The well-dressed patio

Just a few years ago, outdoor fabrics came in solids and beach chair stripes in the color palette of dad’s sock drawer with the texture of old tires. They are the laughingstock of the upholstery world no more.

Outdoor furniture retailers and traditional fabric stores are carrying a wide range of all-weather textiles, including exclusive patterns by major manufacturers such as Brown Jordan that lend pizazz and elegance to any outdoor room. There are textured terra-cotta wovens that complement Tuscan decor, Hawaiian punchy floral prints and swaying palm jacquards to match a tropical terrace, and hot pinks that would shock Elsa Schiaperelli. The feel has improved as much as the look, going from scratchy-and-stiff to downy soft.

All outdoor fabrics are not equal, cautions Richard Killeen, Los Angeles showroom manager for Murray’s Iron Works. Some, he explains, are like carrots -- the color remains constant from the front to the back of the fabric. Others are like radishes, where the color is only skin deep.

The carrot of outdoor fabrics is “solution dyed acrylic” -- yarns are dyed all the way through to prevent fading. Acrylic is also mold and mildew resistant, weatherproof and cleanable even with bleach, making it ideal for outdoors. Though solution-dyed yarns like Sunbrella (the Kleenex of outdoor fabrics) predominate, plenty of radishes -- ink designs imprinted onto rather than into acrylic or other fabrics -- are on the market. For rugged outdoor use, chase the carrots, experts say.

Although Sunbrella has long been the standard in solution-dyed acrylics, other companies like the furniture firm Donghia entered the fray with ribbed fabrics, wovens that look like silk, and neons woven into ethnic patterns. Looking for easy-care, UV ray- and insect-blocking curtains for a sunny interior? Try Perennials’ “See Sea,” a mesh that can be hung as sheers.