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I'm curious as to how you deal with outdoor furniture cushions. The options I can thinking are:
1. Leave them outside on the furniture, knowing that the sun, rain, etc will probably destroy them in a couple of years.
2. Leave them on the furniture, but use plastic covers to protect them (what do you do with those covers when not in use?)
3. Bring the cushions inside your garage or house whenever they are not in use (best for making the cushions last, but a lot of work every time you need them).
4. Some kind of nearby, outdoor storage, like a deck box (Are those things truly waterproof? Might need several if you have a lot of furniture, then where do you put all those deck boxes?)
5. A mini-barn (but a lot of HOAs don't allow them).
Please elaborate on what has worked best for you. I've recently replaced my cushions, would like to keep them looking nice for a while, so I have been dragging them into the sunroom every evening (making that room unusable because of all the cushions on the floor!)
I have done pretty much all of the above. My pillows and deep seat cushions on my front porch stay year round because of it being decorative and the porch is covered so minimal weather impact. We just don’t sit out there. It is all for curb appeal.
The ones in the backyard around the fire pit sat in the hot sun and only lasted about 3 years...even as Sunbrella material until they essentially disintegrated. It was then that I realized how many hundreds of dollars it was going to be to replace them and I didn’t want to get new furniture. So, I waited until it was clearance post-summer and bought a new set of 4 and put them in a box in storage until the next season. Now I keep them out but when the weather is extreme or we know that we won’t be using them for an extended period of time, they get stashed in the garage or shed. That said, our dining table on the back patio has cushions year round since we use that more often and those cushions are relatively cheap to replace since they are regular chair sized and a dime a dozen in the stores.
I guess it comes down to you weighing out the cost, effort and labor with the inability to comfortably use the room you toss them all in to the expense of replacing every few years. I do think a nice deck box to toss them in for extended periods of time would be the simplest, least laborious most cost effective way. Not sure that this has helped, but hope it has.
Get a large Rubbermaid plastic chest to store cushions when not being used that sits next to the chairs. Can also be used for a table and additional seating. That's what my mom does. Keep cushions clean and dry, just a few seconds to get out and put away.
Well, superior modern alternatives to corn cobs and privies now exist. Till squirrels, mice, and chipmunks stop wanting soft materials to line their nests (or to become their nests), till air pollution, rain, dust, mist and mold are somehow magically obsoleted, I'm not sure what the superior modern strategy would be to prevent outside fabric cushions from getting skanky after a while. I've got a few ideas:
Dip 'em in Plasti-Dip
Make the covers out of .125" EPDM and solvent weld them together rather than sewing
Make the cushions out of concrete
I have a screened porch w/a "sofa" w/cushions, in the evenings after use and when rain is called for I have the bottom cushions in 1 lawn & leaf bag each and the back cushions each in a kitchen trash bag. When I uncover them I just fold the bags up and put them under the cushion seats - takes maybe 2 mins. or so.
When not in use, I place the cushions in heavy duty plastic bags and leave them out. When wanting to use, I remove the bag, fold it, and place it underneath the cushion.
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