Custom cushions for Alaska cabins, window seats and boats

224 wet days in Juneau, 225 freezing ones in Fairbanks

Alaska is three climates wearing one name. Plan cushions for the one you live in.

Southeast is the rainforest coast. Juneau averages 66.99 in (170 cm) of precipitation, with rain or snow on 224 days a year. The station near Ketchikan logs 103.51 in over 226 days. The Tongass there is the largest national forest in the country and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Treat it like the Pacific Northwest, only wetter and saltier. Rain doesn't negotiate.

Southcentral is gentler. Anchorage gets 16.42 in of precipitation and 77.9 in of snow, with 191 days at or below freezing and 239 cloudy ones.

The Interior is dry and cold. Fairbanks gets 11.67 in of precipitation, 64.6 in of snow and 225 freezing days. May afternoons there average 37% humidity.

Then the light. On December 21, Fairbanks has 3 hours 39 minutes of daylight, Anchorage 5 hours 27 minutes, Juneau 6 hours 24 minutes. In June, Anchorage passes 19 hours of sunlight. Fresh snow almost doubles UV exposure, so a south window over a snowy yard in March fades fabric faster than the latitude suggests.

Arctic entries, dry cabins and the window seat that watches weather

Search data says it plainly. Alaska ranks last in the country for 'outdoor cushions' and next to last for 'bench cushion'. Up here the cushion work happens inside.

The most Alaskan room in the house is the one you walk through first. An arctic entry is a hall or vestibule sealed from both the outside and the house. The boots, parkas and snow stay there. A bench belongs there too, and that bench takes wet boots, dripping dogs and gravel for half the year. Start at mudroom and entryway bench cushions.

Then the window seat. When the day runs 19 hours in June and 5 1/2 in December, a deep seat at the glass is where people read, watch the weather come in and wait for the aurora. The window seat hub and the measuring pattern cover the fit.

Out of town, it's cabins. Around Fairbanks, dry cabins with no running water are common, partly because permafrost makes wells and septic hard, and many run on a woodstove. NFPA's rule: keep anything that can burn at least 3 ft (91 cm) from heating equipment. That means the bench cushion and the floor pillow too.

About 82% of Alaska communities aren't connected to the road system. Your cushion may ride a floatplane, a barge or a skiff before it reaches the door. Which one is carrying yours, friend?

Spruce, birch and colors for long evenings

Alaska rooms lean on wood: log walls, knotty pine, birch, spruce outside every window. Against all that honey and brown, cushions do best in colors that hold up in low light. Mocha, forest green, navy corduroy, a rust pillow for warmth. The seat in our photo is a mocha weave in an oak cabin nook, with linen pillows and a forest behind the glass. It looks warm at noon in December.

Summer flips it. Under 19-hour days a south-facing seat fades, and snow glare in March adds to it. If the window faces south over open snow, choose a fade-resistant outdoor weave or a mid-tone that hides slow change. The window seat fading guide has the details.

By the door, go darker and tougher. Gray, navy and olive stripes hide gravel dust and breakup mud. See performance and pet-friendly weaves and outdoor fabric.