The Complete Guide
Custom Made Lounge Setting Covers — The Australian Owner's Complete Guide
Most outdoor lounge settings in Australia are a combination of pieces: a sofa, two or three occasional chairs, and a coffee table in the centre. They sit in one position, they get used together, and when the weather turns, they need to be protected together. The question is how to do that without putting on and taking off four separate covers every time.
Why a single setting cover makes sense
Covering each piece individually is the most common approach, and it has real drawbacks. Each cover takes time to put on and take off. Pieces shift slightly when covered and uncovered, so the arrangement never quite returns to exactly the same position. Gaps between individual covers let rain, wind-blown leaves, and insects in between the furniture — exactly the spots you most want to keep dry and clean. And there are four or more covers to fold and store, each needing its own storage bag or shelf space.
A lounge setting cover changes the equation. One cover goes over the full arrangement. It takes seconds to put on, keeps everything in place underneath, and sheds water across a single continuous surface. When you take it off, the furniture is exactly as you left it.
The three measurements you need
Arrange your furniture in its normal position before you measure. The cover is built to fit the setting as it lives, so measure it as it lives.
Width
Width is the full side-to-side span of the setting at the widest point. Start at the outermost edge on one side — whether that is the arm of the sofa, the side of a chair, or a protruding coffee table leg — and measure across to the outermost point on the other side. If your chairs are pulled slightly apart from the sofa, include that gap in the measurement. You are capturing the full footprint of the arrangement.
Depth
Depth is the front-to-back measurement of the setting at the deepest point. Typically this runs from the back of the sofa to the front of the coffee table, or from the back of a chair to a footrest if one extends out front. Measure at the deepest point of the arrangement. If your coffee table extends further forward than the chairs, that is your depth.
Height
Height is from the ground to the top of the tallest piece in the arrangement. On most lounge settings, the tallest piece is the back of the sofa. Measure with cushions in their normal positions — back cushions in place, not removed or flattened. The cover needs to clear the cushions, so measuring without them will result in a cover that is slightly too short.
Do not add extra centimetres. The production pattern includes the right ease.
What a setting cover does differently
A setting cover has more fabric than a single sofa cover. It spans a wider and deeper footprint, and it needs to drape cleanly to the ground on all four sides even over a varied landscape of different furniture heights. The complexity factor in the pricing accounts for the scale of the piece and the additional material involved in producing a cover for a full arrangement rather than a single item.
The cover drops over the whole setting as one piece. The sofa and chairs hold their positions underneath it, and the coffee table sits in place. When the cover comes off, nothing has moved.
Material and construction
All covers are made from 200gsm solution-dyed polyester with a polyurethane waterproof coating on the underside. Solution-dyed construction means the colour goes through the fibre during production rather than being applied to the surface. This gives the fabric far better UV resistance than conventionally dyed alternatives — important in Australia, where UV levels are among the highest in the world. The PU coating on the underside keeps rain out without making the cover stiff, and it stays flexible through cold temperatures rather than cracking along fold lines.
Seams are reinforced throughout. The base hem has enough weight to sit in position in a light breeze without needing ties.
Caring for your cover
Rinse regularly with a garden hose. Spot-clean with mild soapy water. Do not machine wash — the agitation removes the waterproof coating in a single cycle. Fold loosely for storage rather than compressing tightly. Sustained pressure along the same fold line will eventually cause the coating to wear at that point.