People who have garden furniture prefer to spend as much of the summer sitting in their garden as they can. For these people, the summer months are too short and so they spend every free moment of sunny weather enjoying the flowers in their garden and the decent weather.
Some people dine in the garden too and it is also common practice to read the paper in the morning over a cup of coffee and a book or magazine in the evening with a drink on the patio as well. Depending on the type of furniture that you have, this can be quite tiring for the posterior, so it is a decent idea to get a couple cushions to make your life more comfortable.
If you do not have any garden furniture yet, you have the choice of plastic, metal or wood. Plastic garden furniture is inexpensive to buy, but it does not last long. Plastic will normally only last for two or three years after which time it becomes brittle and breaks due to extremes of hot and cold.
Metal furniture looks better than plastic and can be more comfortable to sit on because it frequently has a fabric seat, but it can be a bit rickety and it looks so austere. I think that metal garden furniture should be avoided. Once it starts rusting, it looks awful as well.
There are two kinds of timber garden furniture: softwood and hardwood. Some softwood chairs, such as the deck chair or beach chair have a pretty comfortable cloth seat, but most softwood and hardwood garden chairs are hard on the backside after a short while. It is for these chairs in particular that you will require cushions.
If you are buying a new garden table and chair set, you might find that it comes with matching cushions otherwise you will have to buy or make your own. This is not a problem, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
The cushions are likely to get caught in the rain sometimes, so it is best to have them manufactured from materials that will not rot and will not hold water. The stuffing can be that non-absorbent fibre that you frequently find in cheap cushions. It is ideal for use in the garden. The covers should be removable and washable. Cotton or man-made fibre is all right here, because you can put them through the washing machine.
Waterproof material is not recommended because if water does get inside, you want it to be able to run out, not remain stuck inside where it will turn stale. If you want to dry them in a tumble dryer, be wary about using some man-made materials that might melt. You also do not want to use a fabric that might shrink as you will be washing them often. The colours must be fast for this reason too.
While we are talking about colours, the colour or patterns of the cushion covers should be fitting for the colours around them. Please, give this a little thought: it makes all the difference between great, average and awful cushion covers, but it is where you can express your personal taste.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a range of subjects, but is now involved with large dining tables. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Solid Oak Dining Tables.