SaveA Reading by ÉlodieWindow Seat Cushions
A black ticking stripe window seat cushion that lets the garden view speak
Élodie reads a black and cream ticking seat in soft overcast light, then retells a buyer's two-seat project from the first question to the final sizes.
Swatch strip measured from the photograph
- linen#c8c7c230%
- oatmeal#bcbab522%
- oatmeal#9c968d22%
- linen#d3d3cf13%
- linen#e7e7e213%
The quick answer
A ticking stripe window seat cushion looks most tailored when the stripes run front to back, turn over a self-piped edge and drop straight down the front band. Keep the seat unstyled when the view is the feature. If your measurements land on fractions, like 17.75 in deep, rounding up to the nearest standard size can avoid a custom surcharge once the fit is checked.
Swatch strip: a window in four tones and one green
- Soot black#1E1E1CThe ticking line: narrow, regular, and never allowed to wander at a seam.
- Oat cream#EDE6D6The ground of the stripe, a touch warmer than the paneling, so the cushion reads as cloth, not paint.
- Paneling white#F5F4EFShared by the bench base and the book stack, which keeps the far end quiet.
- Pale oak#D9C3A0The floor, answering the cream from below.
- Garden green#6F7F55Borrowed from beyond the glass. The only strong color in the picture is the view.
Why every stripe points at the window
The eye sits down first, and on this seat it lands on a line. Black ticking on cream runs front to back, so every stripe points you toward the glass.
That direction is the tailoring. Follow one stripe from the window across the top, over the self-piped front edge and down the front band: it turns crisply and lands as a vertical line, and together they make a neat ladder along the whole length. Had the stripes run the long way, the front band would carry one heavy black line and the seat would look like a mattress. The stripe direction pattern shows both versions side by side.
The cushion is about 4 in (10 cm) thick and fills the recess wall to wall, which is how a built-in should look. The light is soft and overcast, and that helps. With no hard shadows the stripe reads flat and graphic, and the cream stays cream instead of drifting toward butter, as it would on a bright afternoon.
There are only two props, both at the far end: a single pampas stem in a small cream vase, raised on a stack of white books so the vase clears the cushion line. Nothing else touches the seat. With the cushion left bare, the garden through the glass becomes the picture, and the ticking simply frames it. What is outside your own window? More tickings and stripes wait on the striped cotton and ticking shelf, and recesses of every depth among our window seat cushions.
Pinned by Élodie
Begin at the piped front corner where the stripe turns, then travel along the ticking to the pampas, the white books and the garden beyond.
- pampas stem
A single stem at the far end is the only styling, leaving the seat clear.
- stack of white books
Books raise the vase so it clears the cushion line.
- piped front corner
The stripe turns crisply over the self-piped edge and lands in vertical lines on the front.
- black ticking top
Stripes run front to back, making a clean ladder along the long front band.
- garden view
With an unstyled seat, the window view becomes the feature.
- pampas stemA single stem at the far end is the only styling, leaving the seat clear.
- stack of white booksBooks raise the vase so it clears the cushion line.
- piped front cornerThe stripe turns crisply over the self-piped edge and lands in vertical lines on the front.
- black ticking topStripes run front to back, making a clean ladder along the long front band.
- garden viewWith an unstyled seat, the window view becomes the feature.
Two oatmeal seats: the question, the choices, the result
A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop with two window benches and very careful measurements: 17.75 x 59 x 3 in (45 x 150 x 7.5 cm) and 17.75 x 35 x 3 in (45 x 89 x 7.5 cm), both to be covered in an oatmeal, natural linen. Their question came before any swatch. Could they have a formal quote first, and order samples after?
The choices were simple once we set their numbers beside our size options. A quarter inch of depth, and an inch of length on the shorter seat, stood between their benches and standard sizes. So the workshop matched them to 18 x 59 in and 18 x 36 in, and pointed them to the fabric sample option on the same listing, so the linen could be checked in their own window light.
The result, my friends: two seats in standard sizes instead of custom ones, and a sample to confirm the oatmeal before anything was cut. Rounding up can spare you a custom surcharge, but only after you check that the extra quarter inch still fits between the walls. A screen flatters oatmeal and a window does not, which is why the sample came first. The swatch pattern explains how to judge one.
Buyer questions: backrests, long runs and matching greens
- A common question
Can I order straight backrests on their own, without the corner piece, to join two sofas?
The workshop's answerYes. Straight backrests come in a 39 in (100 cm) length, and the alternative is a 39 x 39 in (100 x 100 cm) corner backrest. When one customer added a second L-shaped sofa, the workshop included two straight backrests free.
- A common question
What is the longest cushion you will make as a single piece?
The workshop's answerVery long runs are split. A 170 in (432 cm) cushion needed three pieces, and at least two, while a 160 in (406 cm) back was suggested as two 80 in (203 cm) pieces. A 116 in (295 cm) seat could be one piece or two 58 in pieces; two are more practical, but one is possible.
- A common question
If the seat is green corduroy and the back pillows are plain velvet, will the two greens match?
The workshop's answerNot exactly. Colors with the same name have different tones in corduroy and in plain velvet. The workshop's soft fabric comes much closer to the corduroy tones, so for a matched banquette it suggested soft fabric for the back pillows, for a small extra cost.
On the cutting table: the garden-view ticking seat
| Piece | Window seat cushion for a built-in recess |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Black and cream ticking stripe |
| Stripe direction | Front to back, turning over the front edge |
| Piping | Self piping |
| Thickness | About 4 in (10 cm) |
| Fit | Wall to wall; measure at the widest point |
| Styling | One pampas stem on books at the far end |
| Light | Soft overcast daylight |
| Best for | A window seat where the view is the feature |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Élodie’s workshop
Color is easier to settle in a conversation than on a screen. Tell the workshop about the room and the light it gets, and the fabric choice follows. — Élodie
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.
On a ticking stripe window seat cushion, run the stripes front to back so they turn over the piped edge and land as vertical lines on the front band.
Élodie
Questions buyers ask next
Should ticking on a built-in window seat run front to back or side to side?
Front to back, in most recesses. The stripe then points toward the window, turns over the front edge and forms a tidy row of vertical lines on the front band, instead of one heavy line running along it.
How do I measure a window seat recess with walls that are out of square?
Measure the width at the back wall, at the front edge and at the widest point, and note which wall leans. A cushion meant to fill the recess wall to wall should be cut to the recess as it really is.
When is it better to leave a window seat cushion without pillows?
When the view is the feature. Pillows compete with it, while a bare seat shows the tailoring, the stripe and the piping. One prop at the far end, raised so it clears the cushion line, is plenty.
With color and care — Élodie
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