A Reading by HarlanStar Poufs & Giant Star Floor Cushions
A forest green velvet star floor cushion, and the room before it
Harlan opens his notebook on a white-and-oak kids' room and works out, line by line, what one green velvet star changed.
SaveThe quick answer
A star floor cushion in forest green velvet gives a white-and-oak kids' room its deepest note. The color comes from the dark stripe in the rug, self piping lets the velvet's sheen draw the outline, and one muted dusty rose star pillow adds the complementary pop without making the room loud at bedtime.
Notebook, left page: the room before the star
I keep a notebook for rooms like this one. Left page, what was there. Right page, what one cushion changed.
Before. A white room with oak furniture: a dresser with round knobs, a natural-wood toddler bed, floating shelves with picture books and a little cactus figure, a rice-paper globe overhead. Pretty, and pale all the way through. The only deep color lived down on the floor, in the dark green stripe of a fringed rug. A room like that looks tidy in a photograph and a little lost in real life. Nothing in it says sit here.
After. A star floor cushion in forest green velvet, set right on that rug. The green was not picked off a card. It came up from the rug stripe, and it repeats in the cactus on the shelf. That is how you choose a color for a pale room, my friend. You look down before you look at paint chips.
Velvet was the right cloth. The pile catches the morning light along the box wall, so the sheen draws the star's outline. That is why the piping is self piping, green on green, and not a contrast cord. Velvet remembers where the light has been; let it do the drawing.
Then two pillows. A cream cloud at the back lifts the dark velvet. A dusty rose star in front is green's complement, kept muted so it stays calm at bedtime. The fairy-light canopy and the dried wildflowers on the dresser carry the same soft greens and pinks up the wall.
If you want a star pouf of your own, start with the velvet chart and the ideas on the kids' room cushions page. What is the darkest color on your child's floor right now?
Right page: the kids' room before and after, line by line
| In the room | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Deepest color | One green stripe in the rug | A forest green velvet star on the rug |
| Place to sit | The toddler bed or the bare floor | A star floor cushion under the canopy |
| Outline | Pale oak against white walls | Velvet sheen along the box wall |
| Accent | Dried wildflowers only | A muted dusty rose star pillow |
| Mood | Tidy and pale | Deep and soft, with a warm twinkle |
Pinned by Harlan: the green velvet star pouf
The pins run from the green velvet box wall to the rose star, the cream cloud, the striped rug and the wildflowers that echo them.
- Forest green velvet
The pile catches light on the box wall, so the outline is drawn by sheen, not a contrast cord.
- Dusty rose star
The complementary color to green, kept muted so it does not shout.
- Cream cloud pillow
A pale shape at the back lifts the dark velvet.
- Striped fringe rug
Its dark green stripe is where the pouf color came from.
- Wildflower vase
Dried stems on the dresser repeat the soft greens and pinks.
- Forest green velvetThe pile catches light on the box wall, so the outline is drawn by sheen, not a contrast cord.
- Dusty rose starThe complementary color to green, kept muted so it does not shout.
- Cream cloud pillowA pale shape at the back lifts the dark velvet.
- Striped fringe rugIts dark green stripe is where the pouf color came from.
- Wildflower vaseDried stems on the dresser repeat the soft greens and pinks.
The 9-foot floor sofa that became two 54-inch halves
A buyer in the US had a long wall and wanted a 9 ft floor sofa: a tufted velvet floor cushion, 108 x 40 in (274 x 102 cm), in a dark green, in separate pieces.
The shop suggested making the seat as two cushions of 54 x 40 in (137 x 102 cm), and the buyer agreed. It went through as two of the 40 x 54 in option, and the armrests followed in a second shipment.
I have carried a lot of long cushions up a lot of narrow stairs. Two equal halves are easier to make, easier to ship and easier to handle, and a child can drag half a sofa to the window. Nobody drags a whole one. The same thinking made the star pouf the right size for its corner: small enough to move, deep enough to sink into. The tufted floor couch sizes pattern has more.
Buyer questions: samples, smaller sofas and a missing parcel
- A common question
Could you mail me a few fabric or color samples before I order?
The workshop's answerYes. You pay only the shipping and the swatches are mailed to you. The shop can also send a photo of its color chart, for instance to hold up against your wall paint.
- A common question
Can the teddy sofa be made smaller, as a loveseat or at a custom width?
The workshop's answerYes. It can be made smaller, for example 66 in (168 cm) wide by 37 in (94 cm) deep, and a 39 x 39 in (99 x 99 cm) option exists. A 60 in (152 cm) loveseat was offered at the standard price with no customization fee: order the standard option and send your size.
- A common question
Only part of my floor couch showed up. Where is the rest?
The workshop's answerLarger sets ship in more than one package. In this case the arm pillows and back cushion came first and the seat cushion arrived a day later. Check every tracking number, and ask the neighbors, since a second parcel can be delivered separately.
On the cutting table: the green star
| Product | Star floor cushion (star pouf) |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Velvet in forest green |
| Piping | Self piping, green on green |
| Edge | Box edge, so the sheen reads along the wall |
| Pillows | Cream cloud and dusty rose star |
| Rug | Fringed stripe in green, rust and cream |
| Split rule from a past order | 108 x 40 in made as two 54 x 40 in pieces |
| Best for | A pale kids' room or a floor-level reading corner |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Harlan’s workshop
Fabric has a temper and foam has a memory. Better to settle both in a conversation than to guess at them alone. — 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.
In a pale kids' room, take the star floor cushion's color from the darkest stripe in the rug, then add one pillow in its muted opposite.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
Why use self piping on a velvet star pouf?
Because the velvet already draws its own outline. The pile catches light along the box wall, so the star's points read clearly without a contrast cord. A cord in another color would cut the shape into segments and pull the eye away from the sheen.
What pillow goes with a forest green floor cushion?
One in a muted complement and one pale shape. Here a dusty rose star pillow answers the green without shouting, and a cream cloud pillow at the back lifts the dark velvet so it doesn't read as a heavy block on the floor.
Can a very long floor sofa be made so a family can move it?
Yes. Splitting it into equal pieces is the usual answer. A 108 x 40 in (274 x 102 cm) floor cushion was made as two 54 x 40 in (137 x 102 cm) pieces, which are easier to make, ship and carry.
Sit well. — Harlan
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