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The Cutting Table · a question, worked through

Should my back cushion be foam, or soft like a pillow?

I've leaned against both kinds for better than fifty years. The right one depends less on the cushion than on how you like to sit.

Answered by

The Elder of High Point ·

Pinned by Harlan

The quick answer

A back cushion can be foam or pillow-style, and the choice comes down to shape versus softness. Foam backs hold their shape better, including outdoors, come in one, two or three pieces, and stay in place without Velcro when cut as wedges. Pillow backs are softer and the cheaper option, and can still be made firm. Either kind must lean against a wall.

Get a quote for a bench seat and back cushion

Key facts

  • Back cushions come foam-filled or pillow-style.
  • Foam holds its shape better, including outdoors, and is the workshop's usual recommendation.
  • Pillow-style filling is the cheaper option.
  • Foam backrests can be made in 1, 2 or 3 pieces.
  • Wedge-shaped foam backrests stay in place without Velcro.
  • Firm pillow-shaped backs, such as 38 x 13 in (97 x 33 cm), were zippered and machine washable.
  • Backrests aren't freestanding; they must lean against a wall.

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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
The cover cloth: weave, color and care code.
Foam
Back cushions come foam-filled or pillow-style.
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

“Foam, or soft like a pillow?”

Both are made, my friend, and the workshop will send you photos of each before you decide. A foam back looks like a shorter seat cushion stood on its long edge. A pillow back is what it sounds like: separate soft pillows, three of them along an 84 in (213 cm) bench in one order.

Foam holds its shape better, and that counts double outdoors, which is why it's the usual recommendation. Pillows give a softer, easier look. Browse both on the backrest cushions page.

“Could the foam be too firm?”

It can feel that way, which is why plenty of folks pair a firm foam seat with a softer back pillow. The workshop has done exactly that when a buyer's photo showed it. The seat carries your weight; the back only has to hold your lean.

Many buyers also go thinner on the back, say 4 in (10 cm) backs on an 8 in (20 cm) seat. The back cushion fill Pattern compares the fillings side by side.

“I'd take the cheaper filling. Will it slump?”

Pillow-style is the cheaper one, and it doesn't have to go limp. Back pillows at 38 x 13 in (97 x 33 cm) were made firm enough to work as backrests, bigger than throw pillows, zippered and machine washable. They sat on two long Dacron-wrapped seat cushions and did their job.

“Will it stay in place?”

Foam cut as a wedge stays put without Velcro: the thick edge sits on the seat, the thin edge rests on the wall. Split it into one, two or three pieces to suit the bench.

Either way, a backrest isn't freestanding. It needs a wall behind it. The upright back cushions Pattern covers the rest. What's behind your bench, a wall or open air?

Foam back cushions hold their shape, even outdoors; pillow backs cost less, and a 38 x 13 in pillow can still be firm enough to lean on.

Harlan
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Should the back cushion be firm foam, or soft like a pillow?

    The workshop's answer

    Either works. The workshop asks which you want and will pair a firm foam seat with a softer back pillow if that's what your photo shows. Three foam backrests were made to match one trapezoid bench seat.

  2. A common question

    Can back pillows be firm like backrests but still look like pillows?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. Back pillows 38 x 13 in (97 x 33 cm) were made firm enough to work as backrests; they're bigger than throw pillows. They went with two 77 x 30 x 4 in (196 x 76 x 10 cm) Dacron-wrapped seat cushions.

  3. A common question

    Foam-filled or pillow-soft for my back cushions?

    The workshop's answer

    You choose, and the workshop recommends foam because it holds its shape better, including outdoors. Pillow-style filling is the cheaper option. Two backrests 25 in (64 cm) wide and 18 in (46 cm) high were quoted this way for one buyer.

  4. A common question

    Pillow-filled or foam backrest, and will it stay put?

    The workshop's answer

    Both are available, with photos of each. Pillow backs are separate soft pillows, three along an 84 in (213 cm) bench; foam looks like a shorter seat cushion in one, two or three pieces, cut as a wedge to stay in place without Velcro. Backrests must lean against a wall.

  5. A common question

    Should the back cushions be as thick as the seat cushions?

    The workshop's answer

    No. Many buyers pick a thicker, firmer seat and a thinner or softer back, such as 4 in (10 cm) backs on an 8 in (20 cm) seat, which also lowers the price. Backs are usually slightly narrower too.

Questions buyers ask next

Which back cushion filling is better outdoors?

Foam. The workshop's usual recommendation is foam because it holds its shape better, including outdoors. Pillow backs suit a softer, more relaxed look indoors and cost less, but they give up some of that crisp shape.

Can a foam backrest be split into sections along a long bench?

Yes. Foam backrests are made in one, two or three pieces. Shorter pieces are easier to handle, and each can be cut as a wedge, thicker at the bottom, so it stays in place without Velcro.

Do pillow-style back cushions have removable covers?

The firm pillow-shaped backs, such as 38 x 13 in (97 x 33 cm), were made with zippers and machine-washable covers. Ask the workshop to confirm the zipper for your size when you order.