Who makes the furniture and what type of fabric is being used? The marine-grade stuff out there today is terrific, with waterproof cushion filling and fabric. If they've picked the right pieces, it should not be a problem.

Here is another foam that might work for you.

https://www.gbfoamdirect.co.uk/foam-cut-to-size/outdoor-cushions-reticulated-foam/

If you’re worried about having fabric on your outdoor furniture, change the type of outdoor furniture. As you wrote, the model was staged. It doesn’t mean you have to furnish your unit as they did.

Are you forced to have outdoor textiles? As in it's furnished with that and you can't change it? Or is the staged house full of it, but you can have what furniture you want in your own home? I know sometimes places come furnished, but I figured that's less common now.

We have a big plastic storage bin on our porch for our cushions.

Your experience may differ, but I have quite a few pieces/sets of vintage Brown Jordan furniture I was able to buy for a very little money on FB Marketplace and Craigslist. No cushions needed.

Are you saying you are forced to use patio furniture that someone else selects and pays for and you cant replace it with your own?

Sunbrella is that good? Thanks for that recommendation, also for the reference to marine grade outdoor cushions. I googled the question right before I posted and all I got were recommendations to “bring in” the patio cushions before it rains.

I thought even Sunbrella was water permeable, hence cushions still get wet & have to dry? But maybe not certain foams.

The key, as noted, is to be anti select your own furniture after researching & also assessing how much storage space for some types of cushions. You certainly don’t have to get big thick chunky cushioned chairs & sofas. You could have some comfy as- is mesh type chairs or some with thinner cushions that can store in a storage cube/ side table. How many people will live there? Optimize the everyday seating for you, and any typical frequent guest, balance with least hassle. Plus you may not know at first what kind of yearly pollen attack, other protection or maintenance will arise.

I have patio furniture that is a (much) less expensive version of the Brown Jordan label and I also have patio cushions that I leave out all season, rain or shine. As noted, they shed any water almost instantly and have held up great for more than 5 years. I only store them away under cover in winter.

I would add that the cushions were not high end either......I may have bought them at Walmart. And for just that reason - how well will they hold up? Surprisingly well!!!

Everything on my deck and patio stay out all year round, so I don't use any fabric pillows or cushions. The only outdoor fabric item I have is a cotton hammock, and I can pop it in the dryer if it's been out in the rain.

Other than the hammock, I've switched to using recycled plastic (Muskoka) chairs and tables. They're heavy, so they won't blow away, and they're comfortable without cushions. (And they're made from recycled material!)

The problem for me and cushioned furniture is the pollen not the water. The pollen here is gross for at least 3 to 4 months out of the year. I have grill covers that I have to throw in washing machine because they get so much pollen on them. It does not brush right off because pollen is sticky. If I had cushioned furniture it would have to be brought in all the time. I will not sit on a pollen covered cushion. I do have a few sunbrella lumbar pillows that I leave out. Yes they get nasty too and need to be washed with a scrub brush. All the outdoor furniture we have is polywood no cushions. Easy to wipe down.

So Vinmarks this is kind of my point. On Houzz the patio photos are gorgeous with sofas and lounge chairs and such but who can really live like this with all those cushions and the realities of the weather. Maybe that’s only for people on the west coast.

@Laura Jazz Maybe people that are okay bringing stuff in and out all the time or do not mind sitting on pollen covered cushions. I have enough stuff to clean from pollen-screened in porches, deck, polywood furniture, front porch etc. But with those things I can use a mop and microfiber cloth and water from a hose. Cushions would be a whole other story hence why I won't have cushioned furniture. I am not willing to have to keep hauling cushions in and out every time I want to sit down.

It's not just pollen. Spiders like to live under cushions as well as stink bugs. I picked up one of my lumbar pillows today and a spider made a nice little home under there. Once September comes around the stink bugs like to hide under my pillows.

Why doesn't anyone use covers??? I would hate schlepping my cushions in and out of the patio storage box or whatever every time I want to sit on my patio. We are in Minnesota, get all the weather, and just bought covers for everything. They work great and are less work than moving cushions around. I'm just baffled by this, and it's not the first time this question has been posed here. Why don't people just get covers??

We have 2 sets of RST brands furniture on our deck and patio. They have sunbrella fabric and are nearly white in color. We have zero issues.

We have a small deck box that we store the covers in when we're using the furniture. They are clean and dry every time. I think for any outdoor furniture you have to do something and this seems like the least of all evils.

I will add that our extreme weather means we are replacing covers semi frequently since the fabric takes a huge beating, but so far we've only replaced two... One because a dog tried to dig through it and succeeded. The other tore. The rest have lasted two winters and look good to survive at least another.

@anj_p yes covers would work but they do not exactly look nice. We used covers on 2 wicker chairs we had that had cushions at our previous house. It still was a pain taking them off and putting them back on. But I can see that if someone wants cushioned furniture that would be the best solution. It also did not solve the spider and stink bug issue.

I would argue that covers look better than furniture without cushions, but ymmv. I'm not really concerned about how it looks when we're not using our deck/patio because no one really is there to look at it :)

In the middle of winter it's all covered in snow anyway!

But yes, they are a pain to take off/put on, but still less time than caring cushions back and forth. I've got the hang of mine now and can usually get them on/off pretty quickly.

Personally, I wouldn't do cushions on outdorr furniture. When they get wet it takes a while to dry.

I am not one to remove and store, nor would I want to keep covering.

For outdoors I use furniture without cushions. It stays out all year long, through snow etc. No issues.

In Florida because we have a covered lanai, we opted for cushions. This furniture comes into the house when we are not there. It’s sunbrella. It can get moldy so we have them professionally cleaned now and again.

I LOVE the cushioned furniture we have - it's so comfy. I've even taken a nap on the couch. I can't imagine that stuff without cushions would be comfortable for long. We have a TV on our patio and watch sports/movies outside. I can't imagine sitting for that long without a cushion. Obviously how you use your patio/deck will play into what type of furniture works for you. For us we have zero regrets. Haven't seen a bug issue with the covers either.

@Laura Jazz Personally I think cushioned patio furniture is way better than the alternative, and I would not use that as a reason to NOT buy a house. Can you not change the furniture? Can you not buy covers?

When I was condo board president in 2017, we bought replacement Sunbrella cushions for the Hampton Bay furniture on our condo shared deck. It may have been from the Replacement Cushion Company. After seven years, 84 seasons, never having been brought inside, and never have been cleaned they're still in good shape and entirely sittable. They're not perfectly clean, of course, and there are green spots in some areas but the latter is because the on some furniture pieces, the cushions sit on top of one another so they're hidden from both the cleansing rain and sun. I would recommend cushioned furniture with Sunbrella fabrics.

Another here for Sunbrella. Just prior to lockdown I had my mine made by an Etsy vendor. I’m in SoCal so they are out year round. I can hose off or stick in the washing machine.