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Across the Map · Europe

Custom cushions for Italian terraces, loggias and city apartments

An Italian terrace is judged in two lights: the white glare of an August afternoon and the soft gold of evening, when everyone finally sits down. I choose the cloth for the first and the color for the second.

Rome
ItalyEuropeCapital: Rome
  • Sun & UVStrong
  • HumidityModerate
  • WinterMild
  • CoastSalt air nearby
  • Typical seatsTerrace dining chair pad, loggia built-in bench, balcony bench

Field notes by

The Colorist of New Orleans · · Updated

Taupe and cream striped box cushion on a built-in plaster bench in a sunlit city loggia with olive tree and stoolSave
A long striped cushion runs wall to wall across a built-in plaster bench, turning a recessed loggia into a sunny morning seat.

The quick answer

Custom cushions in Italy should be chosen by where they live, with UV-resistant, water-repellent outdoor fabric for terraces, balconies and pergola seats. Outdoors, choose 2 in (5 cm) chair pads with ties and 4 in (10 cm) loungers, stored dry through the wet months. Loggias and apartments suit linen and velvet in terracotta, ochre and olive. Palermo's August afternoons average 88.5°F (31.4°C).

Palermo's 88°F afternoons, Milan's fog and a salted coast

Custom cushions in Italy live in two climates. In Palermo, the national weather service's 1991–2020 normals put the average August afternoon at 88.5°F (31.4°C), with about 2,530 hours of sunshine a year, and southern Sicily passes 2,600. That light fades dye and bakes a dark cushion hot to the touch.

Milan averages 37.8°F (3.2°C) in January, and the Po Valley is often covered in fog from November to March; relative humidity there swings between 45% and 95% through the year. For custom cushions in Milan, that means a balcony season and a storage season, not one long summer.

The coast adds salt, and Liguria adds rain: mountains close to the sea push Genoa and La Spezia up to 79 in (2,000 mm) a year. In the Alps, 16 to 33 ft (5 to 10 m) of snow can fall at 6,560 ft (2,000 m); no outdoor cushion winters there.

Loggias, roof terraces and the pergola at the farm

A loggia is a covered gallery, open to the air on one or more sides and often on an upper floor; Italian towns have built them since the early Middle Ages. For a cushion, it is the kindest outdoor room there is: shade at noon, shelter from most rain. A built-in plaster bench there takes one long bench cushion in outdoor fabric, like the taupe-and-cream stripe running wall to wall in the photograph above.

City apartments live on balconies and roof terraces, in full sun, so their seats want outdoor cushions with ties; the chair cushion builder sizes a pad before you order.

In the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside the seat moves under a pergola, a word English borrowed from Italian. Vine shade is dappled, so outdoor cloth belongs there too. Ligurian seaside houses face salt and those rain totals; their loungers are chaise and sunbed cushions, rinsed with fresh water and carried in before a storm.

Seat by seat: cloth, foam and piping for an Italian home

SeatFabricFoam and thicknessPiping and fixing
Terrace or balcony dining chairUV-resistant, water-repellent outdoor fabric2 in (5 cm) pad; 3 in (7.5 cm) for long lunchesDouble piping; ties in a matching or contrast color
Loggia built-in benchOutdoor fabric, stripe or solid3 to 4 in (7.5 to 10 cm); long runs split into pieces of about 6 1/2 ft (2 m)Self piping; non-slip base on plaster or stone
Pergola or seaside daybed and loungersOutdoor fabric in off-white, sand or stripe4 in (10 cm), firm high-density foamSelf piping; carried in before rain
Apartment window seat or sofa benchLinen blend or velvet3 to 4 in (7.5 to 10 cm)Contrast piping: bordeaux on beige, olive on ochre
Farmhouse kitchen benchLinen blend or soft poly-cotton2 to 3 in (5 to 7.5 cm)Zippered cover that washes at 86°F (30°C)

Every outdoor fabric here is water-repellent, not waterproof, and the standard foam is not quick-dry. Covers zip off and wash at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle; air dry them.

A real project

Eleven terrace chairs, white with lavender piping

A buyer in Italy wrote to the workshop with a terrace and eleven chairs. They wanted seat pads about 15 3/4 x 18 in (40 x 46 cm), 1 1/4 to 2 in (3 to 5 cm) thick, plain white, with lavender piping on both edges and lavender ties, all in place by mid-July.

The workshop settled the thickness at 2 in (5 cm), priced it as a bulk order, and asked two questions before cutting: which side the zipper should sit on, and the exact color codes for the white and the lavender. A zipper on the back edge disappears against the chair, and a color named by its code arrives as that color, not as a guess.

They also asked for large tablecloths to match. The workshop said no: its fabric is at most 55 in (140 cm) wide, too narrow for a seamless cloth. I like a maker who says no plainly.

White with a pale piping is right for a sunny terrace: cooler to the touch than a dark cushion, and the thin lavender line draws each chair against the stone.

Measured
11 seat pads, about 15 3/4 x 18 x 2 in (40 x 46 x 5 cm), double piping and ties
What it taught
For a set of terrace chairs, name the zipper side and every color by code before anything is cut.

Terracotta, sienna, ochre, olive: a palette from the ground

Italy gave painters some of their earth colors by name. Sienna comes from terra di Siena, the earth of Siena: yellowish brown when raw, reddish brown once burnt. Terracotta means baked earth. Those are the tones of the roofs and floors your cushions sit against, so let them lead.

  • Ochre indoors. A buyer in Italy chose ochre yellow for a floor sofa 31 1/2 x 86 1/2 in (80 x 220 cm), with backrest and armrests for the full sofa look.
  • Olive in linen rather than velvet, when you want the green matte and dry. Beside ochre, it's a Tuscan hillside in two swatches.
  • Bordeaux as piping. Another buyer ordered four 47 1/4 x 15 3/4 in (120 x 40 cm) bench cushions in beige linen piped in bordeaux, and the workshop sent a picture of the pairing first.
  • Off-white, sand and taupe stripes outdoors, where the sun is hardest.

Indoors, linen blends keep the matte look of plaster, and velvet holds deep color in a shuttered room. Outside, choose from the outdoor fabrics. Which earth is on your terrace floor, my friends?

The Italian cushion year

  • March to May: wash covers at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle, air dry, and bring terrace cushions out once the spring rain eases.
  • June to September: in the south, carry pads into the loggia or the shade at midday. UV fades dye; shade is free.
  • After a day by the sea, rinse salt from covers and zippers with fresh water.
  • Autumn storms: stand soaked foam on edge until it's dry to the core. The standard foam isn't quick-dry.
  • November to March in the north: store outdoor cushions indoors, clean and dry, off the floor, in breathable bags, and keep indoor linen and velvet out of hard afternoon sun.

Italy chose its palette from the ground: terracotta, sienna, ochre, olive. A good cushion simply agrees with the floor.

Élodie
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Buyer questions: terraces, olive linen and shaped seats

  1. A common question

    Do you have outdoor fabric for sun lounger cushions and bench pads on a terrace?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. There are close to 200 outdoor fabrics, all UV-resistant and suited to sun loungers and outdoor benches, ordered through the outdoor listing. Custom shapes need a drawing or a photo with the measurements.

  2. A common question

    I'd like olive green, but in cotton or linen rather than velvet. What do you have?

    The workshop's answer

    The olive fabric shown is a linen. Other colors and materials are on the fabric-samples listing, because each listing shows only one color chart.

  3. A common question

    Can you make armchair cushions that are narrower at the back with a rounded front?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, through the custom-shape (trapezoid) listing, not the rectangle one. Upload a photo of the old cushion with every measurement written on it, for example 19 in (48 cm) at the back, 17 in (43 cm) sides, a curved 22 in (56 cm) front, 20 in (51 cm) at the center, and 4 3/4 in (12 cm) thick.

  4. A common question

    Can the non-slip grip go only in the middle, with a fabric border around it?

    The workshop's answer

    No. The non-slip fabric always covers the whole base; a 4 in (10 cm) border isn't possible. It sits on the underside, so it doesn't show, or you can leave it off entirely.

  5. A common question

    Can you handle a whole villa: a very long indoor sofa seat, an outdoor daybed and decorative pillows?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. A 4 x 31 1/2 x 197 in (10 x 80 x 500 cm) indoor seat in off-white linen was quoted in three parts, plus a 4 x 35 1/2 x 86 1/2 in (10 x 90 x 220 cm) outdoor daybed cushion in off-white outdoor fabric, both in firm high-density foam, with striped linen pillows. The workshop then asked whether the backrests should be foam-filled or pillow-style.

Have it made

Have it made for your home — ask Élodie’s workshop

Describe the room at four in the afternoon: the floor, the wall, the one color you love. That is where a good fabric choice begins. — Élodie

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Want to pick the shape and add photos? Use the full quote form

Italy cushion questions, answered in daylight

Can terrace cushions stay out all summer in southern Italy?

They can live outside through the dry season in UV-resistant outdoor fabric, but give them shade at midday. Palermo averages 88.5°F (31.4°C) on August afternoons and about 2,530 hours of sunshine a year, and strong sun fades any dye over time.

What cushion suits a covered loggia?

Outdoor fabric is the safe choice, because a loggia is open to the air and driving rain still reaches the front edge. A built-in bench takes one long box cushion, split into pieces of about 6 1/2 ft (2 m) or less, with a non-slip base on plaster or stone.

Should balcony cushions stay out through a Milan winter?

No. Milan averages 37.8°F (3.2°C) in January and the Po Valley is often foggy from November to March, so damp foam dries slowly. Store outdoor cushions indoors, clean and dry, in breathable bags, and bring them back out in spring.

Which fabrics suit a Ligurian seaside house?

Water-repellent, UV-resistant outdoor fabric on anything that sits outside, rinsed with fresh water after salty days. Genoa and La Spezia can see up to 79 in (2,000 mm) of rain a year, so bring cushions in before a storm and dry them on edge if they get soaked.

With color and care — Élodie

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