Wooden and metal chairs and benches add functional beauty to our yards, but without garden furniture cushions they can literally become a pain after just a short spell of sitting. Warm weather is precious, and nobody needs a sore posterior to dissuade them from enjoying all the hours they can outside among the flora. Garden furniture cushions save the summer, adding comfort and color to your already-beautiful outdoor seating.
If you haven’t shopped for them yet, you’ll be happy to know that outdoor-use cushions have come a long way. These are not your grandmother’s sticky, vinyl numbers—they’re made of tough, weather- and fade-resistant fabrics that will look and feel good for many seasons. Sunbrella tops the heap as far as fabrics’ reputations go, since it shrugs off moisture (rain, humidity, lemonade), dries quickly, and refuses to fade even in the harshest sun. This and other fabrics are also made tough to stand up to heavy use, resisting tears, punctures, and other damage.
The range of patterns and colors that the manufacturers have made available will impress most shoppers as well. You can get cushions to coordinate with whatever of your home’s exterior accents you choose—most likely the ones that are nearest the seating you wish to accessorize. You might decide to match the hues of any of these:
• your patio umbrella
• the paint on your front door or windowboxes
• your doormat (for a porch swing’s cushion, for example)
• nearby flowers, whether they’re blooming in containers or right out of the ground
You might even want to introduce a whole new color to your outdoor living area; maybe you’ve seen enough hunter green and it’s time for something like rich, bright orange. Then you can go on to purchase coordinating can cozies, pool towels, outdoor plastic barware, and even a flame-colored bikini!
Function is at least as important as style (believe it or not!), so you’ll want to be sure that the thickness and softness of the cushions you buy are up to snuff. A particularly hard garden piece, a concrete bench or metal glider swing, for instance, may call for a little more padding than a wooden bench with a contoured seat. You may find cushions with the padded core anywhere from an inch to as much as six inches thick, but you won’t necessarily be able to find the pattern you seek in such a range.
As much as a high-quality outdoor cushion will repel rain and stains, it does stay outdoors all summer and probably beyond. That means it has to put up with an awful lot, which in most climates can include days strung together without sun. Warm summer air and dampness add up to mold and mildew, even on the mold-resistant fabrics (the key word is resistant—there’s not much in the world that’s mold-proof—least of all any dirt clinging to the cushion). The most likely site for mildew is the underside of the cushion where it comes into contact with the seat itself. Make a habit of flipping your cushions regularly and hosing them off to remove surface dust and dirt. As you do this you should also look them over for the first black dots of mildew.
What if you find some mold starting to grow? Mix up a solution of dish soap or mild laundry detergent and water, and scrub the stain with the solution, using a brush. If the mold doesn’t budge, you’ll have to add an ounce or two of chlorine bleach and leave the mixture on the stain for up to 20 minutes before scrubbing. Rinse thoroughly and then hang to dry or simply prop the cushions up where they can air-dry. You’ll want to clean the furniture as well, since the mold spores have likely taken hold there, too.
If you only use your cushions seasonally, be sure to take a little care in storing them. Don’t put them away unless they’re clean and absolutely dry, and keep them in a place where they won’t be subject to fluctuatinng levels of humidity. The best option is to purchase a specifically-made, zippered storage case for any outdoor garden furniture cushions that you need to store. In a pinch, you can wrap them well in a plastic trash bag.
