Striped outdoor cushions: how to use stripes without the deckchair look
One striped cushion makes a set look designed. Four make it look like a seaside café. The difference is proportion and matching.
The rules
- One striped fabric per set. Not one striped cushion: one striped fabric, used on one to three cushions.
- The stripe must contain your plain colours. A navy and white stripe with navy and natural white plains. A stripe with colours that appear nowhere else fights the set.
- Stripes on backs and scatters, plains on seats. A striped seat pad shows every crease and crumb.
- Match the stripe direction. All vertical or all horizontal on a sofa. Mixed directions look accidental.
Which stripes suit which look
- Coastal: navy or ink on natural white, 2-3 cm stripes. The one that never dates.
- Mediterranean: terracotta or olive with sand, uneven widths.
- Modern: charcoal and white, or a tonal stripe (two greys). Fine stripes, 1 cm.
- Playful: lemon or orange with white, wide stripes, on a white or black frame only.
Stripe plus two plains that are in the stripe. That is a set. Anything else is a sale bin.
Why the fabric matters more on a stripe
A stripe fades unevenly: the dark bands lose colour and the contrast collapses, which is why faded striped cushions look older than faded plain ones. On a printed fabric this happens in one summer. In Sunbrella® the stripe is woven from solution-dyed yarns, so the contrast stays as sharp in year five as in week one. See why solution-dyed acrylic does not fade.
Our stripes
Woven Sunbrella® stripes in the collection include the Yacht Stripe navy-and-white and the Solids Pennant heathers; patterns in the Bengali and Jacquard ranges work as a stripe substitute on a plain set. All current options are on the collection page. For the plains to go with them: colour ideas.
158 Sunbrella® colours in 45×45, filling included, shipped next working day. Browse the collection or ask about made to measure.
