A Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A leaf-print corner floor cushion, and the order that got it right
The best orders I see read like a good letter: plain, complete, one piece at a time. This corner seat began with a question, so we'll begin there too.
SaveThe quick answer
A corner floor cushion shaped as a quarter circle is sized by its two straight wall sides, so a 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm) cushion has a curved front edge of about 75.4 in (191.5 cm). Measure along both walls, picture that arc in the room, and name a fabric code for each piece in your order note.
Buyer questions, before anything else
- A common question
Could I have the backrest and arms in one color and the seat in another?
The workshop's answerYes. Write the color for each piece in the personalization note, for example one code for the back and armrests and another for the seat. One buyer ordered five pieces in five different soft-fabric colors.
- A common question
One of my foam sofa pieces still looks flat after unpacking. Is it faulty?
The workshop's answerGive it a few more days. Compressed foam needs time to regain its full shape, and in one case an L-shaped backrest filled out by itself after a couple more days. If a part such as a metal bar is missing from a damaged box, the shop ships the replacement separately with tracking. Large sofas come in several packages that may track separately.
- A common question
Can the seat be thicker, say 8 or 12 inches, and will that change the price?
The workshop's answerYes, and extra thickness costs more. A 28 x 60 in (71 x 152 cm) set was made 8 in (20 cm) thick instead of the standard 4 to 5 in (10 to 13 cm), and a one-piece 75 x 38 in (191 x 97 cm) daybed cushion was quoted at 12 in (30 cm) thick.
Now, the reading
A conversation about a 48 in corner
A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop about a corner reading nook in a small room. The question was a plain one: how do you measure a quarter-circle cushion?
The buyer: Is the size across the curve or along the walls?
The workshop: Along the two straight wall sides. A 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm) cushion has a curved front edge of about 75.4 in (191.5 cm).
The buyer: My corner measures 58 in (147 cm) out to the center.
The workshop: That is past our usual 48 in maximum, but it can be made as a custom size. Here is the quote.
Then came the part I admire. The buyer stood in that small room, pictured 75 inches of curved front edge, and chose the standard 48 x 48 in. Bigger was possible. Smaller was right. The fabric talk had been about velvet, emerald or forest green.
Buy the cushion once, cry once. The full method is in sizing a quarter-circle corner cushion.
Pinned by Harlan: five points around the seat
Five pins, from the palm on the left to the jute rug that carries the gold leaves down to the floor.
- Kentia palm
Palm fronds on both sides frame the seat like a garden arbor.
- Table lamp
A warm lamp at seat level makes the gold leaves glow in the evening.
- Gold leaf print
The printed leaves repeat the real palms around them.
- Snake plant
An upright plant at the front edge adds height where the seat drops away.
- Jute rug
Natural jute warms the floor and matches the mustard in the fabric.
- Kentia palmPalm fronds on both sides frame the seat like a garden arbor.
- Table lampA warm lamp at seat level makes the gold leaves glow in the evening.
- Gold leaf printThe printed leaves repeat the real palms around them.
- Snake plantAn upright plant at the front edge adds height where the seat drops away.
- Jute rugNatural jute warms the floor and matches the mustard in the fabric.
One print, two rooms
This leaf print shows up bare in other photographs, and there it reads modern. Set it between palms and it turns tropical. Same cloth, different neighbors. Fabric takes on the company it keeps, my friend.
The seat is a corner floor cushion with two flanged backrest pillows in gray and gold leaves, self piped on a box edge. The printed leaves echo the living ones around it, so the seat looks planted rather than placed.
Look at the heights. A tall kentia palm on the left. A lamp and a second palm on the right. A snake plant low at the front, standing where the seat drops away. Your eye travels around the seat in a circle, the way you'd walk around a good chair in a showroom.
The white ceramic lamp sits at seat level, and that is no accident. In the evening its warm light makes the gold leaves glow. The round jute rug and the wooden side table with its books carry the mustard down to the floor, so the gold isn't stranded up on the pillows.
The cotton comes off the same shelf as our striped cotton and ticking. The shape lives with the other corner floor cushions, and a seat like this fits most living room cushion plans. A good personalization note does the rest.
What a first-time-right order note says
- The shape and how you measured it: two wall sides for a quarter circle, and the arc if you have checked it.
- A fabric code for each piece, written piece by piece: seat, backrest, armrests.
- The thickness you want, knowing that going thicker than standard costs more.
- A daylight photo of the corner, so the workshop sees what you see.
- Whether the room is small. Bigger is not always better.
On the cutting table: the palm corner seat
| Piece | Quarter-circle corner floor cushion with two backrest pillows |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Gray and gold leaf print on cotton canvas |
| Edge | Box edge |
| Piping | Self piping in the same print |
| Pillows | Flanged backrests in the leaf print |
| Sizing | By the two straight wall sides |
| Standard size | 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm), arc about 75.4 in (191.5 cm) |
| Larger corners | Custom size on request, such as 58 in (147 cm) |
| Best for | Living-room corners and small reading nooks |
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.
A 48 x 48 in quarter-circle floor cushion has a curved front of about 75.4 in. Picture that arc in the room before you order bigger.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
Where do I measure a quarter-circle corner floor cushion?
Along the two straight sides that meet the walls. The curved front is longer: for a 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm) cushion it runs about 75.4 in (191.5 cm). Lay a string along that arc on the floor before choosing a size.
Does a leaf print suit a modern room or a tropical one?
Both. The same gray-and-gold leaf print reads modern in a spare room and tropical among palms, a warm lamp and jute. Decide by what surrounds the cushion: greenery warms the print, bare walls sharpen it.
Is a bigger corner floor cushion always the better choice?
No. A corner measuring 58 in (147 cm) could be made to size, but in a small room the buyer chose the standard 48 x 48 in and kept more floor free. Picture the curved front edge in your room first.
How do I make sure a multi-piece set comes out in the right colors?
Name a fabric code for every piece in the order note, not one color for the whole set. If you saw the fabric in a photo, send a screenshot so the code can be confirmed before cutting.
Sit well. — Harlan
More photographs to read
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