Choosing The Right Cover For Your Garden Furniture
Choosing the right garden furniture for your home can take time. Once you’ve made that all important decision, you’ll want to ensure it stays looking as new as possible, for as long as possible.
To help ensure this, it may be worth investing in a cover to protect your furniture.
What Are The Best Covers For Outdoor Furniture?
Polyester is considered the most popular material for use as a cover.
This is due to its durability, lightweight nature and when suitably treated water-resistant. This plastic material tends to be competitively priced, and easy to wipe down.
Fabric covers are also available. These are heavier and thicker than polyester, and most come with a breathable fabric or vents. This stops the build up of condensation underneath the cover. This tend to be more expensive than polyester covers.
Does My Outdoor Furniture Need a Cover?
A growing number of garden furniture sets are being described as season-proof, or suitable for outside use throughout the year.
Whereas this is true, you’ll still want to ensure your cover is protected when not in use, as the following external elements can overtime damage or cause issues with your set:
- Adverse Weather Conditions
- Bird droppings
- Debris blown about in the wind
A correctly fitting cover will help to prevent damage to your set from the above points when securely fitted.
Before fitting your cover always ensure the set is cleaned down. This will prevent any mould or similar effects from appearing whilst the furniture is under the cover.
This will also allow you to use the set straight away following the removal of the cover.
If your set includes cushions, ensure these are removed from your set before using your cover. These would need to be stored separately to ensure they don’t become damp. A cushion box may be suitable for this.
How Do You Measure Patio Furniture for Covers?
There is a broad range of covers available, in many shapes and sizes to fit your specific set.
| Item | Measurements |
| Sofa | Height: From the ground to the highest point at the back of the sofa Width: From the edge of the widest point of the sofa to the opposite side Depth: From the edge of the furthest point of the sofa (normally the arm) to the furthest back part of the sofa |
| Table | Height: From the ground to the top of the tabletop of the table Width: From the widest points across the width of the tabletop Depth: From the widest parts across the depth of the tabletop |
| Parasol | Height: From the bottom of the parasol to the very top Diameter: The closed width of the parasol when closed |
| Chair | Height: From the ground to the highest point at the back of the chair Width: From the furthest parts of the chair width when looking from the front, including the arms if applicable. Depth: From the furthest point of the chair at the front to the back of the chair |
It is always worth seeing if the garden set you have has a cover to suit by the same brand.
For example our range of LG Outdoor rattan furniture have suitable LG Outdoor covers to suit. This takes out the hassle of measuring and ensuring the cover you wish to purchase fits as they will be purpose made for your set.
We have included a couple of examples below. All LG covers have a Denier of 600, and are made from PVC-free Polyester:
How Do Covers Stay Secure?
A large majority of furniture covers will have a cord and lock mechanism. The cords fitted to the cover fit round the legs of the furniture and are then tightened with toggles or similar. This ensures the cover stays snug over the cover.
You want to ensure the toggles are tight on the product to try and prevent as much driving rain and gusts of wind from getting under the cover, which if this happens would cause damage to the cover and/or the set.
Some of the premium covers also include a zip opening, to help with the fitting and removal of the cover.
Do The Covers Protect The Cushions?
If your garden set includes cushions you will need to ensure these are removed and stored separately when you come to utilise your cover.
Whilst your furniture will be suitable for the item to be left outside all year round, and the cover would help to keep it protected, the cover would not offer the right amount of protection for cushion fabric.
The ideal way of storing cushions is in a deck box. These versatile boxes tend to be made out of plastic, rattan or metal and will offer protection against damp and mould on your cushions.
Deck Boxes can come in various shapes and sizes, so to ensure you order the correct one ensure you measure the cushions on your set before looking for a box with suitable interior dimensions to store these.
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