A Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A letter on a dusty pink corduroy corner floor cushion, with lessons borrowed from the porch
Harlan writes to a parent planning a reading corner: which habits to borrow from outdoor cushions, which comforts only an indoor corner gives, and why this pink is gray at heart.
SaveThe quick answer
A corner floor cushion is sized by radius, so a 48 in corner cushion is ordered as 48 x 48 in and reaches 48 in along each wall. For a child's reading corner, borrow two outdoor habits, a muted color that ages well near a sunny window and a removable cover, and keep the indoor comforts: a soft corduroy pile and a choice of fiber or foam fill.
High Point ·
My friend,
A letter about a pink corner by the window
I have spent more than fifty years with indoor cushions, and some of the best lessons I know came off the porch. Porch cushions live near weather. They fade, they get sat on in wet swimsuits, they get hosed down. A child's reading corner by a bright window is not so different.
Look at this one. A dusty pink corduroy corner cushion fills the angle under a cream tulle canopy strung with fairy lights. It is boxed, with no piping at all, so the curved front is one clean sweep of ribbed cloth. The window on the left sends its light skimming along that curve, and every rib stands up in it.
The color is the first porch lesson. This is not candy pink. It is pink with gray mixed in, and a muted, grayed pink ages better than a bright candy shade. Anybody who has watched a porch cushion through a few summers knows why you start soft. Set a cushion beside a sunny window and you have given it a porch job; the fading pattern says more.
Then the pink on pink. The flower pillow, the cloud pillow and the botanical prints are all rosy, yet it works, because the shapes change: a star, a flower, a cloud, and a plush bunny sitting up on the far edge to balance them. Wooden alphabet blocks and fox and bunny prints say whose corner this is. The ivory medallion rug gives all that pink something traditional to rest against, so it never turns sugary.
Pinned by Harlan in the reading corner
Five pins, from the dusty pink corduroy and the flower pillow to the sitting bunny, the medallion rug and the window light.
- Dusty pink corduroy
A muted, grayed pink ages better than a bright candy shade.
- Pink flower pillow
Same-color pillows on a same-color cushion work only when the shapes differ, as here.
- Plush bunny sitting up
A toy on the far edge balances the pillow group on the left.
- Ivory medallion rug
A traditional rug pattern keeps a pink scheme from turning sugary.
- Side window light
Light from the left brings out the corduroy ribs along the front curve.
- Dusty pink corduroyA muted, grayed pink ages better than a bright candy shade.
- Pink flower pillowSame-color pillows on a same-color cushion work only when the shapes differ, as here.
- Plush bunny sitting upA toy on the far edge balances the pillow group on the left.
- Ivory medallion rugA traditional rug pattern keeps a pink scheme from turning sugary.
- Side window lightLight from the left brings out the corduroy ribs along the front curve.
What to borrow from the porch, and what to keep indoors
| Question | Borrow from outdoor cushions | Keep from indoor cushions |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Start muted; a grayed pink forgives daily sun | Tone-on-tone softness, pink on pink in changing shapes |
| Cover | Zippered and removable, ready for spills | A ribbed corduroy pile you want to touch |
| Fill | Solid foam for a firm seat that keeps its edge | Silicone fiber fill for a softer sink |
| Floor | Think about what the cushion sits on all day | An ivory medallion rug to ground the color |
| Light | Plan for sun on one side, every day | Side light that shows off the ribs |
Forty inches or forty-eight: sizing by radius
A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop about a reading nook corner and weighed two sizes: a corner cushion with a 40 in (102 cm) radius and one with a 48 in (122 cm) radius. They chose the 48 in, in emerald, and ordered it by selecting 48 x 48 in.
That is the part people miss. A corner cushion is a quarter circle, sized by its radius, the distance from the corner out along each wall. The listing size is simply radius by radius. So a 48 x 48 in corner cushion does not fill a 48 in square; it fills the quarter circle inside it.
Measure out from the corner along both walls, decide how far into the room you want the curve to reach, and that number is your size. The quarter-circle sizing pattern draws it out, and the corner floor cushion atlas shows the shapes side by side.
- Sizes
- 40 in (102 cm) vs 48 in (122 cm) radius; ordered as 48 x 48 in
The lesson: Corner cushions are sized by radius; the listing size is radius x radius.
Buyer questions: tolerances, missing colors and what's inside
- A common question
How close to the ordered size will it come out? My wall space is only a few inches longer than the cushion.
The workshop's answerHandmade sizes can vary by about 1 in, and the workshop has told buyers 1 to 2 in. For a 73 in cushion going into a 77 1/2 in space, it promised to stay close to 73 in and to take responsibility if the piece came out longer than the space. Plush cushions can also be pushed slightly to fit.
- A common question
Does the teddy floor sofa come in other colors, like emerald or forest green?
The workshop's answerOnly in the colors shown on its product page. When a buyer wanted a color that wasn't there, the workshop suggested buying just the foam filling and having covers made elsewhere.
- A common question
What's inside your floor and nook cushions? Loose fill or something solid?
The workshop's answerBoth exist, and you choose. French-style tufted cushions are filled with silicone fiber, and the workshop also makes solid foam-filled cushions.
On the cutting table: the pink corner
| Cushion | Quarter-round corner floor cushion with a box edge |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Dusty pink corduroy, a muted grayed pink |
| Piping | None; the ribs and the curve carry the edge |
| Pillows | Cream star, pink flower, pink cloud, plus a plush bunny |
| Canopy | Cream tulle with fairy lights |
| Rug | Round ivory medallion |
| Sizing | By radius: a 48 in corner cushion is ordered as 48 x 48 in |
| Fill options | Silicone fiber or solid foam |
| Best for | Kids' rooms and reading corners beside a window |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Harlan’s workshop
The best cushions I have known began with somebody asking one more question. Ask yours here. — Harlan
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.
A corner floor cushion is sized by radius: a 48 in cushion is ordered as 48 x 48 in and fills the quarter circle inside that square.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
How do I measure a corner for a quarter-round floor cushion?
Measure from the corner out along each wall to where you want the curve to end. That distance is the radius, and the size you order is radius by radius, such as 40 x 40 in or 48 x 48 in.
Is corduroy a good choice for a kids' floor cushion?
Its ribbed pile is soft to sit on and shows texture beautifully in side light, as in this corner. Choose a removable cover so it can be cleaned, and read the corduroy notes on wale and nap direction before ordering.
Can an all-pink kids' corner avoid looking too sweet?
Yes, if the shapes and textures change and one patterned piece breaks up the color. Here a traditional ivory medallion rug gives the pink cushion, pillows and prints something calm to rest against.
Should a floor cushion beside a window be light or dark?
A muted middle tone is the safe choice. Bright candy shades show their age first near daily sun, while a grayed color like dusty pink keeps looking intentional as it softens.
Sit well. — Harlan
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