Introduction
If you are new to wicker furniture, you may not know the routine that experienced outdoor furniture owners know about shopping for wicker replacement cushions. Even if you are an experienced shopper, these 6 tips will reinforce your awareness and insight into smart shopping.
Wicker cushions are used to differentiate cushions primarily used for standard wicker furniture from other types of cushions. Furthermore, and more specifically, people searching for wicker cushions replacement usually search for chair and love seat cushions, not back cushions.
The popularity of wicker sets has spurred a demand for wicker replacement cushions also sold in sets. These are typically sold in two chairs and one loveseat cushion.
The style of cushions for wicker furniture sets are typically tufted cushions. Compared to solid foam cushions, tufted cushions are fiber filled and have tufts sewn
between the top and bottom fabric panels, which hold the filler in place and present a certain aesthetic appeal. Tufted cushions are more economical and perform very well and therefore are more desirable to buy and use by most wicker furniture owners.
6 Tips
1. Size
For cushions to look and fit well on your chair and loveseat, you must buy the right sizes. Since there is no industry standard, you need to measure your furniture. Typically, the chair cushions are the same width as the depth. The most typical sizes are:
- Wicker Chair: 18×18 or 19×19. Other sizes are definitely possible.
- Wicker Loveseat: 18×41, 18×42, 19×42 and 19×43 are most common. Other sizes are definitely possible.
2. Shape
Choose seat cushions with rounded back corners. The shape of most wicker cushions is typically the same, but variations do exist. Most commonly, you will find these cushions have rounded-off back corners. The rounded corners are unnecessary for the cushion to fit if there are stacking holes where the feet would go through the seat. The holes are there so you can stack the chairs or loveseats on top of each other for storage. The rounded corners make the cushion look good as it sits in its position on the seat. Otherwise, if you used square cushions, the corners would stick out through the stacking holes, which would look sloppy and not conform to the shape of the furniture.
3. Tufts
Most standard wicker furniture uses tufted cushions. That makes life pretty simple. Tufted cushions are designed to fit and fill the seat after the cushion is compressed. That means it may look a little smaller when you first get the cushion than the seat perimeter. However, the cushion will fill the space after a break-in period. The fill in the cushion is fiber and will compress a little bit when you sit on it. After long use, the cushion will fit and fill the seating area without sitting on it. They are designed this way so that the width and depth of the seat initially doesn’t hang over the front edge of the chair and start looking shabby after you use them for a while and well before the end of their useful life.
The more tufts you use, the thinner the cushion will become. For example, a chair cushion with one tuft will be thick, puffy, and soft but will flatten out a bit and lose some of its softness and puffy appearance over time. Four tufts provide a more leveled appearance and a little more firmness to the cushion, and it keeps its shape a little better than a cushion with one center tuft.
4. Fill
In most cases, polyester fill is used to manufacture wicker cushions. Other fills are used, but polyester is the dominant choice by most manufacturers because it works
the best. Spun polyester provides a soft, “cushy” feel, which is what most of us want when using a cushion. It can be used indoors and outside. It can’t be harmed by water.
5. Fabric
Wicker replacement cushions can be made of any available fabric. The important thing to know is that you need to choose the fabric for its intended use. Many people like indoor fabric when a cushion is used indoors. Indoor fabric is usually either 100% cotton or a percentage of cotton and polyester. Indoor fabrics should not be used outdoors because they may shrink or disfigure, and the colors will not last long. Wetness may even make the colors run.
All-weather fabrics are great because they can be used both indoors and outdoors. They are very similar in feel to the indoor cushions but can withstand the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays for many more hours and are water resistant compared to indoor fabrics. All-weather fabrics have the widest selection of patterns available. This is a great economical choice if you want the perfect print to go with your furniture.
When you need something to combat long hours of strong sunlight and want to use it outside or in a sunroom, Sunbrella fabric is the choice. There may not be as many patterns available as all-weather, but Sunbrella fabric will not fade for many years when used outdoors. This fabric is a little more expensive but worth the extra expense if you are in the sunbelt or using cushions in a sunroom with many hours of exposure to the sun.
6. Price
Cushion prices will vary based on the following:
• The manufacturer.
• The size.
• The shape.
• The type of fabric used.
• The number of tufts.
• The filling material used.
• Whether it is made in the US or overseas.
• Whether it is mass manufactured or custom made • Whether discounts apply for multiple purchases.
Summary
As you can see, knowing a few things about wicker cushions before you go shopping for them can provide you with the background that you need to shop smart. You can shop for furniture cushions for your wicker set and get the proper type of cushions so you won’t waste your time and money.
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