It is a wrap on the patio cushions I recovered for my son in law. Here you see half of them. It took a couple of days to finish six cushions and two throw pillows.
I think that fabric gives the cushions a fresh summery look. He is a pretty patriotic guy, so the red white and blue color scheme is right up his alley too. He just got a royal blue canvas cover for his deck, so this will be a very nicely color coordinated look. If I can get a photo of all the cushions in place at his house, I will share it with you.
This patio set consists of a love seat that rocks, a comfortable arm chair and a coffee table. My husband bought it for me in 1988. 27 years ago. When the set was mine, I recovered the cushions about every five years. I was always pretty careful to bring the cushions in for the winter and also when the weather was wet. Otherwise they were out in the sun all the time, which of course faded the fabric.
This is the set on our patio two houses ago. The third set of new covers for the set!
About six years ago I passed the patio set on to my daughter and son and law for their new home. I gave the cushions one last recovering when I passed on the set. Let's just say they weren't quite as careful as I was about bringing the cushions in out of the rain.
So, there was a big mildew issue. Yuck. I am telling you, these cushions were gross. There was no escaping it, I had to remove all the previous years of cushion fabric and get down to the basic foam of the cushions. You see, each time I recovered the cushions, I had just covered over the old fabric, since it was perfectly sound, just faded. But now with all that mildew if was a different situation.
How odd it was to remove layer after layer of cushion fabric. It brought back so many memories of where we lived at the time, what my color preferences were, what was going on in our lives. Kind of like an architectural dig. Layers of fabric, layers of years, time passing.
So now the patio set is all set for its 28 summer, wearing its fifth set of new covers! A lot of things have changed over those years, but that patio set keeps on going.
36 responses to “Patio Cushions, Fifth Reincarnation”
Love the cushions. Can you tell me what type of fabric you used? I have some I also need to recover this year! thank you>
Mary in rainy Florida
Love the cushions. Can you tell me what type of fabric you used? I have some I also need to recover this year! thank you>
Mary in rainy Florida
Love the cushions. Can you tell me what type of fabric you used? I have some I also need to recover this year! thank you>
Mary in rainy Florida
Well done! Love the new fabrics, you did a stellar job recovering the cushions, and the new pillows are just perfect. Here’s to a good 28th season for this set!
My DH always says new stuff is no good so much of our furniture inside and out is old and some is pretty enough to be called antiques. The wood was just so much better quality, denser grain, and harder back when these things are made. That quality wood is no longer available unless you pay more than an arm and a leg.
Hugs from rainy Virginia
Well done! Love the new fabrics, you did a stellar job recovering the cushions, and the new pillows are just perfect. Here’s to a good 28th season for this set!
My DH always says new stuff is no good so much of our furniture inside and out is old and some is pretty enough to be called antiques. The wood was just so much better quality, denser grain, and harder back when these things are made. That quality wood is no longer available unless you pay more than an arm and a leg.
Hugs from rainy Virginia
Well done! Love the new fabrics, you did a stellar job recovering the cushions, and the new pillows are just perfect. Here’s to a good 28th season for this set!
My DH always says new stuff is no good so much of our furniture inside and out is old and some is pretty enough to be called antiques. The wood was just so much better quality, denser grain, and harder back when these things are made. That quality wood is no longer available unless you pay more than an arm and a leg.
Hugs from rainy Virginia
The cushions look so summery! Lots of history in those fabric layers! I have my grandmother’s rattan family room furniture from the 1950’s. There are layers of tropical prints from Florida underneath our newer ‘cabin-y’ patterns from our move to the West!
The cushions look so summery! Lots of history in those fabric layers! I have my grandmother’s rattan family room furniture from the 1950’s. There are layers of tropical prints from Florida underneath our newer ‘cabin-y’ patterns from our move to the West!
The cushions look so summery! Lots of history in those fabric layers! I have my grandmother’s rattan family room furniture from the 1950’s. There are layers of tropical prints from Florida underneath our newer ‘cabin-y’ patterns from our move to the West!
That is truly a quality set of patio furniture to have lasted so long. I love the fabric he chose for the cushions.
That is truly a quality set of patio furniture to have lasted so long. I love the fabric he chose for the cushions.
That is truly a quality set of patio furniture to have lasted so long. I love the fabric he chose for the cushions.
The cushions look so nice. What kind of fabric did you use?
The cushions look so nice. What kind of fabric did you use?
The cushions look so nice. What kind of fabric did you use?
Oh gosh! What a nostalgic post! I know how my life has changed in 28 years, and yours would be no different. Thought-provoking post – thank you!
Oh gosh! What a nostalgic post! I know how my life has changed in 28 years, and yours would be no different. Thought-provoking post – thank you!
Oh gosh! What a nostalgic post! I know how my life has changed in 28 years, and yours would be no different. Thought-provoking post – thank you!
Your hubby bought some pretty great stuff for you to last almost 30 years now. And I’m sure it’ll look great with the new cushions!
Your hubby bought some pretty great stuff for you to last almost 30 years now. And I’m sure it’ll look great with the new cushions!
Your hubby bought some pretty great stuff for you to last almost 30 years now. And I’m sure it’ll look great with the new cushions!
It must have been quite a walk down Memory Lane when you saw all the previous fabrics you had used to recover the cushions. Way to reuse and recycle, I’m impressed!
It must have been quite a walk down Memory Lane when you saw all the previous fabrics you had used to recover the cushions. Way to reuse and recycle, I’m impressed!
It must have been quite a walk down Memory Lane when you saw all the previous fabrics you had used to recover the cushions. Way to reuse and recycle, I’m impressed!
New cushions look great! And that means you had enough fabric! Yay!
New cushions look great! And that means you had enough fabric! Yay!
New cushions look great! And that means you had enough fabric! Yay!
LOVE, LOVE!!!
LOVE, LOVE!!!
LOVE, LOVE!!!
Is it too late for a tutorial? I’ve got some cushions to recover and I am not sure how to go about it. I was going to take apart the old casings to use as patterns but you leave on the old fabric. Hmmm…
Is it too late for a tutorial? I’ve got some cushions to recover and I am not sure how to go about it. I was going to take apart the old casings to use as patterns but you leave on the old fabric. Hmmm…
Is it too late for a tutorial? I’ve got some cushions to recover and I am not sure how to go about it. I was going to take apart the old casings to use as patterns but you leave on the old fabric. Hmmm…
I really like the new fabric for the outdoor set. I was just about to buy new cushions for my outdoor furniture… I had not even thought about recovering them. Was it, other than time consuming, a challenge? I did, however, think about spray painting the frames on the loveseat and chairs. Even to do black again would give it a better look.
I really like the new fabric for the outdoor set. I was just about to buy new cushions for my outdoor furniture… I had not even thought about recovering them. Was it, other than time consuming, a challenge? I did, however, think about spray painting the frames on the loveseat and chairs. Even to do black again would give it a better look.
I really like the new fabric for the outdoor set. I was just about to buy new cushions for my outdoor furniture… I had not even thought about recovering them. Was it, other than time consuming, a challenge? I did, however, think about spray painting the frames on the loveseat and chairs. Even to do black again would give it a better look.