apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

indoor furniture outdoors reminds me of college years when every students house had a couch on the porch....and they were all moldy and filled with spiders.

It's not just the fabric you have to worry about! The cushion filling has to be appropriate for outdoor use too or it's going to retain moisture. I'm all for hauling out a chair or two for a party, but this seems like a bad idea! I really don't even like the current trend of outdoor furniture that has cushions like indoor furniture. Unless you are diligent with covers or storing them, they just get gross fast. Even in the nice weather of southern CA.

I live in San Diego and no way would I ever put furniture made for indoors outside. Between the marine layer that brings in daily morning moisture, the winter rains and the hot afternoon sun, the indoor furniture would be destroyed in a matter of months.

Bad, bad idea.

I agree with mfpants. It smacks of frat house with a couch on the porch. I think it would get very smelly very quickly.

And the OP should be made aware that by no means do Californians have the market cornered on hot tubs in winter. There's nothing quite like a hot tub on a really cold night of a New England winter, especially during a snowstorm, with tons of stars in the sky.

Do you even have winter in LA? I thought it was pretty seasonless out there.

Griffin, I also agree with mfpants about the frat-ness of this .

We do have seasons here in LA but the shift of temperature is small compared to the majority of the country. It also tends to be more rainy during the winter.

While it may be fine to drag the living room chairs and sofas out for the occassional garden party...

...I don't see upholstered pieces lasting for a significant time outdoors - Even with the modern outdoor fabrics and fillings, the frames and suspension systems aren't made for exposure to the weather.

Lilly, you've found a pretty picture - but you're not offering practical or useful advice here.

Sorry - I meant Abby

Ummm. Snowstorms sort of block out the stars.

Thanks feathers. I know that's usually the case, but my BF and I spent a wonderful evening in the hot tub gazing at the stars last winter. Before we went inside, it began to snow. Okay?

bad idea but what an inviting image -- makes you want to curl up on the round sofa and watch the flames flicker in the fireplace while sun sets and sky turns starry....

Indoor furniture outside is white trash. Sorry, Abby. And I've lived in SoCal for several years now, and I can't always tell when it is going to rain...hence my rusty bike.

About SoCal winters: gray, cool, and rainy.

This is a nice photo, but this would mean dragging the sofa inside often or having to deal with every insect making it their home.
What if it rains or is humid like the cities I've lived in?

Why not just use furniture designed to be left outside?

I love upholstered sofas on verandahs. Have the people worried about dirt and insects not heard of vacuum cleaners? White trash furniture outside is white trash. Attractive, well-looked-after indoor furniture outside is incongruous and charming.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Atomicranch, you took the words right out of my mouth.

If your out shopping for the day and no one is home to cover this sofa when the rain commit---it could take weeks for it to dry out to sit on.

I don't think it looks frat so much as pimp/drug dealer. It looks too nice to be frat. :p

That said, if the furniture were upholstered properly and filled properly then go for it!

It would work especially well with Moroccan designs since they have such an arid climate that is suited to having nicer outdoor furniture.