I am recovering an old fainting couch. Ideas for seat replacement?

There are many different types of foam - where are you looking? Maybe there is a way to find it cheaper. I've never seen anyone do it with anything other than foam - but I'm guessing that some Hometalkers will have bright ideas!!

Possibly find a cushion for a outdoor patio lounge that is firm, and recover.

They make insulation for homes out of recycled denim, which is cotton. Maybe several thicknesses of that kind of insulation would work. Since you live in Florida - is shredded coconut husks or palm fronds an affordable and likely choice with perhaps quilt batting on top?

Local sourcing should be more cost effective than importing from afar. (I experimented once with the downy insides of cattails, but it only works well in the fall when the cattails have ripened and matured. Proper timing matters. The cattail stems can be dried, split and used in weaving mats and the pods can be made into torches with paraffin wax. We have an abundant source of cattails near the swampy areas around our farm, can't get much more "local sourced" than that). Older methods of padding furniture - before foam padding - included horsehair, wool roving, cotton , all expensive in the amount you'd need for a couch. I'm not sure about recycling an old mattress, I have never tried dismantling one.

Fainting couches are awesome, I have always wanted one. Do it right and it will last for years. I would pull out the phone book, (yes I am that old), yes they still print them, look in the yellow pages and find all the foam people and reupholstery places in your area. Or Google. You just might get lucky and find a mom and pop shop that will be able to help you. Some of these old timer places are still not technology savvy. I have disassembled antique chairs and cotton batting over horse hair was very popular. Knowing this, I would use a high quality cotton batting over foam or whattever you choose to use for optimum results. Good luck, have fun and it will turn out great! ☺

I would suggest using mattress pads or " egg crate mattress". They are cheap enough to get as many as you need for desired thickness and you can easier to cut to fit your project. Then cover in a quality batting. I have used this on a few projects and turned out great. Bonus! You can find at any Walmart!

Ditto on the mattress pads! You can google them to find the best deal, then use retailmenot.com to see if a coupon is available from the store you've chosen. Don't be discouraged if your favorite retailer is out of stock...they sell fast, esp. when on sale...just ask to be notified when they are back in stock. (Walmart.com is great for that)

my fainting couch was stuffed with straw....you can get egg crate toppers from local big box stores. check the fabric store ads for when slab foam goes on sale.