Cushions for Florida and the Gulf Coast

Year-round sun, wet air and six months of storms

The sun comes first. Miami's average noon UV Index runs about 10.5 from May through July. A lanai cushion facing the sun fades every month of the year.

Water comes second. Miami gets about 67 in (171 cm) of rain a year, roughly two-thirds of it June through October, and Pensacola and Mobile get about as much. Morning humidity averages 82% to 88% along the coast. A soaked cushion won't dry overnight in that air, and foam that stays wet past a day or two is where mildew starts.

Then the storms. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and Florida has more recorded hurricane strikes than any other state. Rain doesn't negotiate. Neither does a hurricane, friend.

Lanais, Florida rooms and pool cages

Florida houses live out past the slider. A block ranch house opens onto a lanai, a covered patio that is often screened, and the pool sits under a screened pool cage. Older homes have a Florida room, a glassed sunroom on the back, and Gulf beach houses stand on pilings with the wind blowing straight through.

The seats follow the house: chaise and sunbed cushions on the pool deck, long pool benches, lanai sectionals, a porch swing, a daybed in the sunroom.

Here is the rule I'd tape to the slider. A screen stops bugs, not weather. Humid air, pollen and blowing rain get through, so a screened lanai or pool cage is outdoors as far as fabric goes. Only an air-conditioned Florida room gets indoor linen or velvet. Which of those rooms does your family actually sit in?

Lounge sets, old inserts and one final table

Big outdoor sets go wrong in the paperwork, not the sewing. A buyer in the US ordered four seat cushions with non-slip bases and four backrests without, then re-measured and sent one final table listing every piece. That table became the production reference. For any set where seats and backs look alike, do the same.

Another buyer in the US wanted six zippered covers for the existing inserts of two lounge chairs, the largest 31.5 x 31.5 x 3.5 in (80 x 80 x 9 cm), in a name-brand outdoor fabric. The workshop doesn't stock that brand, so it matched the look from its own outdoor range. Covers for existing foam are an honest way to refresh a tired lanai set.