore beach bums have their chairs, umbrellas, and blankets ready to go, while I'm always scraping around the bottom of my laundry pile and hoping my SPF is enough to cover me. 

That's why I was so bowled over when I came across Business & Pleasure, a brand that makes the chicest beach essentials this side of the Pacific. Aside from the brand’s statement piece, which it very confidently calls "The World's Best Beach Umbrella" (spoiler alert: I just might agree), Business & Pleasure offers everything from outdoor furniture to perfectly coordinated cooler bags. The brand delivers not just on aesthetics, but just as importantly in functionality – which is no big surprise, considering the brand was founded by a couple of beach boys themselves.

Because just like my favorite movie musical Grease, B&P began as a love story on the sand.

When it comes to the beachy life, I'm a bit of a late bloomer. Having grown up in Southern California, it was always something I took for granted. While my classmates were skipping sixth period to surf at Strands Point, my study breaks were heavier on foreign films and vinyl collecting (yes, I was that guy). 

But after spending a few long winters on the east coast, when I came back to California to settle down, 24/7 beach access was as mindblowing to me as it always should've been. Now I never miss an opportunity to get my toes in the sand, and my formerly pasty-white complexion is now bedecked with some pretty respectable tan lines – this summer, anyway. 

Where I've yet to level up is in my accessories game: the most hardcore beach bums have their chairs, umbrellas, and blankets ready to go, while I'm always scraping around the bottom of my laundry pile and hoping my SPF is enough to cover me. 

That's why I was so bowled over when I came across Business & Pleasure, a brand that makes the chicest beach essentials this side of the Pacific. Aside from the brand’s statement piece, which it very confidently calls "The World's Best Beach Umbrella" (spoiler alert: I just might agree), Business & Pleasure offers everything from outdoor furniture to perfectly coordinated cooler bags. The brand delivers not just on aesthetics, but just as importantly in functionality – which is no big surprise, considering the brand was founded by a couple of beach boys themselves.

Because just like my favorite movie musical Grease, B&P began as a love story on the sand.

THE HEAD AND THE HEART

For Australian co-founders Ollie Edwards and Lachlan Leckie, the beach isn't just a backdrop; it's an origin story. It's where they met their so-called "Classic Cali dream-girls," both falling head over heels on vacation (like you do), and keeping the flame alive by meeting up on either shore whenever possible. 

Their answer to turning those beach days from pleasure into business, as it were, came when Leckie learned how to handmake umbrellas. After discovering a stash that were made in their home country in the '80s, he learned the trade from Australia's "last living umbrella craftsman" and eventually produced a product that felt destined to sweep the market. Combined with Edwards' years of experience in the online retail space, the two became a creative and commercial yin/yang alluded to in the brand's name, different in skillset but united in a cohesive vision.

That vision has allowed B&P to expand its product line rapidly while still maintaining a clear aesthetic of laidback, luxurious beach-inspired furniture. Since its launch in 2017, B&P has started retailing all over the world in stores like Selfridges, Harrods and Moda Operandi, while opening its first brick and mortar location in my hometown of Laguna Beach, CA. With planned expansions into beach clubs and resortwear, it's clear this duo is just getting started – and lucky for us, their products are also all available online.

With a whole array of products to choose from, allow me to spotlight a few of my absolute favorites: two flavors of umbrellas and the softest, most striking beach towels to go along with them.

ELLA, ELLA, EY EY EY…

First things first: let's talk colorways. While the Antique White beach set is the epitome of timeless, and the '70s Cinque Panels are retro in the best way, it's the Check collection that really captured my heart. Available in Vintage Blue, Vintage Gold, Vintage Green or Dusty Pink, these umbrellas ($199, on sale from $299) have real, sophisticated wow factor.

The checkered pattern brings personality in spades, and is supported by a rock-solid framework: the pole isn't just made from reclaimed timber wood, its hinge allows for 180 degrees of motion. Yes, you read that correctly. No more moving your umbrella around to stay out of the sun; this angular adjustment can move your patch of shade anywhere you like.

The adorable, scallop edge canopy is also water- and UV-resistant, blocking out 98% of rays and providing UPF protection of 50+. And as one of the brand’s Premium umbrellas, it has a span of 6 feet and a height of 7 feet, meaning it's wide enough to shade multiple pals of yours and strong enough to hold up to any gusts of wind. But with a set-up time of 1 minute, it's as easy-breezy a companion as you could ask for on your day off.