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Custom cushions for Washington, DC rowhouses, condos and bay windows
Washington rooms are narrow and the floor is precious. Most of what I suggest here sits low, tucks into a corner or lives inside a bay.
- Sun & UVStrong
- HumidityModerate
- WinterCold
- SettingInland
- Typical seatsFloor cushion, modular floor sofa, rowhouse bay window seat
SaveThe quick answer
Custom cushions in Washington, DC are mostly about small rooms: floor cushions and floor sofas suit apartments and condos, trapezoid cushions fit rowhouse bay fronts, and banquettes should leave the floor clear. DC shows the highest search interest in floor cushions in the country. Summers are humid, with 36 days at 90°F or above, so choose covers that zip off and wash.
The highest floor-cushion interest in the country
Over five years of Google Trends data, the District of Columbia scored 37 for floor cushions, higher than any state. It placed second for custom cushions, at 26.
The housing explains it. In the 2012 to 2016 census estimates, 59% of DC homes were rented and 63% of housing units sat in multi-unit buildings. Small rooms. Leases that end. Stairs.
Floor seating answers all three. A 4 in (10 cm) floor cushion is light enough to carry to a third floor and low enough to keep a room open. A modular floor sofa arrives compressed and can be made to the width of your wall. Floor cushions in DC mostly start at 4 in; the floor cushion thickness guide covers sitting higher. How wide is the wall you want to sit against?
Kitchens are narrow too. Banquette cushions in DC work best slim, 2 to 3 in (5 to 7.5 cm), with the floor under the table left clear. See banquette cushions.
Sticky Augusts, then a real winter
Reagan National averages 36 days a year at 90°F (32°C) or above. Morning humidity averages 74%. Rain falls on 114 days, 41.82 in (106 cm) in all.
Then it turns. An average year brings 67 freezing days and 13.7 in (35 cm) of snow.
For cushions that means two things. Indoors, the sticky months favor covers that zip off and wash at 86°F (30°C), and seats kept off a sweating window. Outdoors, a balcony or roof-deck cushion needs outdoor fabric, and it comes inside, dry, before the first freeze. Outdoor cushion care has the storage steps.
Bays that step out over the sidewalk
Bay windows were not allowed in Washington until 1871. The city has permitted building projections into public space since 1872, and bays are the best-known kind. In rowhouse neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill and Shaw, the front bay is a familiar sight.
Inside, that bay is a seat waiting to happen. It is rarely square. A rowhouse bay window cushion starts from a drawing with every edge and the depth; see bay window cushions or work it through the bay window calculator. Window seat cushions in DC bays usually sit 3 to 4 in (7.5 to 10 cm) thick.
Rowhouse windows stay on the front and back walls, so the middle of the house runs dim. Pale neutrals go gray there. Mid-tones hold: warm gray, rust, olive, a quiet navy.
Below many rowhouses sits an English basement, an apartment partly below ground with its own entrance. Its light comes from high windows. Warm, light colors help it most.
Light from the front. Light from the back. Something warm in between.
Which cushion for which DC room
| Room | Cushion | Thickness | Fabric and note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or condo living room | Floor cushion, or a modular floor sofa sized to the wall | 4 in (10 cm) floor cushion; floor sofa seat about 13.5 to 14.5 in (34 to 37 cm) high | Soft easy-clean weave or velvet; zip-off covers |
| Rowhouse bay front | Trapezoid bay cushion, in one piece or three | 3 to 4 in (7.5 to 10 cm) | Linen-look or velvet in a mid-tone; a drawing of every edge |
| Window with a low sill | Floor cushion with a low, flat back instead of a bolster | 4 in (10 cm) seat; back sized to the sill | Measure floor to sill, then subtract the seat |
| Kitchen banquette | Seat pieces meeting at the corner, separate back pillows | 2 to 3 in (5 to 7.5 cm) seat; backs about 18 in (46 cm) tall | Tight, washable weave; floor clear under the table |
| Balcony or roof deck | Chair pads or a bench cushion with ties | 2 to 4 in (5 to 10 cm) | Outdoor fabric; indoors before the first freeze |
The floor sofa seat height is the workshop's figure for its standard floor sofa. Covers zip off and wash at 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle.
Eleven inches under the sill
A buyer in the US wanted a tufted floor cushion under a low window: brick velvet, 45 in (114 cm) long, with side cushions and a back. The bottom of the window sat 11 in (28 cm) off the floor, and she did not want anything above it.
The arithmetic was short. The floor cushion is 4 in (10 cm) thick, which left 7 in (18 cm) for the back. A round bolster would not fit. The workshop made a low, flat back piece instead.
That is the whole method for a low window. Measure floor to sill. Subtract the seat. What remains is your back.
- Measured
- 45 in (114 cm) long, 4 in (10 cm) seat, back about 7 in (18 cm) under an 11 in (28 cm) sill
- What it taught
- Measure from the floor to the sill and subtract the seat thickness to find the tallest back that fits.
Photographs for homes like these
Open any photograph large; each one has its own link and a Save button.
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SaveA DC year, quietly
- Spring: open the bay, air the window-seat cushion, turn it end for end.
- June to August: keep window cushions off sweating glass, and wash covers at 86°F (30°C) when the humidity has had its way.
- After a summer storm: bring balcony pads in, stand them on edge, dry them within 24 to 48 hours.
- Fall: before the first freezing night, balcony cushions come inside, clean and dry, off the floor.
- Winter: rotate floor cushions. The side by the window works harder.
- Moving day: floor cushions go down rowhouse stairs in one trip. Measure the next room before you unpack them.
In a small room, the floor is part of the furniture. Keep some of it bare.
Hana
Buyer questions: small rooms, bays and stairs
- A common question
Can you make a very narrow floor sofa, about 28 x 72 in, for a small nook?
The workshop's answerYes, but at only 28 in (71 cm) deep, the seat left in front of the backrest would be about 16 in (41 cm).
- A common question
Can the floor sofa be made narrower for my wall, say 65 or 70 inches?
The workshop's answerYes. Buy the standard listing and message your dimensions; height and depth stay standard unless you say otherwise. One custom build was 65 in wide, 35 in deep and 27.6 in high (165 x 89 x 70 cm), with a 45 x 25 in seat and a 13.5 in (34 cm) seat height. Narrowing keeps the standard arms and backrests, and these take up seat space.
- A common question
Can you make an irregular bay window cushion from photos and measurements, or do I need a paper template?
The workshop's answerPhotos plus measurements are enough; a template is welcome but not required. The workshop checks that the numbers close: a 106 in front, a 56 in back and two 35 in diagonals give about a 24.5 in (62 cm) seat depth. The cover is zippered and removable.
- A common question
How are the quarter-circle corner floor cushions measured?
The workshop's answerBy the two straight sides that sit against the walls, for example 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm). On that size the curved outer edge is about 75.4 in (192 cm). For an unusual corner, send a photo and draw the sizes on paper.
- A common question
Do you make seat and back cushions for a built-in breakfast nook?
The workshop's answerYes. Send the size of each seat run and each back section. An L-shaped seat is made as two pieces that meet at the corner, and back pillows are separate rectangles, for example 18 in (46 cm) tall and 3 in (7.5 cm) deep, which can be in a complementary fabric.
Have it made
Have it made for your home — ask Hana’s workshop
Leave your numbers and the height you like to sit at. The rest is a short conversation. — Hana
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.
DC cushion questions, briefly
Why do floor cushions suit Washington, DC homes?
DC scored 37 for floor-cushion search interest over five years, the highest in the country. With 59% of homes rented and 63% of housing units in multi-unit buildings, seating that is light, low and easy to move makes sense.
Do DC balcony cushions need outdoor fabric?
Yes, on any balcony rain can reach. DC gets 41.82 in of rain over 114 wet days, plus humid summers. Use water-repellent outdoor fabric, dry pads within 24 to 48 hours after a soaking, and bring them in before the first freeze.
How do I measure a rowhouse bay for a window seat cushion?
Measure every edge: the front, the back, each angled side and any short straight returns, plus the depth straight from front to back. Add a photo. If the numbers don't close into a shape, one of them is wrong and needs measuring again.
Will a floor sofa fit up a narrow rowhouse staircase?
In most cases, yes. Floor sofas ship vacuum-compressed, in boxes one person can carry up a walk-up, and the foam recovers its shape within about 24 hours of opening. Measure the tightest turn anyway, and open the boxes in the room where the sofa will live.
— Hana
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