---
title: "Custom Cushions in Estonia: Wooden Houses, Saunas, Long Nights"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-estonia/"
section: "Across the Map"
author: "Hana Lindqvist, The Quiet Geometer of Seattle"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/hana/"
published: "2026-07-15"
updated: "2026-07-15"
keywords: "custom cushions estonia, custom cushions tallinn, window seat cushions, sauna dressing room bench cushions, summer house cushions"
---

# Custom cushions for Estonian wooden houses, apartments and summer homes

*Tallinn's shortest day has about six hours of light. Its longest has more than eighteen. A cushion here lives through both.*

> **The quick answer:** Custom cushions in Estonia work hardest in three places: window seats through the short days of December, sauna dressing rooms and terraces at summer homes, and apartments in wooden houses or Soviet-era blocks. Choose zippered, washable covers, keep foam cushions out of the hot steam room, use outdoor fabric on terraces, and pick pale colors that return low winter light.

![Forest green box cushion with ivory piping on a white paneled window seat, book and glasses on the sill](https://cushionguide.com/media/window-seat-cushions/forest-green-window-seat-cushion-ivory-piping-garden-view-1600.webp "A deep casement becomes a reading perch: one piped green cushion, a closed storage base and a book left on the sill.")

## About six hours in December, more than eighteen in June

On the winter solstice Tallinn has a little over six hours of daylight. At midsummer it has more than 18 hours and 40 minutes, and the nights stay pale.

The sunshine follows. December averages about 21 hours of sun for the whole month. June averages about 294.

The air is damp. Average humidity in Tallinn is 81%, highest around 89% and lowest, 69%, in May. Precipitation comes to about 28 in (700 mm) a year, and January nights average 22.1°F (−5.5°C).

Two things follow. In winter the window seat is where the light is, so the cushion should give it back: pale and matte. In summer the long days put real light on a sill, so turn the cushion now and then and keep strong colors out of full sun.

## Wooden houses, stone stairs, block apartments

Kalamaja's wooden houses were built for the workers who came after the railroad reached Tallinn in 1870. The district is one of the best-preserved areas of wooden architecture in Estonia.

The *Tallinna maja*, the Tallinn house, came later: a two- or three-story wooden apartment house with a stone stairwell, built from the 1920s until the Second World War. More than 500 survive in Tallinn, and 32 are protected as architectural monuments.

Then the large Soviet-era districts: Mustamäe, Väike-Õismäe and Lasnamäe, which is still Tallinn's most populous district.

Each has its seat. In a wooden house it may be a low bench under an attic window. In a block apartment it is the balcony, or a floor mattress in a small bedroom. Measure the seat, not the room. The Pattern on [measuring a window seat](https://cushionguide.com/guides/how-to-measure-window-seat-cushion/) shows how, and the [window seat hub](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/window-seat-cushions/) shows the edges.

## The sauna rule: cushions in the dressing room, never on the hot bench

The smoke sauna tradition of Võromaa, in southeast Estonia, was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2014. About 800 smoke saunas have been counted in the country.

A sauna has rooms, and only one of them is hot. Foam cushions belong in the dressing room, on the terrace, on the bench where you cool down. Not on the benches of the steam room. In a smoke sauna the walls and ceiling also gather soot, one more reason to keep fabric out.

In the dressing room, wet skin and damp towels meet the cushion. Choose a zippered cover that comes off for the machine, and a fabric that dries quickly: [performance fabric](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/performance-and-pet-friendly/) or [outdoor acrylic](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/outdoor-acrylic/). Leave the door open after the sauna so the room can air.

The same habit keeps a summer home in [Finland](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-finland/) dry.

## Window, sauna room, terrace, floor

| Seat | Fabric | Thickness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter window seat | Linen or linen-look, pale | 2 to 3 in (5 to 7.5 cm) | Self piping; non-slip base |
| Sauna dressing room bench | Performance fabric or outdoor acrylic | 2 in (5 cm) | Zippered, washable cover; never in the steam room |
| Summer-home terrace armchairs | Outdoor linen-look, UV-resistant and water-repellent | 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm) seats | Ties at the back corners |
| Block-apartment balcony bench | Outdoor acrylic | 2 to 3 in (5 to 7.5 cm) | Indoors for the cold months |
| Attic nook under a sloped ceiling | Linen or corduroy | 2 in (5 cm) | Check head height from the seat board first |
| Bedroom floor mattress | Linen-look or bouclé | Made in two halves, such as two 29.5 x 59 in (75 x 150 cm) pieces | Easier to make, ship and carry |

Seat foam is 32 kg/m³, about 2.0 lb/ft³. Cotton ticking stays indoors; outdoors, only outdoor fabric.

## A bone-white floor mattress, made in two

A buyer in Estonia wanted a floor mattress for a minimalist bedroom. 59 x 59 in (150 x 150 cm), bone white, no ruffles, finished plainly like the workshop's sofas.

The workshop suggested two pieces of 29.5 x 59 in (75 x 150 cm).

Two halves lie together as one surface. They are easier to make and ship, and easier to carry up a narrow stairwell. The room stays quiet: one pale plane on the floor, nothing more.

Leave a hand's width of floor around it. The eye reads the space as calm when the edges can breathe. The [floor cushion hub](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/floor-cushions/) has the thicknesses.

How wide is the space you have in mind?

## An Estonian year, in cushion tasks

- ✓ May: the driest month, 69% average humidity. Air stored cushions outside before summer.
- ✓ June and July: long light on the sill. Turn window seat cushions now and then.
- ✓ After each sauna evening: unzip damp dressing-room covers and leave the door open.
- ✓ Wash covers at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle, no bleach; air dry, no tumble dryer.
- ✓ Before the summer home closes: dry the foam completely, standing on edge.
- ✓ Store off the floor, indoors, in breathable bags. Never sealed damp.
- ✓ December: wipe the sill dry if the glass sweats under a window seat.

## Pale rooms, one warm line

In six-hour days, pale is practical. Light surfaces return light. For the cushion body: oat, birch white, warm gray in a [linen](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/linen-and-cotton-linen/). For a single line of piping: rust, or a deep forest green.

Or turn it around, as in the photograph above: a forest green cushion with ivory piping reads as one calm block in a white window recess.

Short days.
A pale wall.
The window does the rest.

> In Estonia a cushion lives through six-hour days and eighteen-hour days. Build it for both.
>
> — Hana

> **Tailor's margin:** Sauna cushions live in the dressing room. The steam room gets a linen towel, nothing with foam.

## Buyer questions: zippers, armchairs and backrest heights

**A common question:** Does every cushion come with a zipper so I can wash the cover?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Every cushion has a zippered cover that comes off for washing, and cover-only orders are sent with zippers too.

**A common question:** I only know the overall size of our garden armchairs. Is that enough for seat and back cushions?

**The workshop's answer:** Not for a good fit. Measure the width between the armrests, the seat depth and the back height you want. The workshop recommends 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm) seats in 32-density HR foam wrapped in polyester wadding, with ties at the back corners. Boxed cushions with piping are no problem.

**A common question:** Will the color look the same at home as it does on my screen?

**The workshop's answer:** There can be small differences in daylight. The workshop sends real photos of the fabric on finished cushions and suggests ordering samples.

**A common question:** How tall are the back pillows on a daybed set? Could they be 27.5 in (70 cm)?

**The workshop's answer:** 16 in (40 cm) is the standard height, so a 79 in (200 cm) daybed takes two back pillows of 16 x 39 in (40 x 100 cm). 27.5 in (70 cm) is too tall to work as a backrest.

**A common question:** How do I measure for new covers on shaped chair pads?

**The workshop's answer:** Draw the foam insert with every side labeled, for example a slight trapezoid of about 17.75 x 17 x 19.75 x 17 in (45 x 43 x 50 x 43 cm) with rounded front corners, 1.5 in (4 cm) high. Measure the bare foam, not the old cover. When one set came out about ¾ in (2 cm) short, the remake was cut ½ to ¾ in (1 to 2 cm) larger.

## Questions buyers ask next

### Can a foam cushion go on a sauna bench?

Not on the hot benches of the steam room; the heat and steam there are not what upholstery foam and cushion fabric are made for. Use cushions in the dressing room, on the terrace or on a cooling-off bench, with a zippered cover you can wash.

### What colors suit a Tallinn apartment in winter?

Pale, matte colors such as oat, birch white or warm gray return the little light there is: December in Tallinn averages about 21 hours of sunshine for the whole month. Keep saturated colors for one pillow or a line of piping.

### How should summer-home cushions be stored for an Estonian winter?

Clean and dry, indoors, off the floor. Wash covers at 86°F (30°C), dry the foam standing on edge and use breathable bags. Tallinn's average humidity is 81%, so never seal anything that is still damp.

### How thick should a cushion be in an attic nook with a sloped ceiling?

Measure from the seat board to the ceiling above where you sit, then sit on the bare board to check. In a low nook, 2 in (5 cm) keeps head room; 3 in (7.5 cm) is softer if the height allows.

## Related at the atelier

- [Custom cushions for Swedish summer cottages, apartments and boats](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-sweden/): Custom cushions in Sweden mostly serve three places: the apartment window seat through dark winters, the summer cottage that stays closed through the cold months, and the archipelago dock or boat.
- [Window seat cushions for Danish nooks, summer houses and apartments](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-denmark/): Window seat cushions in Denmark mostly serve the hyggekrog, the cozy nook by a window, plus apartment balconies and wooden summer houses.
- [Window Seat Cushion for Long Sitting: Charcoal Chalk Stripe](https://cushionguide.com/readings/charcoal-chalk-stripe-window-seat-blush-alcove/): A window seat cushion for long sitting needs a firm box cushion that fills the whole seat, pillows stepped for back support, and a spot for a cup.
- [Window Seat Cushion in Ivory Stripe on a Bottle-Green Nook](https://cushionguide.com/readings/taupe-stripe-cushion-bottle-green-window-seat-ochre/): A window seat cushion in a dark or warm room should be the lightest surface there, so choose an ivory-ground stripe that reads as one pale block from across the room.
- [Window Seat Cushion in Blue-Gray Stripe: Ties, Grip and Zippers](https://cushionguide.com/readings/blue-gray-stripe-window-seat-cushion-gray-panel-closeup/): A fitted window seat cushion seldom needs ties when walls hold it at the back and both ends; a non-slip base helps on a smooth painted seat, and the zipper belongs on the long back side, facing the…
- [Custom cushions for Latvian apartments, wooden houses and seaside homes](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-latvia/): Custom cushions in Latvia follow the light, and window seats matter most in winter, when December brings about 25 hours of sun and humidity averages 89%: choose velvet, corduroy or a linen blend, 2…
- [One long cushion or two? Splitting a long bench or window seat](https://cushionguide.com/guides/long-bench-cushion-one-piece-or-two/)
- [How thick should a bench cushion be? Work back from seat height](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-thickness-seat-height-calculator/)

*— Hana*

---

Written by Hana Lindqvist (https://cushionguide.com/masters/hana/) for CushionGuide (https://cushionguide.com/about/). The site explains made-to-measure cushions and the partner workshop makes them; measurements are in inches first. This Markdown mirrors the page at https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-estonia/