Clear Outdoor Furniture Covers
Buy the best clear outdoor furniture covers selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
If you want your garden furniture to last for years to come, high-quality plastic covers for outdoor furniture are well worth the investment. Whilst traditional furniture covers are generally dark in color, heavy, and designed to be left on throughout the winter, lightweight clear outdoor furniture covers can easily be slipped on during the summer months to protect your furniture from dust and rain showers without the need to remove your cushions.
Clear Outdoor Furniture Covers
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
Outdoor patio furniture will often have soft padding or upholstery that is susceptible to mold and mildew. Clear patio furniture covers protect chairs, sofas and tables from the elements of the outdoors. The pieces are still visible and ready for use whenever needed. Elastic or drawstrings along the bottom keep the cover securely in place when the wind picks up. Enables heavy furniture to remain in position during rain and dust storms.
10-gauge vinyl is an easy fix to prepare outdoor furniture against upcoming storms or just to protect daily against early morning dew. Made of 100% Polyvinyl Chloride, it is durable and flexible for everyday use. Reinforced seams follow the outline of specific furniture pieces for a controlled fit. They are made to fit pieces such as sofas, loveseats, chairs, bar stools, ottomans, coffee tables and side tables.
In order to get the best fit possible, your furniture should be measured and compared to sizes available. Measure the width and length of all pieces and leave 1 to 2 inches short at the bottom for breathability. Include any curvatures for a good fit. There will not always be a perfect fit for unusually sized pieces of furniture. For example, a large round rattan coffee table may require more covering than a normal table. Use a dining table for comparison in this instance. Always order larger fitting clear covers to ensure that the entire furniture piece is covered.
Clear patio furniture covers made from 10-gauge vinyl are for everyday general purpose use. While they are good for keeping upholstery dry and clean, they are not recommended for use during the winter months. Marine grade vinyl is better suited for year round use where temperatures can negatively affect 10-gauge clear vinyl.
Your covers will arrive folded. Remove from the box and smooth out to remove any creasing. Check the seams for any damage that may have occurred from manufacturing or packaging. If there are any areas with gaps or tears, contact the manufacturer for an exchange. Once the piece has been unfolded, let it lie in the sun to activate flexibility for use. Spread over the furniture and secure at the bottom.
Untie the bottom or simply lift up on the elastic and remove the clear cover. Fold along the creased areas and tuck inside. Fold over 2 or 3 times to make the cover flat and compact. Store away from direct heat, such as in a garage storage bin or an inside closet.
Your clear plastic furniture covers may accumulate dirt, dust, and leaves while covering outside furniture. Wipe clean with a damp cloth before folding up for storage.
Have you already found the outdoor furniture of your dreams? Well done, you! Now you just need to make sure that it lasts you for more than one season. It's only logical to invest in good patio chair covers to protect your furniture throughout winter and the harshest weather conditions without having to waste precious storage space by bringing everything indoors.
Not sure how to choose patio chair covers that would protect them properly without becoming an eyesore in your garden? No worries: we've got you - and your chairs - covered.
Your covers must fit your chairs like a glove. To avoid disappointment or time-consuming returns, it's vital to measure the chair before purchasing them.
While it's pretty obvious why choosing patio chair covers that are too small would backfire, going for something too big instead of measuring them is just as bad: the covers can end up touching the floor and building up dirt and water, or even fly away in the wind.
Regardless of the shape and design of your chairs, follow these three steps:
To determine the correct width, measure your chair from side to side in its widest point;
Find the deepest dimension from the chair-front to its back to calculate the right depth;
Measure your chair from the ground up to its tallest point to have the correct height.
If you're buying a cover for multiple plastic chairs, make sure they're already stacked before measuring them.
We're sure that, when you picked your beautiful outdoor furniture, you've taken comfort and aesthetics into account. However, when it comes to choosing patio chair covers, functionality should come first: it's important to focus on materials that ensure weather resistance and durability.
For these reasons, synthetic materials will be your best choice, such as:
- breathable and highly UV-resistant polyester
- vinyl, which is very effective for particularly heavy rains
- cheaper stain-resistant polypropylene.
Choosing a durable and weather-resistant material is a great start and, in some cases (like with cheaper plastic chairs), that might be all you need to worry about. However, it might be worth considering these features to avoid unpleasant surprises after winter:
If you've got pets that enjoy chewing at your furniture or scratching it with their sharp nails, look for tear-resistant covers;
If you live in a particularly windy area, a drawcord or some tie-downs will be a practical feature to stop your covers from flying away;
Essential if your outdoor furniture is expected to withstand lots of rain but a wise choice in general, breathable side panels or vents avoid common problems like moisture buildup and mildew; not only they reduce the risk of condensation by allowing the air to move through the cover and around the chair, but they also minimize ballooning on the windiest days.
The fact that patio chair covers are mainly functional doesn't mean that they must look boring! Now that we've covered their practical features, you can get creative with the aesthetic side of things:
Choosing the same color as the chairs that they're hiding can help you maintain an element of familiarity;
If you want them to be the key to a cohesive palette, choose the accent color of your garden, patio and house exteriors, such as the hue that you've picked for your fence, mailbox, house numbers or wall décor;
If, on the contrary, you'd rather shift the focus towards other more decorative elements in your patio, go for neutral tones like gray, light brown or matte black.
Do you remember everything we've covered? Let's take no risks!
Measure your chairs before choosing patio chair covers: they must fit them perfectly!
Stick to synthetic materials like vinyl, polyester and polypropylene that can ensure waterproof and weather-resistant properties
Have you considered features such as tear resistance (if you've got mischievous pets), drawcords and tie-downs for particularly windy locations, or breathable vents to avoid moisture buildups?
As for colors, you can either pick one from your patio's palette to ensure consistency, the same as the chairs for a familiar feel, or neutral tones to keep the focus on other more decorative elements.