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The Cutting Table · a checklist answer

How tall should a back cushion be on a bench under a window?

Also asked as:What depth and height would you recommend?Keep guests from hitting the window lever.

Let the window tell you, my friend. The sill and the latch settle the height before the tape measure ever comes out of the drawer.

Answered by

The Elder of High Point ·

Close-up of a black and cream geometric jacquard back cushion resting on a terracotta bouclé seat cushion by arched windowsSave
Two fabrics, one seat: a crisp geometric back cushion lifts a warm terracotta bouclé base.

The quick answer

A back cushion on a bench under a window should stand taller than the window hardware and stay loose. With a lever about 11 in (28 cm) above the seat cushion, a back 14-16 in (36-41 cm) tall and 3-4 in (8-10 cm) thick keeps the lever safely behind it. Under a very low sill, a short flat back replaces the round bolster.

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Key facts

  • Back cushion height is set by the sill and the window hardware.
  • With a lever about 11 in (28 cm) above the seat cushion, the back is 14-16 in (36-41 cm) tall.
  • That back is 3-4 in (8-10 cm) thick.
  • Back cushions stay loose so the window can still be opened.
  • A 4 in (10 cm) floor cushion under an 11 in (28 cm) sill leaves 7 in (18 cm) for the back.
  • A low flat back piece can replace the round bolster under a low sill.
  • Matching backs are made in the same fabric as the seat.

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Fabric has a temper and foam has a memory. Better to settle both in a conversation than to guess at them alone. — Harlan

Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
Matching backs are made in the same fabric as the seat.
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
The corded seam edge: matching, contrast or none.
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

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Measure these before you order the back

  • From the top of the seat cushion up to the window lever or latch.
  • From the floor or seat up to the bottom of the sill.
  • How the window opens, since the back has to lift away for it.
  • The seat cushion's thickness, because the back stands on it.

Two windows, two answers

A buyer in the US had a bench against a windowsill with the lever about 11 in (28 cm) above the seat cushion, and wanted to keep people from knocking into it. The workshop's advice: a back 14-16 in (36-41 cm) tall, so the lever sits safely behind it, and 3-4 in (8-10 cm) thick, left loose so the window still opens.

Another buyer had a floor cushion under a sill only 11 in off the floor. The seat is 4 in (10 cm) thick, which leaves 7 in (18 cm), no room for a round bolster. So the workshop made a low flat back piece instead.

How high off your seat does the latch sit? Buy the cushion once, cry once. The back cushion height Pattern and the backrest cushions page carry it further.

Where backs under windows go wrong

  • A back shorter than the lever, which leaves the hardware where shoulders land.
  • A back fixed in place, when the window has to open.
  • A round bolster squeezed under a sill with only 7 in (18 cm) to spare.

Under a sill 11 in off the floor, a 4 in floor cushion leaves 7 in for a back, so a low flat back piece takes the place of the round bolster.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Do you make back cushions to match a bench cushion, and how tall should they be against a window?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, in the same fabric so the set coordinates. With a window lever about 11 in above the seat cushion, the advice was 14-16 in tall, so the lever sits safely behind, and 3-4 in thick. The backs stay loose so the window can still be operated.

  2. A common question

    Can the backrest be short enough to fit under a low window sill?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. The floor cushion is 4 in thick, so a sill 11 in off the floor leaves 7 in for the back. A low flat back piece is made instead of the round bolster.

  3. A common question

    French-style tufted cushion set: is a backrest included?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes: the set has the seat cushion, one backrest and two round armrest bolsters. The backrest is 16 in (40 cm) by 4 in (10 cm) and matches the seat length.

Questions buyers ask next

Should a back cushion under a window be fixed in place?

Not under a window you open. Loose backs lift away when you need the window, which is why the 14-16 in backs on one bench were left loose rather than attached.

How thick should a window bench back cushion be?

The workshop advised 3-4 in (8-10 cm) for a bench under a window, paired with a 14-16 in (36-41 cm) height. Matching backs are made in the same fabric as the seat cushion.

Do I measure the back height from the bench or from the seat cushion?

From the top of the seat cushion, since the back stands on it. The 11 in lever height in the workshop's example was measured above the seat cushion, not above the bench.