Have you looked at Sunbrella? They have a very wide selection of durable outdoor fabrics.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunbrella Fabrics

Outdoor fabrics. I've purchased outdoor fabric from them and never been disappointed. I recently bought outdoor fabric for my indoor kitchen set and it feels like fabric but it's waterproof, or maybe water resistant so stains don't stick. to it.

Here is a link that might be useful: outdoor fabrics

Joann Fabrics has a nice selection of outdoor fabrics. Many of them are patterned and bright however there were some muted tones that may work for you. It's a place to start.

Thanks guys.

Any suggestions for patterns? Do you agree that stripes wont work? Has ikat peaked yet?

tia

for discounted outdoor fabric:

http://www.fabricguru.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: fabric guru

Does it really matter if something you like has "peaked"? If I liked Ikat, which you clearly do, that's probably what I'd be looking for.

Actually, I think stripes would look wonderful on your classic cane furniture, so long as you keep it very simple - wide stripes in navy and off-white, or dark green and ivory, or brick and cream.
Google "striped outdoor cushions" images, and look at the simple awning-types to see what I mean.

Mtnredux I'm in FL and we have beautiful selections of Sunbrella with a lot of pretty solids and patterns. My upholsterer told me there are imposters out there but if you have true Sunbrella it is fantasic indoors and outside for cleanabiliity. I'm using a cream color in my family room and I like the feel texture wise and it wipes great. I like changing out the pillows every once in a while so they are not Sunbrella. I wished they had this stuff years ago. Now I have grandchildren and one dog. I'm so glad I can have light color pretty fabric and not worry about dirty paws and hands if they sneak by me. I just did the kitchen chairs in it too. It is good for not fading like regular fabric too. Your furniture is pretty- good luck choosing fabric.

I love ikat but would avoid it for the reasons you imply although if you don't plan on having it for more than five years I would use it. Otherwise textured cushions with patterned throw pillows for longevity.

"I love ikat but would avoid it for the reasons you imply although if you don't plan on having it for more than five years I would use it."

I'm not sure, Bumblebeez, whether trendiness should play a part or not. I, too, love ikat, and if I had the right kind of furniture needing fabric, I could see myself using it - never mind what the world of "house fashion" is doing or not.

OTOH....

"This set is now indoors. However, it is an area that adjoins the pool so will see plenty of wet suits. And the area is all glass, so fading is a given.

[....]I tend to like simple, soft, faded colors and patterns. The house is 1904, white, lots of stone terraces and patio, etc. In the rare part of my house where i have used color, it has been blue."

A couple of pictures of the space might help - because I think fabric that fits both furniture and space would work best. Given the age and materials of your house plus whatever else will be in that room, maybe ikat would be perfect. Or maybe not. Maybe a good choice would be a fabric that links in some way to other things, including things that can be seen from the room in which the furniture will be placed?

Natal.
If I were a better person, no it would not matter how trendy Ikat is. But I have learned this about myself; I have nary a good design idea in my head, but I am a great channeler. I once designed an entire bathroom, I thought, only to walk into a bathroom at a favorite bistro and realized I had copied everything. Walls, floors, paint, mirror.
I'm a lemming, and I have come to terms with it. I continually find myself attracted to whatever is 'next'. So, I have accepted this and try to accommodate it. I just want to know what the cool kids are up to.

Lynxe,
I've posted these before when I was looking for help with the pool bar, I think. I don't have photos right now because it has a disco ball it (girls party) and a whole bunch of flats of seedlings, quite a mess! But I really have a blank slate. All you see is white walls, stone floor, and greenery. Ignore the table, it was there temporarily for a party buffet.

Bumble, the fabric I have dated back more than 10 years. I'm only getting rid of it because it faded unevenly. This area is a greenhouse, so I think it will fade much sooner. Maybe i have an excuse to be trendy!

Maggie, i guess you are right, I was thinking i didnt want light, solid colors because it would stain, but Sunbrella doesnt?

Bronwyn, Since I usually go for safe and classic, stripes would be my first choice. But the delicate open weave at the bottom of the chairs seems wrong w stripes to me. I guess i should just try a sample!

Gracie, they have good prices. I immediately found a really nice ikat. Thank you! (see link)

PHOTOS

Here is a link that might be useful: love this one (Thx Gracie!)

That's a very lovely space. Now that I've seen it and the furniture, I'm envisioning fabric that might not be your thing. Given all those windows, all that white paint, the stone floor and what will be bright sunlight streaming in during some parts of the year and some parts of the day, I think you should go with a fabric in more dramatic colors than your usual preference. I'm seeing browns in two shades: the first to coordinate with the reddish-brown stones in the floor; the second to coordinate with the darkest greyish-brown stones. And then, to coordinate with all the outdoor greenery, a dark(ish) or bright(ish) green. All on a white background.

I like the ikat in your link, but I think the whole shebang (chairs + ikat) might fade into the background (?) Not to mention, given the size of the space, I think you want a large pattern anyway. Also, not browns + blue because the water isn't really blue; it's more of a greeny color.

Thank you, Lynxe. The pool was there when we bought the house; we added the greenhouse to expand the party space they had there. (their space was more like tete a tete space!)

I am off to the fabric store later today, I will bring home some more vivid colors and see how they feel to me!

This is somewhat off topic, but I am stunned at the prices of throw pillows at BJ. Their fabric pillows are MUCH MORE expensive than the full leather throw pillows I received last month from Hancock and Moore. And I thought those were expensive.

What makes this funny--this is true even though I have a BJ table and chairs in my breakfast area. The furniture is highly contemporary patio furniture that looks fine inside in a Florida home.

I saw this on horchow and thought your wicker furniture and fabric dilemma.

It's not Ikat and it's not MCM. Somewhere in between. It's not a floral and it's not a stripe.

Here is a link that might be useful: from Horchow

The most prominent color you have already is the honey color of the furniture itself. I don't think the fabric pattern you linked to works very well with the wicker color (aluminum /wrapped, right? It looks like some Lane outdoor wicker we have so I assume it's all aluminum underneath.)

To complement your surroundings and not fight with the wicker, I would use a classic wide stripe of white or cream and a light green, or cream/taupe, or cream/ cadet blue. Even a cream/ gray would be wonderful, it would pick up nice tones from the rock. By wide I mean a two inch stripe of each color. Love the room and pool!!

To die for house you have there! No Sunbrella doesn't stain. Forgot to tell you the upholsterer said he throws his in the pool and they come out like new. Patio ones he has. I think kswl has a good idea withe the stripes. In Sunbrella. I think anything you pick would look good in that space.

We have green and white striped sunbrella since 1998. It is outside all the time.
It does not stain. We use the power washer
on it once a year in the Spring.

We had the wide green and white stripe Sunbrella too, Joann. It was on a covered porch most ofthe time for 11 years and still looked good. When we changed the color scheme on our screened porch last year I bought a yellow and white ticking stripe to replace the original upholstery. I had new covers made for the cushions ( which were still in perfect shape after strenuous use by three kids and two dogs for many years).

yes, lisa,
it wears like iron...ours is outside on the deck,
so it's exposed to the weather and it's stain resistant.
You would never know it's 14 years old, as it has never faded.

Lovely pool area! The suggestions you've already received are great, but I think you might also consider going with black or gray. The black especially would tie in with your existing table and chairs, plus it's classic but sharp. I'd put similar cushions at the table as well. Here's one outdoor fabric idea from fabric.com. They have other black and off-white in their outdoor fabrics.

or gray as with this ikat--picture found at decorpad.com

another gray ikat that picks up a bit of the honey color--this one from decorativefabricsdirect.com
{{!gwi}}

That last one is gorgeous and I'm not really a fan of ikat.

Natal, I am a fan and I agree its gorgeous

Sujafr - love both choices. However, the table and chairs are dark green and are usually outside on the terrace, they are only there temporarily. So there is no black. And, as someone pointed out, the pool is a color (the greenhouse is an extension of the pool area). So I am looking for something with the aqua color of the pool in it.

Cliff, kswl,
I will look for a sample that has a nice stripe. To date, ive not found nice wide stripes and the colors were wrong. I dont want a true white and I need some aqua i feel.

Maggie, good tip about cleaning the upholstery!

Kais - can you buy just fabric?

Beach - Brown Jordan is pricey. When we were staging our last home, I was going to get this set reupholstered by them. It was either $3000 or $5000 they wanted to reupholster the cushions (i think it was $5000 but I can't find the email anymore and I don't want to exaggerate)

As of right now, this is the leading contender. Not ikat but suzani inspired, the other trend i pine after. I definitely think my choice needs earth tones like the stone, and aqua like the pool (at night and usually during the day it looks more aqua then green).

Contender (more shopping tomorrow), placed with the pool in back so you can see why I want aqua.

I like the fabric, but it sort of ignores the color of the wicker. It would look great with dark brown furniture. I think you could find something that looks better with theSe chairs.

Sorry, mt redux, I posted too soon... Meant to say that especially lately I have become less focused on finding the "perfect" thing, especially something that eventually will be changed. When I find something that works and looks good I am going with it and moving on to the next decision. With our year long exterior renovation there's been no dearth of decisions and I've found if I do nt just get on with it I can get hopelessly bogged down in the process., iykwim. I am trying not to let "perfect" become the goal... I am trying to go with "good" where that doesnt make a big difference, otherwise I will never be satisfied. There is some research to indicate that humans have a limited capacity for decision making when many choices are involved and that's one reason I appreciate the editing that a designer brings to the table.

Well, as usual I've gotten far afield of the question--- in a nutshell, I think the fabric you pictured is fine!

The perfect is the enemy of the good. : )

I agree, which is why it is just a contender. There was another colorway of that fabric, that was lighter shades of brown and gray. My daughter came shopping with me and one of the samples she picked was an aqua with big white sketches of octopi. I was humoring her but surprised that it looked pretty good, as it matched the pool color.

I will keep looking. Hopefully i find something that has the colors of the wicker and floor, and a "splash" of aqua ...

This one from Fabric Guru brings in the colors above, and the softer brown relates to the wicker color in the chair. I don't know if it appeals to you, though. Sorry about the size of the pic!

Here is a link that might be useful: Printed Polyester Outdoor Fabric in Chocolate/Spa Suzani $8.95 per yard

Well, it took a month to find fabric.

The most helpful thing was the poster who reminded me that the POOL was a color in my room! I ended up being certain that I wanted aqua on the furniture, to tie the green house seating into the pool room. I never would have thought of that!

It was also helpful to keep in mind the colors in the stone floor.

Well, I could not find a fabric that I liked that had brownish and gold tones from the floor, plus aqua. Very few aqua brown fabrics in outdoor materials, and those I did find seemed too formal too muddy or you know, just ugly!

I came very close to choosing an octopus print from Calico Corners, but it was a bright white on aqua field, and the true white was not a good match. Plus neither our pool nor pond have octopus in them!
http://www.calicocorners.com/product/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/indoor+and+outdoor/shop+all+outdoor+fabrics/octopoda+outdoor+sea.do

I liked the Manual Canovas Calypso fish print (link), but it was not really aqua, it was blue.

Finally, I found the KravetSoleil line. It is a great, happy shade of aqua, but not so clear and bright that it fights the stone floors or golden rattan. It has a suzani kind of print, in a cream color. I am going to use a few throw pillows in tan and cream, too.

I went through three bookshelves of outdoor fabric, and I have to say most of it is pretty bad!

Some shots:

Here is a link that might be useful: manuel canovas calypso outdoor fabric

LOVE the Kravet fabric! It looks great with the stone and wicker both! And I'll bet it is perfect with the pool. Good job , mtnredux!

Gorgeous!!

Thanks, Knowledge and Lori. I will post again when they are actually done!

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Before I posted, I never would have thought of blue, how dumb is that!

thanks all!

Love it! Since I need to select some outdoor fabric for my breakfast room chairs I want to thank you for doing a lot of the footwork for me! : )

Did you find the Manuel Manovas line of fabric at Calico Corners? If not, may I ask where?

Oops....sorry! Meant to ask about the Kravet Soleil fabric and where to find it.

I found it online. I saw it in person at Lillian August here in CT, but I think most designs shop would have Kravet.

Glad you like it!

Lovely! The fabric made up beautifully.

You made a great choice! And I have to say I have some serious pool envy! Gorgeous.

It looks great! A litle bit OT here... May I ask how much it cost you to reupholster? We have Brown Jordan cushions(Aegean) and not only are their replacement cushions ridiculously priced... I dislike all their options. I've toyed with ordering custom replacement cushions with sunbrella fabric, but if upholstering them is cheaper It may be the way to go for me.

nancy

Thanks Ann and KSWL.

Lishaana,

I had the very same experience. I think, if i recall, BJ replacement cushions were 5 or 6k. Worse yet, the choices were uninspired.

I thought the labor charges were very reasonable. I go to an upholsterer I found directly. They charged $55 per cushion (the sizes aren't that different so it didn't matter).

The fabric was $130 yard, which is high but I was looking for something very specific and just had to buck up. I think we used 15 yards.

I can't find the receipt but I think all told, fabric and labor, it was about $2500. If you are lucky enough to like a more reasonable fabric, you can probably do it nicely for 2ish?

Thanks for the pricing! It's not too bad... I'm going to use Sunbrella Solid Fabric(24.99 at Joanne's currently) so I should save some money there.. I have a sofa, 2 Lounge chairs and 6 dining chairs so the costs can add up!

Lishaana,

I didn't do my dining chairs because those are outside a lot, plus this pattern would look like a bullseye for your tush!

In my old house I had a verandah where I had all the wicker pieces, plus a dining set. In that configuration, I wanted all matching cushions.

Most of the time my dining set is outside, not in the greenhouse with the wicker, so they needn't match, but they need to coordinate. I am just looking for something stock that I can change on a whim, but am finding the shape hard to find!

Does anyone know where to get cute outdoor dining chair cushions, that are sort of u-shaped rather then square??