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The Cutting Table · a question, worked through

How thick should my cushion be to get the seat height I want?

One line of arithmetic and one question the shop will ask back. Both worked out below, on a real mudroom niche.

Answered by

The Pattern Engineer of Detroit · · Updated

Pinned by Nate

The quick answer

Seat height is bench height plus cushion thickness, so subtract your bench height from the seat height you want. A 15 in (38 cm) bench with a 3 in (7.5 cm) cushion sits at 18 in (46 cm). Send width, length and thickness, and say whether any height you give is measured from the floor to the top of the seat.

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Key facts

  • Final seat height = bench height + cushion thickness.
  • A 15 in (38 cm) bench plus a 3 in (7.5 cm) cushion gives an 18 in (46 cm) seat.
  • Select the nearest size options, then write the exact size in the note, e.g. 17 x 35.75 x 3 in.
  • If you give a seat height, the shop confirms whether it is measured from the floor to the top of the seat.
  • Every quote needs width, length and height (thickness).
  • The mudroom example took about 1 week to make, plus 3-5 days of delivery.

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Every edge and both diagonals, to the nearest 1/4 in. If the numbers do not close, the workshop will say so on the call. — Nate

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
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.

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“What thickness gets my bench to 18 inches?”

Subtract, partner. The seat height you want, minus the height of the bench, is the cushion thickness. Everything else is paperwork.

A buyer in the US sent the workshop a mudroom niche measuring 17 x 35.75 in (43 x 91 cm), with the bench top 15 in (38 cm) off the floor, and wanted to sit at 18 in (46 cm). Eighteen minus fifteen is 3, so the bench cushion is 3 in (7.5 cm) thick. If you would rather not do the arithmetic, the seat height calculator does it for you.

Four steps from tape measure to order note

  1. Measure the niche

    Width front to back, length wall to wall, and the bench top's height from the floor. Here: 17 in, 35.75 in and 15 in.

  2. Subtract

    Target seat height minus bench height gives the thickness: 18 − 15 = 3 in.

  3. Pick the nearest options

    Choose the closest menu sizes: 17 in width, 36 in length, 3 in thickness.

  4. Write the exact size in the note

    Type 17 x 35.75 x 3 in into the personalization note, so the workshop has your real numbers and not the rounded ones.

“I need a 26 inch seat height. Can you do it?”

Yes; any size can be made. But a number like 26 in (66 cm) gets one question back before anything is cut: do you mean the total height from the floor to the top of the seat?

That question saves foam. A seat height is a sum, and the shop can't solve it without the other half. Send all three dimensions of the cushion (width, length and height), and if you give a seat height, say it is measured from the floor and add the bench height.

“How long until it's on the bench?”

The mudroom cushion took about 1 week to make, then 3-5 days in delivery. For the measuring itself, how to measure a bench for a cushion walks through the tape work. Measure twice; the fabric remembers.

So: what does your bench measure from the floor, and where do you want to land?

A seat height request like 26 in gets one check before cutting: whether it is measured from the floor to the top of the seat.

Nate
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    What size cushion should I order for a mudroom bench niche?

    The workshop's answer

    For a 17 x 35.75 in (43 x 91 cm) niche that is 15 in (38 cm) high, a 3 in (7.5 cm) cushion brings the seat to the 18 in (46 cm) you want. Select 17 in width, 36 in length and 3 in thickness, and write the exact 17 x 35.75 x 3 in in the note. It took about 1 week to make, plus 3-5 days of delivery.

  2. A common question

    Can you make the seat height 26 inches?

    The workshop's answer

    Any size can be made. The shop first checks whether 26 in means the total height from the floor to the top of the seat, and asks for all three dimensions: width, length and height.

  3. A common question

    Should I take a little off my measurements so the cushion fits?

    The workshop's answer

    No. Send the exact size of the space without deducting anything. The shop makes the cushion to your numbers and handles any fitting allowance in production; piping sits on the seams and doesn't change the size.

Questions buyers ask next

Does piping add to the cushion's thickness?

No. Piping sits on the seams and doesn't change the cushion's size, so a 3 in cushion with piping is still made to 3 in. Plan your seat height on the thickness you order, and keep the exact figure in the note.

What if the thickness I need falls between the menu options?

Pick the nearest thickness option and write the exact thickness in the personalization note. Any size can be made, so the workshop works from the numbers you write rather than from the closest menu choice.

Which measurements does a bench cushion quote need?

Width, length and height (thickness). For a niche, width runs front to back and length runs wall to wall. If you would rather give a finished seat height, also give the bench height and say the seat figure is measured from the floor.