Outdoor areas are often designed after interior standards – however, unlike indoor spaces, outdoor furnishings must be durable and weather resistant, coping with sun, rain, humidity, extreme temperatures – not to mention stains and abrasion in a domestic or commercial context!
Although outdoor fabrics are manufactured to meet these specific needs, their quality is sometimes not the primary concern when purchasing outdoor furniture, which must be beautiful and comfortable above all. Durability issues come later into play, usually when the outdoor fabric degrades and needs to be replaced. This can lead to customer service issues or become a real headache in finding matching outdoor fabric to renovate the furniture.
In this post, find out how to choose the best outdoor fabric for durable exterior furniture.
Technical requirements for outdoor fabrics
As always, selecting fabrics for an outdoor project should be made according to the requirements and needs of the customer. However, you should consider the following technical characteristics when selecting the outdoor fabric:
Weather and chemical resistance
As furniture is to stay outside during long periods of time, outdoor fabrics should to be resistant to UV and rain, to salt and chemicals for swiming pool or seaside uses. In other words, colors should not fade and fabrics should not tear.
Outdoor fabrics should also have a water repellent treatment or be made of fibers repelling water. Alternatively, fabric can be waterproof or water resistant. In this case, pay attention to breathability and consider an anti-mold treatment.
Stain resistance and cleanability
Outdoor fabric should have a surface treatment or be made of fibers resistant to stain, too. It has to be easily cleaned, with clear or bleach water, without altering colors.
Abrasion and pilling resistance
Lastly, for high traffic areas or living spaces, outdoor fabrics should be resistant to abrasion and pilling. You may refer to Martindale grades to help you choose: fabric should be rated above 25,000 for heavy duty use and above 30,000 for commerciale use.
The most sustainable outdoor fabrics
Let’s focus on three of the most popular fabrics among outdoor furniture manufacturers:
Polyester
A synthetic fabric, durable, water and stain resistant, tear-resistant and quick-drying. One of the most comfortable fabrics as it is not heavy and doesn’t feel hot nor ”sticky” when sitting. However, as it is usually batch-dyed (woven then dyed to the desired color), it has lower lightfastness and may not be as sustainable as other fabrics.
Polypropylene or Olefin
A most favored outdoor fabric among furniture manufacturers as it is extremely durable, has superior UV and stain-resistance, even without PFC chemical treatment; it dries quickly and can be bleached with no risk. Though a better and chepaer option for outdoor fabric, it is highly sensitive to high heats (risks of melting).
Acrylic
Solution-dyed acrylic is durable, colorfast, and water-resistant; it is also withstands abrasion and tearing; it is resistant to mildew… Although more expensive than polyester and polypropylene, acrylic far outweighs its cost as, in addition to its sustainability, it is as soft as natural fibers such as wool or cotton, and remains cool in hot weather.
At Simexa, we highly recommend solution-dyed acrylic with an outdoor treatment as it is, in our experience, the best option for durable and easy-care outdoor furniture.
Olefin, a good and cheaper choice
Olefin has many advantages:
- More affordable
- Water-resistant
- Environmentally friendly: No land or water is used during production, lending it a low carbon footprint, highly recyclable and re-extrudable.
- Comfortable, soft and smooth
- Colorfast
- Easy to clean and maintain
At SIMEXA, we use SUNPROOF products: Woven from 100% solution dyed olefin yarn. Sunproof has chosen to use the premium quality of solution Dyed Olefin. Sunproof fabric is 100% recyclable and environment-friendly (no dye bath processes are used).
100% Acrylic outdoor fabrics: Our #1 choice.
We definitely recommend 100% acrylic outdoor fabrics for your outdoor furniture. Acrylics are synthetic fabrics made from acrylic fibers. It has many advantages:
- Lightfastness due to lower specific gravity
- It is resistant to mildew
- It easily dries and reject moisture
Acrylic outdoor full fabrics were made famous by the SUNBRELLA brand. They’re usually solution-dyed to be more resistant to stains.
The BATYLINE range, by Serge Ferrari, has been a reference for indoor and outdoor furniture for over 30 years. The outdoor fabric makes light, resistant and elegant covers for seats or cushions. It comes in a wide range of colors, variety of weaves and textures. It also has many advantages:
- Long life due to extremely simple implementation
- Excellent resistance to weather conditions
- Dimensional stability
- Extreme outdoor resistance with no sag
- Reversible warp and weft
- Very transparent and lightweight
- Safe: Batyline is Phthalate Free
- With 38 colors, it’s the broadest range on the market
Outdoor furniture is intended to be used for many years, its cost is not negligible so it is good to choose the materials most likely to last over time and best suited for outdoor use – especially if they are used intensively. By choosing quality outdoor fabrics, especially acrylic, you can preserve the comfort and ensure the durability of your outdoor furniture for years.
