Outdoor Floor Cushions
Buy the best outdoor floor cushions selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
An outdoor floor cushion is one of the most versatile seating solutions: underneath your patio roof or on the grass, for some yoga in the garden or to catch up with friends, when camping or at a festival… it’s always the right (and comfiest) answer. At the same time, you can use it to complement your existing outdoor furniture, too. To help you tick all these boxes, we’ve scouted for cushions in a varied range of colors and designs.
Outdoor Floor Cushions
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.
An outdoor floor cushion is often favored by homeowners as an alternative to a conventional settee, armchair or sofa as it’s inexpensive. Most of the time, it’s also more comfortable! Its soft, supple design provides the user with the most supportive and cozy seating solution. As the price of an outdoor floor cushion is significantly lower compared to an outdoor sofa set, it makes for an attractive option for outdoor relaxation.
Outdoor floor cushions can be made using various fabrics including faux leather, faux suede, polyester, and of course, cotton.
- Faux leather is artificial leather that’s made from PVC. It gives an effect that’s similar to leather without its heavy price tag! Quality faux leather is both soft and supple with the grain embossed into it. This means anyone would forgive you for “mistaking” the material to be genuine.
- Faux suede is another material often used in making outdoor floor cushions. Its soft feel is due to the polyester used in its production which is made to mimic a real animal hide’s velvety underside. The reason why it’s popular is due to the fact that it looks and feels the same as genuine suede with a bonus of easier care and maintenance. Also, faux suede floor cushions come with a cheaper price tag.
- Polyester – 100% polyester is easy to clean and resistant to water. It’s available in all colors of the rainbow which means it’s guaranteed to fit the aesthetics and ambiance of your garden. An outdoor floor cushion that used polyester as the cover comes with a firm structure. This is good news as it can retain its shape even when it’s used daily.
- Cotton – cotton is strong, soft, colorful, and practical. If your cushions have removable cotton covers, they’re machine washable.
Outdoor floor cushions need PU or PVC coatings to ensure they can resist water and moisture. These coatings also improve the general durability of outdoor floor cushions. PU is polyurethane with PVC as polyvinyl chloride. Although both coatings are similar, you’d be better off understanding their notable differences.
- A PVC coating tends to disintegrate in a faster pace compared to a PU coating, most especially in higher temperatures. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will also deteriorate the coating faster.
- As for PU, it’s flexible as it’s a rubber-like substance. It is also capable of withstanding high temperatures, unlike PVC.
In general, a PVC-coated outdoor floor cushion is waterproof. However, it isn’t breathable. PU-coated cushions, on the other hand, are both breathable and waterproof.
As your floor cushions will be placed outdoors, it’s essential that you apply antimicrobial treatments to avoid mold and mildew development. Your outdoor floor cushion may already be coated with a protective substance to increase its longevity. There are also outdoor floor cushions that have been treated with components, which deter bacteria growth like silver ion.
All the things that you just learned are important considerations you must take into account when buying outdoor floor cushions. Remember our tips and you’ll get the most from your purchase!