I had real wicker furniture out on our covered patio for years and it was fine. It was already old when I inherited it, so I didn't care much if it didn't last long - but it did. I'd be more concerned about the cushion. Would you bring it in when it rained or at night?

I was wondering the same thing. The real wicker is so much cheaper used than resin. If I cover it when not in use, would that work? (I'd put it away for the cold weather!)

Cool, hopefully mine will last a long time too.

I thought about resin or making a waterproof cushion cover, but I'm trying not to buy anything for this and have "free" patio furniture. Is resin really worth the effort? The patio floor might get wet, so I probably should at least consider resin.

The cushion is an indoor cushion, but I would just leave it out there all year and not bring it in when it rains. The patio is about 7 feet and the chair would be right by the house, so hopefully it wouldn't get wet. I thought about making a cover for it, but I'm going with free/no cover.

This post was edited by osucowboys405 on Fri, Jul 25, 14 at 16:46

Is the frame wicker or rattan? Rattan holds up very well and should do fine on a covered patio. It's the cushion that won't hold up so well. I have a vintage Paul Frankl rattan bar and 3 stools that has been on my covered/screened pool lanai for 10 years and have had no issues with it other than the stool cushions. I just had them recovered this past spring. The last time I did that was in the mid-80's.

I also have wicker resin furniture on the same patio (for a decade) that is still in perfect condition. I do have to get new cushions every couple of years but this set gets used hard daily. It may depend on where you live too. I'm in Florida and it is very humid on my patio much of the time so I deal with mildew. And even though the furniture is under the covered part of the lanai (12' x 25') it still gets rained on at times when the wind is blowing.

A couple of times a year I take all of the furniture outside and hose it all down and wash it with a mild soapy solution. We get lots of pollen in the spring and fall. I wipe it dry and let it completely dry in the sun. No problems with either the rattan or resin wicker.

This is not my rattan bar but this is what it looks like. Rattan is a very strong material.

Very cool, I'm glad to know yours lasted a long time.

I thought the Pier One chairs were wicker, but it is rattan.

If the rattan base can last outside here (Oklahoma), I could spring for a new outdoor cushion in a year or two.

With wind here, this chair might get a little wet with a windy rain too.

I had one of the pier one papasan cushions and it started fading color on everything, so be careful when you sit down on it once it has been outside. Mine was a red color and it was very upsetting to realize you suddenly had a red behind!

That's odd, and unpleasant that your cushion faded color on your clothes. Mine cushion is over a few years old and hasn't faded or rubbed off on anything.

Was your cushion outside? Did it get wet?