How to Shop for Outdoor Pillows: 3 Essential Tips
I get so many questions about what type of pillows to use in your outdoor area, what kind of materials to use, what to use on them if they're not outdoor material, and so on. I am going to talk about how to shop for outdoor pillows. I hope to answer all your questions.
I brought a sample of an excellent outdoor pillow that I would use in my designs. In fact, I am using this in one of my designs for an upcoming episode of the show, and so I wanted to show it to you.
How to Shop for Outdoor Pillows
1. Zipper enclosure
This fabric is not necessarily an outdoor fabric, but the important part to me is that it has a zipper enclosure in the back so that you can unzip it, wash this cover in your washing machine, and just put it right back on.
2. Polyfill
The second thing that I think is really important when it comes to outdoor pillows is that you have a polyfill insert. Do not use a feather insert like you would have for your indoor pillows, but opt for a polyfill.
Polyfill is like plastic; it resists mold and mildew, and being in the climate that we live in, if you're near where I live, which is Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf Coast, we have really harsh conditions. Sometimes, even pillows that are meant for outdoors don't do that well. It's just so humid, and we get lots of mold and mildew.
3. Protection
So, if you already have outdoor pillows and you've already bought what you want but still want to protect them, I would like to use this product from Rustoleum. It's called Never Wet.
This is a petroleum product. You spray it on your pillows, and it adds rain protection. Now, it's not perfect, and it's not going to last until next year. I respray my furniture cushions once a year to make sure it's got good protection, but it does a really good job season-by-season of protecting your outdoor cushions so that you don't have to have them covered by something
If you've got an outdoor cushion situation where it's wholly uncovered and you don't have a roofline or arbor or pergola over it, then this is an excellent option for you.
So remember the main two rules when you buy your outdoor pillows: they should have a polyfill insert inside of them, and they should have a zipper enclosure so you can take off the outside of it, peel it off, put it in your washing machine, and it'll be brand new again
How to shop for outdoor pillows
That's how to shop for outdoor pillows. It's pretty straightforward and pretty simple. Take that little checklist in your mind with you to the store when you're shopping for your outdoor cushions. How are you decorating with outdoor pillows? Share your design ideas in the comments below.
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