The Pattern Room · a pattern with a calculator
A 1-to-10 cushion firmness scale for how your family actually sits
A buyer once asked the workshop for a number, plain and simple. So here's the scale we use at the counter, with your whole family sitting on it.
SaveThe quick answer
A good everyday seat cushion sits around 6 to 7 on a 1-to-10 firmness scale, where 1 is very plush and 10 is a bed you barely sink into. The workshop's standard 32 kg/m³ foam sits there. Go firmer or thicker for older parents and heavier adults, keep back pillows softer, and ask for 28 kg/m³ foam only if you want to sink in.
Somebody finally asked for a number
The question came in plain: on a scale from 1 to 10, plush to bed-firm, where does your cushion sit? It's a better question than 'is it firm?', because firm means one thing to a grandmother, another to a tall uncle and something else entirely to a six-year-old.
Cushion firmness is how far you sink before the foam pushes back. The workshop's answer was 6 to 7, and that is the one number on this page that comes straight from the workshop. The rest of the scale is how I explain it across the counter. Firmness questions come up often, and most of them are really asking who is going to sit there.
So let's seat the family: the older parent who wants to get up without a hand, the heavier adult who sinks through thin pads, the kids who bounce, and the Tuesday dinner crowd versus the Sunday nap. It applies to a bench cushion, a window seat or a replacement foam insert alike.
The porch scale, from 1 to 10
| Score | How it feels | Where you'll meet it | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Very plush: you sink in like a down pillow | Not made here: soft, draped seat pads and feather-wrapped foam aren't offered | Nobody's daily seat |
| 3–4 | Soft, pillow-like lean | Back pillows of shredded foam or fiber, about 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) deep | Leaning, not sitting |
| 5 | Medium, with a slight sink-in | The softer 28 kg/m³ foam on request; floor-sofa mattresses sit in this middle | Weekend lounging, daybeds |
| 6–7 | Medium-firm: you sit on it, not in it | Standard about 2.0 lb/ft³ (32 kg/m³) seat foam; tightly filled tufted floor cushions | Dining, window seats, daily benches |
| 8–10 | Firm to very firm | Ask first: firmer builds have been made for heavy daily use | Heavier sitters, all-day seats |
Find your number in six questions
Who sits there most?
Say who, and roughly how heavy. User weight changes the right answer more than anything else, so put it in the order note along with how many hours a day the seat gets used.
Sit, or sink?
A dining bench wants a seat you sit on. A daybed or reading corner can go a step softer. If you like to sink in, ask for the softer 28 kg/m³ foam rather than simply more thickness.
How thick is it going to be?
Thickness changes how firmness feels. A thin 2 in (5 cm) pad feels soft under an adult. The firm 32 kg/m³ foam keeps even 2 to 2.5 in (5 to 6.5 cm) supportive at a dining nook, and 4 in (10 cm) is the everyday standard. US foam charts ask for firmer foam in thin cushions, about ILD 50 under 4 in, than in thick ones, about ILD 30 over 6 in.
Seat and back, separately
Backs are softer by default: shredded foam or fiber, softer than solid foam but not very soft. If you want the back as firm as the seat, ask for a solid-foam backrest; the filling is confirmed before production.
Want a softer top, not a softer core?
A Dacron wrap, or about 3/4 in (2 cm) of volume wadding over the foam, softens the first touch while the core keeps its support. More in Dacron-wrapped foam.
Give new foam time before you judge
New high-density foam feels firmer at first and softens slightly with use. A cushion still recovering from vacuum packing feels weaker than it will, so wait until it has fully recovered, about 3 to 4 days, before you decide anything.
Have it made
Measured it? Have Rosa’s workshop make it
Swings sway, rockers rock, dogs circle three times. Tell the workshop what your seat goes through, and they will plan for it. — Rosa
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.
Four people, four seats
The older parent. A seat you sit on is easier to leave than one you sink into. The workshop once refunded a pad that proved too soft for an elderly user, and its advice since is plain: for support cushions for older people, choose thicker or firmer foam, never a thin pad. Check the finished height too, with the seat height calculator.
The heavier adult. Thin pads bottom out. Ask for the foam density when a seat takes heavy daily use; US foam charts put sitters of 200 lb and up in their firmer bands. The workshop has sent firmer replacement cushions to a heavy user, so say so at the start rather than at the end.
The kids. Kids and dogs are the real quality control. Children bounce, climb and nap on the same seat in one afternoon, and the workshop's suggestion for children's seating is a firmer or thicker build, not a softer one. For floor seating by age, see kids' floor sofa sizes.
Dinner versus Sunday. A dining nook wants 6 to 7 at 2 to 3 in. A daybed or floor lounge can come down a step, to 28 kg/m³ foam or a wadding layer on top. What does your family actually do on that seat most evenings?
Six inches for grown-ups who sit every day
A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop about a long indoor seat, 25 x 78 in (64 x 198 cm), that adults would use every single day. They came with a spec in hand: foam of at least 1.8 lb density and ILD 44, so nobody would sink through a deep seat.
The workshop gave a straight answer, not a sales one. Its standard 32 kg/m³ foam works out to about 2.0 lb/ft³, above the density they asked for, and it is firm. But it has no official ILD rating on file, and the workshop said so rather than invent a number.
They settled on 6 in (15 cm) of that foam, with matching trim. Six inches of firm foam under a grown-up is a seat that stays a seat.
- What it taught
- 32 kg/m³ foam is about 2.0 lb/ft³, firm enough for adult daily seating at 6 in.
Run your family through the firmness finder
Put your answers into the foam firmness finder and hold what it suggests up against the porch scale above. For the science under the numbers, foam density versus firmness and ILD explains why density and firmness aren't the same thing, and high-density foam vs memory foam and latex covers the other cores. For the backs, see shredded foam vs wedge back cushions.
Floor seating runs firm on purpose. Tufted floor cushions sit around 6 to 7, and floor-sofa mattresses sit in the middle, a medium-hard foam you can sit and sleep on. The details are in floor sofa size and firmness. And if a cushion goes flat years from now, how long cushion foam lasts tells you what's normal. Choose well now, neighbor, and the whole family will fight over that seat.
Five firmness regrets and how to avoid them
- Judging on day one. Compressed foam feels weaker until it has recovered. Wait 3 to 4 days, then sit.
- Asking for thicker when you meant softer. More inches of firm foam is still firm foam. Ask for the softer 28 kg/m³ core instead.
- A thin pad for an older parent. A 2 in (5 cm) pad under an adult feels soft and gives little support. Go thicker or firmer.
- Not saying who sits there. Weight and daily hours change the answer; write them in the order note.
- Expecting the back to match the seat. Backs are softer by default. Ask for a solid-foam backrest if you want them equal.
A seat cushion around 6 to 7 out of 10 is one you sit on, not in: firm 32 kg/m³ foam at 4 in for daily seats, and a step softer for the backs.
Rosa
Buyer questions: firm, soft and in between
- A common question
Are the tufted floor cushions firm or squishy? On a 1-to-10 scale, where do they land?
The workshop's answerFirm: about 6 to 7, where 1 is very plush and 10 is a firm bed you barely sink into. There's no sponge inside; tightly packed silicone-ball filling makes them soft to the touch but supportive enough to sit or sleep on for years. They're heavy, not bean-bag squishy. The standard is about 4 in (10 cm) thick, and extra filling or a thicker cushion adds support.
- A common question
What density foam goes into a custom bench cushion?
The workshop's answer32 kg/m³, about 2.0 lb/ft³: a high-density, high-resilience polyurethane cold foam with a medium-firm feel. It is firmer and longer-lasting than the 28 kg/m³ often specified and holds its shape for years without going lumpy. Every custom cushion gets it as standard unless you ask for something softer.
- A common question
Will the back cushions be the same foam as the seat, or softer?
The workshop's answerSofter. Seats are solid 32-density foam; back pillows are usually shredded foam, made on the workshop's own machine, or fiber, for a more pillow-like lean. They come out about 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) deep, so you only give width and height. A solid-foam backrest is possible, and the choice is confirmed before production.
- A common question
Is the floor sofa firm or soft to sit on?
The workshop's answerIn the middle: medium-firm. The seat mattresses are medium-hard 28-density high-density foam, comfortable to sit and sleep on and designed as an everyday living-room sofa. They keep their shape for years without sagging and soften slightly with use.
- A common question
What thickness do most people pick, and what would you suggest?
The workshop's answerMost buyers choose 3 or 4 in. 4 in (10 cm) is the standard for everyday seating; 3 in (7.5 cm) gives a trimmer profile for benches and tight spots. The firm 32 kg/m³ foam keeps even 2 to 2.5 in supportive for a dining nook, so choose on looks and fit.
- A common question
Can I get a softer, plusher cushion instead of firm foam?
The workshop's answerYes, within limits. Write '28 DNS foam' in the personalization note for a plusher, slightly sink-in feel, or ask for about 3/4 in (2 cm) of wadding over the foam. Feather-wrapped foam isn't offered, and soft, draped seat pads can't be made, because the workshop works only with firm, long-life foam.
Firmness questions, short and honest
Does foam density tell me how firm a cushion is?
Not on its own. Density is weight per volume and predicts how long foam lasts; firmness is how hard it pushes back. At the workshop the 28 foam feels softer and the 32 foam firmer, but other makers' grades can reverse that, so ask for both numbers.
What ILD rating does the workshop's seat foam have?
There's no official ILD rating on file for the 32 kg/m³ bench foam, and the workshop won't invent one. It describes the foam by density, about 2.0 lb/ft³, and by feel: medium-firm, around 6 to 7 out of 10.
What firmness suits a grandparent's favorite bench?
Firm enough to sit on rather than in, around 6 to 7 or above, and thick enough not to bottom out. The workshop's advice for older users is thicker or firmer foam, never a thin pad, and it has refunded a pad that proved too soft for an elderly user.
Will a firm cushion get softer over time?
A little. High-density foam feels firmest when new and softens slightly with use while keeping its shape for years. Judge it only after vacuum-packed foam has fully recovered, about 3 to 4 days, and know that replacement foam is sold on its own if a piece ever tires.
