Outdoor Upholstery Fabric.

What is so special about outdoor upholstery fabric?

A lot actually. It is designed to withstand the elements while looking great and giving you some  additional visual interest to your outdoor setting.

Outdoor upholstery fabric manufacturers know that the fabric will be baked in the sun and pummelled with the rain and wind and still has to look good. It's not meant to be indestructible by any means, but it is designed to withstand this treatment for a good long time.

When you think about outdoor fabric, what do you think of first? Is it your patio furniture? Well outdoor upholstery does more than just cover your cushions. Think about shade sails, BBQ covers, even the seats on your quad bike and boat. These are all considered outdoor upholstery fabric. But they have different tasks so require different types of fabric. 

Why it's important to choose the right one.

You wouldn't use the vinyl for your quad bike seat for your shade sail because its not the right fabric for the job.

You need to choose the the right fabric for the task at hand. For shade sails acrylic is a depend fabric as it comes in a variety of colours and is very resilient, which is very important in our New Zealand climate.

Vinyl is used mainly in boating and vehicles such as quad bikes, this is because it's comfortable and durable.

But there are a lot of other fabrics that work in the outdoors for furnishings. Some cottons however, are best not left to the elements. They can handle a little bit of rough treatment, but if left out year round, wouldn't last too long.

Looks vs Function

When it comes to outdoor upholstery fabric, function comes before looks. If it is not going to perform the task that you want, and withstand abuse from the elements, then it's not worth it. If you go purely for looks, then you will quickly have to remake covers which is a waste of money and resources.

Natural products like cotton do look great, but the vast majority of them are designed for indoor use, whereas synthetic fabrics are designed to go indoors or outdoor.

So if you have furniture that is going to spend the majority of it's time outside, make sure you choose the right fabric. If you need help with that decision, give us a call 0800 698 746 we are happy to help.