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A Reading by RosaWindow Seat Cushions

A blue-and-sand striped window seat cushion, and the mistakes it dodges

Pull up a chair, neighbor. This garden window seat gets four things right that I have watched good people get wrong, and the first one starts with a tape measure.

Read by

The Porch Keeper of SavannahPublished Updated 4 min read

Sky blue and sand striped window seat cushion with two blue-piped pillows, lemonade and a book by a garden windowSave
A blue-and-sand stripe with blue piping gives a garden window seat a deckchair feel; matching pillows complete the set.

The quick answer

The window seat cushion mistake to avoid first is ordering from memory: measure the seat and the old cushion, because either may differ from the size you remember. Then run stripes from the window to the front edge so the seat looks deeper, write separate codes for the body and the piping, and pick the thickness on purpose.

A deckchair that came in from the lawn

This window seat cushion reads like a deckchair brought indoors. Sky blue and sand stripes run from the glass to the front edge, then carry straight down the side band, so a shallow seat looks deeper than it is. That choice comes first in any striped cushion order.

The two pillows are cut from the same stripe and piped in the blue, the cooler of the two colors. Against a white base and a natural linen curtain, that blue line gives each pillow a clean outline. Lemonade and an open paperback tell you who the seat is for: somebody with a free afternoon. The lawn outside finishes the thought, because green makes blue and sand look like summer.

One warning from my own porch: strong sun changes a stripe more than a solid. See the body and piping swatches side by side in that window before you choose, the way you would for any sunny reading nook.

Where a mistake could have crept in

Four spots on this window seat where a mistake could have crept in, and didn't.

Pinned: Sky blue and sand striped window seat cushion with two blue-piped pillows, lemonade and a book by a garden window
  1. Blue and sand stripe

    Stripes run window to front edge, so they continue unbroken down the gusset.

  2. Piped striped pillows

    Blue piping picks the cooler stripe and gives each pillow a crisp outline.

  3. Glass of lemonade

    A summer drink sets the seat's sunny, garden-side mood.

  4. Garden view

    Green lawn outside makes the blue-and-sand palette feel like a deckchair.

  1. Blue and sand stripeStripes run window to front edge, so they continue unbroken down the gusset.
  2. Piped striped pillowsBlue piping picks the cooler stripe and gives each pillow a crisp outline.
  3. Glass of lemonadeA summer drink sets the seat's sunny, garden-side mood.
  4. Garden viewGreen lawn outside makes the blue-and-sand palette feel like a deckchair.

Four window seat mistakes I keep seeing

  • Ordering from an old receipt instead of a tape measure. Measure the seat and the old cushion, both.
  • Running a stripe end to end when you wanted depth. Stripes from window to front edge make a seat look deeper.
  • Writing one fabric code for a piped cushion. Contrast piping needs its own code: body first, piping second.
  • Taking 4 in (10 cm) by default. Thickness is your call; 2 in and 6 in cushions have both been made.
A real project

The cushion that was short on paper

A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop about replacing a window seat cushion. She had ordered a 28 in (71 cm) width. Then she put a tape on the old cushion: 30.5 × 52 in (77.5 × 132 cm). The workshop made the new one 30 × 52 in (76 × 132 cm).

She wanted a peachy blush velvet, and she didn't trust a single color chip. She held the chart against her own reference photos until one code matched. It was made in 7 to 8 days and arrived 3 to 5 days after that. When did you last measure yours?

Three questions from window seat buyers

  1. A common question

    My window seat size isn't in the drop-down. How do I order it?

    The workshop's answer

    Pick the nearest size option and write your exact size in the personalization or notes box, for example the 18 × 18 in option for a 17 × 18 in cushion. For other sizes the workshop adds a new option or sends a custom payment link, and the cushion is made to your exact measurements.

  2. A common question

    Is there a piping color chart, or can I choose any color for the piping?

    The workshop's answer

    There is no separate piping chart. Any fabric from any chart can be piping, matching for a quiet edge or contrasting so the edges stand out. Write both codes as 'Body: code, Piping: code'. Plain black can go straight in the color box.

  3. A common question

    Can you make it thinner or thicker than the standard 4 inches?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. The workshop has made 2 in cushions and even 3/4 in (2 cm) pads, 2.5 in dining bench pads, 6 in daybed cushions and an 8 in (20 cm) deep banquette seat. Thicker foam costs more.

Before you reorder a window seat cushion, measure the old one: a buyer who had ordered 28 in wide found the seat needed 30.5 in.

Rosa
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On the cutting table

CushionWindow seat cushion, box edge
FabricWoven chenille stripe, sky blue and sand
Stripe directionWindow to front edge, running on down the side band
PipingContrast sky blue
PillowsTwo matching striped throw pillows, piped in blue
ThicknessChosen to order; 2 in to 6 in have been made
SizingNearest size option, exact size in the order note
Best forGarden windows and sunlit reading nooks

Order this cushion

Have it made

Have this made — ask Rosa’s workshop

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.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
Woven chenille stripe, sky blue and sand
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
Contrast sky blue
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

Want to pick the shape and add photos? Use the full quote form

Questions buyers ask next

Should the stripes on a window seat run front to back or side to side?

For a seat that looks deeper, run the stripes from the window to the front edge so they continue unbroken down the side band. Running them end to end draws the eye along the length instead.

Will sun through the glass change how a striped fabric looks?

Strong light changes a stripe more than a solid, and piping can read lighter or darker than it did on your screen. Hold the body and piping swatches together in the actual window before you decide.

Do window seat pillows have to match the seat cushion?

No, but cutting the pillows from the seat's own stripe and piping them in one of its colors makes the set read as one piece. Give the pillow piping its own fabric code in the order note.

Porch light's on — Rosa

More photographs to read

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Soft gray chenille lets the oak and the morning light supply the warmth in this beadboard breakfast corner.
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A pale silver damask pad lifts a black piano bench; the ivory ground picks up the sheet music and the lamp's warm glow.
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A long piped cushion on an oak bench under the breakfast bar, in a small gray honeycomb that matches the cabinets and forgives crumbs.