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The Cutting Table · a checklist answer

Can the back cushion be the same size as the seat cushion?

Also asked as:Can the back be the same shape as the bottom?Both pieces the same size?

It can. Just know what you're buying: not a backrest so much as a second bed.

Answered by

The Elder of High Point ·

Unpiped black and cream block weave cushion on a walnut bench with a backrest, brass arc lamp and olive treeSave
An unpiped block weave wraps round the edge of a walnut loveseat, lit by a single bare-bulb arc lamp.

The quick answer

Yes, the back cushion can be made the same size as the seat, or square like it. In the standard floor-cushion set the backrest is 16 in (41 cm) high and smaller than the seat. A backrest as wide as the seat is effectively a second full mattress, so it's priced as one and the set costs noticeably more. Ask for a quote with both sizes.

Get a quote for a floor cushion

Key facts

  • In the standard set, the seat is larger than the backrest.
  • The standard backrest is 16 in (41 cm) high.
  • The backrest can be made square like the seat, or the same size.
  • A seat-sized backrest is priced as a second mattress.
  • On one 30 x 73 in (76 x 185 cm) set, the full-size back raised the total by about a fifth.
  • Backrests are made in the seat's fabric, as firm foam or a soft filled pillow.

Have it made

Have Harlan’s workshop cut this for you

Old upholsterers will tell you the real cutting happens in the conversation, long before the shears come out. Tell the workshop what you sit on, and they will talk it through with you. — 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
The cover cloth: weave, color and care code.
Foam
Backrests are made in the seat's fabric, as firm foam or a soft filled pillow.
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.

Want to pick the shape and add photos? Use the full quote form

What you can ask the workshop for

  • The standard backrest, 16 in (41 cm) high, smaller than the seat
  • A square back, shaped like the seat
  • A back the same size as the seat: a second full mattress
  • The seat's own fabric, in firm foam or as a soft filled pillow

What a full-size back won't be

  • Standard set pricing: it's priced as a second mattress
  • A small add-on: on a 30 x 73 in (76 x 185 cm) set it came to about a fifth more
  • A guess: ask for a quote with both sizes before ordering

Why a big back costs a whole mattress

A backrest as wide as the seat is, in plain workshop terms, a second full mattress. That's what you pay for, my friend, whatever we call it. Buy the cushion once, cry once: if that back will double as a spare bed for a guest, the full size may earn its keep. If you only lean on it, the standard 16 in (41 cm) back does the job.

The back cushion height Pattern helps you choose a height, and the floor cushions and backrest cushions hubs show both shapes. Will you lean on that back, or sleep on it?

Asking for the quote, in four lines

  1. Measure the seat

    Width and length, for example 30 x 73 in (76 x 185 cm).

  2. Choose the back

    Standard 16 in (41 cm), square like the seat, or the same size.

  3. Send both sizes

    A seat-sized back is quoted as a second mattress.

  4. Name the fabric

    Give the seat's fabric code so the back is cut from the same cloth.

On a 30 x 73 in floor-cushion set, a back as big as the seat added about a fifth to the price, because it is a second mattress.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Can my backrest be as wide as the seat mattress?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, but the standard backrest is 16 in (41 cm) high, and a seat-sized one means buying two full mattresses, so the price goes up. On a 30 x 73 in (76 x 185 cm) set, it came to noticeably more.

  2. A common question

    Could the back cushion match the bottom one in size or shape?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. In the standard set the seat is bigger than the backrest, but the workshop can make the back square like the seat, or make both pieces the same size.

  3. A common question

    Do you make matching back cushions for a bench cushion?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Backrests are made to your size in the same fabric as the seat, either firm foam like the seat or a soft filled pillow, ordered with the seat or added later with your original fabric code.

  4. A common question

    Can I buy only the back pillows and bolsters for my daybed?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Backrests and armrest bolsters are sold without the mattress cover and quoted on request. Two 18 x 36 in (46 x 91 cm) backrests plus two armrests turn a twin bed into a daybed.

Questions buyers ask next

Can a backrest be shorter than the seat?

Yes. Each backrest is its own item at its own size, so it can be shorter or narrower than the seat. Write the size, the fabric code and the word 'backrest' in the personalization note.

Can I add a back cushion later?

Yes. Quote the fabric code from your original order and the backrest is made to your size in the same fabric, in firm foam or as a soft filled pillow.

Should a large backrest be firm or soft?

Either is made. Backrests come in firm foam like the seat or as a soft filled pillow. Say which you want when you ask for the quote, along with both sizes.