Floor cushions and floor pillows, thick enough that you forget the floor
A floor cushion is the oldest seat in the house, and the easiest to get wrong by an inch or two. Here is what the bench has taught me about sizing one, filling it and covering it.
SaveA six-sided floor cushion in a cream zigzag jacquard gives a living room flexible extra seating. The pattern wraps the sides too.
The quick answer
A floor cushion is a large, thick seat made to sit directly on the floor, and the standard tufted one is about 4 in (10 cm) thick. Thicker builds of 6, 8, 10 or 12 in sit higher or double as a bed. Tufted pieces are packed with polyester cluster fiber and closed by hand; plain foam versions get a zippered, washable cover.
One surprise keeps coming back: people picture a floor cushion twice as thick as the one that arrives. The standard tufted piece is 4 in (10 cm). That is plenty for sitting cross-legged at a low table, and not much for lying on hardwood.
A floor cushion is a seat with no frame. It sits in front of a coffee table, fills a reading corner, turns a bay nook into a lounge, or goes under a loft bed for sleepovers. Some come as sets with a backrest and bolsters that lean on the wall like a floor sofa.
Most floor cushions are squares and rectangles. Rounds, quarter-rounds and hexagons are all made, and the cream jacquard hexagon at the top of this page is a shape worth stealing. A hexagon for a play structure is cut from a reference drawing on which you mark two key measurements.
Curves want honest numbers. A buyer in the US needed a cushion for a foyer nook about 74 x 24 in (188 x 61 cm), one side following a stair railing. The workshop asked for a paper drawing with sizes, the two straight dimensions and a wide photo, and drafted the curve from those. The curved cushion guide walks through the same steps.
The edge sets the character. A tufted French edge is rolled by hand and buttoned through the fill. A plain box edge with self piping, like the mustard square the terrier has claimed, reads tailored and zips open.
Fabrics that stand up to floor life
A floor cushion lives lower than any other seat, so it meets shoes, crumbs, paws and spilled tea first. Choose for that life, then for color.
Velvet is stronger than it looks and the easiest to spot-clean, because marks lift off the pile.
Linen and cotton-linen breathes and softens. If the fiber matters to you, get the exact composition in writing and see a swatch first.
Send a photo of your rug or sofa and the workshop names the closest chart colors and shows them side by side. Screens vary, so order swatches of the shortlist before a large piece.
The count is how many published readings use each family. Open a family for its swatch book, care notes and neighbors.
Fill, foam and how thick to go
Tufted floor cushions have no foam core. They are packed tight with polyester cluster fiber, small hollow-fiber balls that feel like cotton, then buttoned through and closed by hand. They are overfilled on purpose, so they stay firm and take years to flatten.
Plain floor cushions use foam inside a zippered cover, so the cover washes. That is the version for toddlers and dogs: same size, no tufting, no French edge.
So what will you do on it most: sit, lounge or sleep? Sitting at a low table, 4 in is right. Lounging or sleeping, go to 6 or 8 in. A floor couch wants 12 in. Within the usual 2–5 in range, thickness moves the price far less than length and width; past that, each step up costs more. The floor cushion thickness guide and the foam firmness finder will help you settle it.
A real project
Two linen cushions, and the 4 inches nobody expected
A buyer in the US asked for two linen floor cushions, 48 x 36 in (122 x 91 cm) each, needed by a set date. Before anything else, the shop said plainly that they would be 4 in (10 cm) thick. Many buyers assume a floor cushion is thicker, and it is kinder to hear that before cutting than after the box is open.
The shop confirmed the date would hold if the order went in right away, and sent a larger photo of linen color 14 so the shade could be judged at full size, not as a thumbnail.
Measured
2 x 48 x 36 in, 4 in thick
What it taught
Get the thickness confirmed before cutting, and judge the color from a large photo or a swatch.
Mistakes that make a floor cushion disappoint
Choosing the size from a lifestyle photo. Tape the footprint on the floor and compare it with furniture you already own.
Assuming a floor cushion is thick. The tufted standard is 4 in; ask for 6, 8 or 12 in if you want to lounge or sleep.
Ordering tufted for a toddler or a dog. Tufted covers are sewn shut; choose the plain foam version with a zippered cover.
Taking 'linen' on faith. Ask for the fiber content of the exact fabric code and see a swatch.
Expecting a backrest to stand alone. Floor-cushion backrests lean on a wall unless you order a frame.
Sizing a sleeping cushion to the room instead of the sleeper. Use the sleeper's height plus a little legroom.
Photographs from the workbench
Open any photograph large; each one has its own link and a Save button.
SaveThree soft stripes stacked as floor cushions in a sunny corner, ready to pull out as extra seats.SaveA petrol-blue corduroy star is the cool anchor in a playroom of pink, yellow and toy-box color.SaveA bold black check sits between two rubber plants, echoed by monochrome photographs and warmed by honey oak boards.SaveA quarter-round floor seat in small-scale blue check tucks into a sage corner, with pressed-flower prints and a jug of sunflowers doing the styling.SaveThe cushion is low enough for a baby to sit on top while an older sibling kneels beside it on the rug.SaveThree people fit on this cushion at once, which says more about its size than a measurement could.SavePale corduroy invites play, and the low profile lets little ones climb on and off without help.SaveMustard and forest green, a pairing borrowed from 1960s interiors, turn a plain corner into a warm study nook.SaveSplitting colors between seat and backrest gives this floor seat the look of a real chair: red below, charcoal behind.SaveGreen check and cream paneling make a quiet cottage corner, with a brass mirror above and a stool of books within reach.SaveA large mustard floor cushion serves as a seat for people and a bed for the dog. Its pet-friendly weave handles both.
A tufted floor cushion is 4 in thick unless you ask for more. If you plan to lie on it, order 6 or 8 in and tape the footprint on the floor first.
Look at how the photographs manage it. The hexagonal jacquard sits on a fringed flatweave rug before a low walnut bench, so the cushion has a companion at its own height. Three striped box cushions stacked by a sunny window serve as seat, footstool or perch. Gingham corner cushions with two backrest pillows turn a bare corner into a nook, and a swing-arm lamp above makes it a reading spot.
Keep pillows to two and take one color from the rug. On hardwood, put a rug or grip mat underneath so the cushion stays put.
No foam core. Tufted and French-style floor cushions are packed densely with polyester cluster fiber, small hollow-fiber balls that feel like cotton rather than foam, sometimes mixed with a little cotton filler. They are sewn by hand, and the workshop can send a photo of the fill before you order.
A common question
How thick is a standard floor cushion?
The workshop's answer
The tufted floor cushion is about 4 in (10 cm), and some listings run 4–5 in (10–12 cm). The velvet floor seat is about 6 in, and the deep-base floor couch is 12 in (30 cm). Any thickness can be made: 3–4 in so legs fit under a low table, or 5, 6, 8 in and up. They are densely filled and take years to flatten.
A common question
Does the tufted floor cushion have a zipper so I can wash the cover?
The workshop's answer
No. The cushion is filled, tufted with buttons that pass through the fill, then stitched closed by hand, so the cover can't come off. If you need washable covers for a toddler's nook or a dog, the workshop makes the same size as a plain foam cushion with a zippered cover, without the tufting or the French edge.
A common question
Can you make a floor cushion to fit a curved or odd-shaped nook?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Send the shape and measurements before ordering, with a few photos of the room taken from a distance and a sketch if you have one. For a quarter-round or curved space the workshop needs the two straight sides to calculate the curve, and it says up front whether a size-based customization fee applies, and matching back pillows can be added.
A common question
I want a floor cushion long enough to sleep on. Can you do a custom size?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Floor cushions and floor mattresses are made to any length, width and thickness, with firm fill if you like: twin or full sizes 4–6 in thick, a long 16 x 84 in linen cushion, or a 12 in floor couch lengthened to 50 x 35 x 12 in. Mattresses come with or without backrest and arms. The workshop adds your size to the listing or sends a custom link.
A common question
If I send a photo of my sofa, can you tell me which fabric color matches?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Send the photo in messages and the workshop compares it with its charts, names the closest codes, checks stock in the fabric you want and sends the options side by side. For a room with warm beige walls and dark wood, the workshop suggested a dark olive velvet to match the sofa. Screens vary, so order swatches of your shortlist before a large piece.
Have it made
Have your floor cushion made — ask Harlan’s workshop
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
A little within the usual 2–5 in range, where length and width drive the price and a thin cushion is not much cheaper. Very tall pieces are different: a 12 in cushion uses far more fabric and fill than a 6 in one, and oversized, extra-thick cushions also cost more to ship.
Will a floor cushion backrest stand up without a wall?
No. Floor-cushion backrests and backrest sets are made to lean against a wall. If the seat will sit in the middle of a room, ask for a back-supported version or a metal frame that holds the backrest upright on its own.
Can a floor cushion arrive by a specific date?
Usually, if you order right away. Write the deadline in the order note and message the shop just after ordering so production flags it as urgent. Dates two to four weeks out are routinely confirmed; deadlines just before the holidays may not be possible.
Is the backrest included when I buy a floor cushion set?
On most cushion listings a seat and its backrest are separate items. Floor-cushion and French sets are the exception: the set price includes the backrest and bolsters. Pillows styled in the photographs are decorative and sold separately.
How thin can a floor cushion be made?
The thinnest standard foam cushion is 2 in (5 cm). A 1 in cushion can be made only without piping, a 1¼ in (3 cm) one can keep its piping, and tufted cushions can't be made as thin as 1 in.
Is a floor pillow the same as a floor cushion?
Stores use the two names for the same products, so judge by size, thickness and fill rather than the label. From the workshop, tufted floor cushions are packed firm with polyester fiber, about 4 to 5 in thick, with no zipper; plain foam floor cushions have a zippered, washable cover and a flatter, firmer seat. Choose by how you'll use it.
How thick should a floor cushion be for play, everyday sitting or lounging?
Custom floor cushion guides suggest about 3 to 4 in for play areas, 4 to 6 in for everyday comfort and 8 in or more for lounging or a guest bed. The workshop's standard tufted floor cushion is 4 in (10 cm), and floor cushions are made 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12 in thick on request; two stacked cushions cost less than one very thick one.
Sit well. — Harlan
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Readings
Photographs read by the masters: floor cushions & floor seating
Real cushions made for real rooms, each read for proportion, fabric and fit.
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