38 Photos
Zoe Hoare sifts through new outdoor pillow fabrics at English Country Antiques in Bridgehampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
New outdoor pillow fabrics at English Country Antiques in Bridgehampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
Zoe Hoare sifts through new outdoor pillow fabrics at English Country Antiques in Bridgehampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest colors on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
Zoe Hoare sifts through new outdoor pillow fabrics at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
Zerach Michel shows off a box chaise cushion in a grey, which hides dirt and doesn't overheat. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest fabrics are on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
This season's latest on display at Hildreth's Patio Store in Southampton. MICHELLE TRAURING
Demolition at Keyes Island property. COURTESY LAND AQUISITION DEPARTMENT Kronos photographed in San Francisco, CA March 26, 2013©Jay Blakesberg
Harry Bates exterior
Sunbrella, a furniture and awning fabric made by Glen Raven, is used throughout the 2011 Southern Living Idea House in Horseshoe Bay, TX. Product shots are taken by Steve Exum on June 27, 2011.
Co-chair Dick Bruce at "Art in the Garden." COURTESY FRAN CONIGLIARO
Fran Conigliaro and Diana Brennan at "Art in the Garden." COURTESY DIANA BRENNAN
Patio Furniture by Sunbrella at the house of Allen Gant, CEO. Photography by Steve Exum on the 15th of September.
A completed home in the estate section of Westhampton Beach. COURTESY LAWRENCE III CORPORATION
A completed home in the estate section of Westhampton Beach. COURTESY LAWRENCE III CORPORATION
There once was a time not all that long ago when Sunbrella—the world’s biggest supplier of outdoor fabric—was anything but fashion forward. But times have changed and the insatiable demand for variety in outdoor fabrics has created a whole new business for the industry leader.
“All you could get was a blue-and-white stripe or plain,” interior design consultant Zoë Hoare explained last week, seated on a plush couch at English Country Antiques in Bridgehampton. “You could only get nautical. And it would only be in a couple colors. They didn’t have many interesting and inspiring patterns.”
Today, that no longer rings true. Last season’s furniture bases can be new again. And the industry has never seen colors like these.
With patterns from hot pink paisleys and leopard prints to fringe finishes and outdoor polyester fabrics that look and feel like indoor treatments, exterior pillows and cushions have undergone a complete transformation in the past two years, Ms. Hoare said. And after dipping its toe in the outdoor design water last season, English Country Antiques has now jumped in.
Beginning this spring, the store is stocking 100-percent solution-dyed acrylic pillows—which are fade resistant, water resistant and mildew resistant, Ms. Hoare reported—from two different manufacturers: Perennials, a sophisticated, “grown-up” fabric company, and Link Outdoor, a more youthful and modern design collection.
That’s not to say the nautical look is out, Ms. Hoare said. She will typically do a large, double-sided pillow with a pattern on the front and a plain or stripe back, she said, which can cost anywhere from $135 to $325.
“Woven stripe patterns look fresh using unexpected color mixes that work in combinations with exotic Ikats,” Sunbrella design consultant Sherri Donghia wrote in an email last week. “Sophisticated textures and jacquard patterns using their newly developed recycled yarn look like vintage canvas cloth, while other designs mimic a homespun fabric.”
Typically, these pops of color work best against a solid cushion, Hildreth’s Patio Store manager Zerach Michel said last week during a tour of the Southampton store. Neutrals, grays and taupes are the most popular in cushions, he said, but his customers have hundreds of options. Literally.
“Just about everything is completely customizable,” he said, noting that most cushion costs can run from $125 to $600. “People are looking to brighten things up. Forest greens you don’t see as much anymore. Now you see brighter fabrics, the lighter blues, the more vibrant greens, like emerald green. Not so much as the body, but definitely as accents.”
Beware dark colors, Mr. Michel warned. The acrylic fabrics soak up heat and can get extremely hot in the summer, and often, loungers learn the hard way.
“People are worried about the whites getting dirty,” he said, “so the taupes and grays are great because they do hide the dirt while not getting hot.”
Not all outdoor furniture requires cushions and pillows for a new look. With the right combination of chemicals, teak has a built-in reset button to bring its weathered silver tone back to a golden brown, according to Bob Schindler, owner of Quogue-based maintenance and deck restoration company Schindler Enterprises. He added that the “restore-brighten process” that he does takes less than an hour to complete.
A standard set-up with a table, chairs and a couple of chaise lounges can run between $200 and $350, he said.
“It’s less expensive to restore it every year than to buy new furniture every year,” he said last week during a telephone interview. “A teak lounge chair could run you $600. Teak furniture is very expensive because it is a product you should be buying for a lifetime. It’s a great material to work with because it will last you forever.”
Treatments and cushions are to furniture as outdoor rugs are to worn decks and patios this season, Ms. Hoare said. Fade resistant and constructed from polyester, they are ideal for outside living areas and even interiors, she said.
“The feel is like wool,” she said. “It’s not like walking on sisal. It’s not like walking on plastic. It’s like walking on wool. So you don’t have to give up that feeling. I don’t know so many people who would use a rug on the floor of their terrace, but it’s nice to have the option, right?”
She laughed, and continued, “Decorators need something to decorate with. Right, we’ll get rugs outside now. Carpets on the lawn!”
Pricing depends on sizing, she said. A 2-by-3-foot rug costs $57, an 8-by-11 foot runs $1,000, she said. The rate generally goes upward from there.
“If you have a tired looking patio, the wood’s a little bit tired, you could brighten it up with a blue-and-white-stripe rug,” she said. “It would look really pretty. And bring new life to the furniture in an updated nautical way.”
Michelle Trauring on Apr 8, 2013