A Reading by HarlanStar Poufs & Giant Star Floor Cushions
Measuring a navy corduroy star floor cushion in a pale blue kids' room
Folks measure a star the way they would measure a table, and a star is no table. Let us read the letters first, then the cloth.
SaveThe quick answer
Measure a star floor cushion across its widest points, tip to tip, with the tape flat on the floor. Do it only after the foam has recovered from vacuum packing, usually about 24 hours and up to 48 for some pieces. Stars are sized by that overall width, for example 35½ in (90 cm) or 50 in (127 cm).
Buyer questions
- A common question
How do the metal support bars go together? My box had no instructions.
The workshop's answerThe workshop sends an assembly video and an instruction sheet. The sheet shows an older bar, so ignore its short and long connector ends; on current bars both ends match. The fit is tight on purpose.
- A common question
How long does delivery take once I order?
The workshop's answerAsk for current processing and delivery times in writing before you order. FedEx and UPS carry it, and if you need it by a certain date, ask whether express delivery can be arranged.
- A common question
My floor sofa arrived vacuum-packed. How long until it's full size, and what if a piece stays flat?
The workshop's answerMost foam is back in shape within about 24 hours; some pieces need 36 to 48. If a cushion is still dented, thin or hard after a few days, the workshop sends new filling for your cover.
Now, the reading
Reading the navy star
Sit on the floor beside it, my friend, the way a child would. That is the height this star pouf lives at.
The cloth is navy wide-wale corduroy, and there is no piping. A star has ten corners, five points and five notches, and a plain edge keeps every one of them soft for small hands. Each corner is still a seam that has to hold. A seam is a promise. The box wall gives the star its height, so the points stand up as armrests instead of folding flat.
Navy on a pale blue wall is tone on tone, and it could run cold. Three things warm it: the pink skirting along the floor, the blush cloud pillow on the seat, and the rattan pendant, pine storage and woven baskets. The gray star pillow repeats the shape without arguing with the navy. The origami birds on the pegboard keep color at eye level.
And navy forgives: it will not look babyish when the child turns ten. How wide is the corner you have in mind?
Five things the photograph shows
Five spots I would point at if we stood in the doorway together.
- Navy corduroy star
Tone-on-tone with the pale blue wall, warmed by pink skirting.
- Blush cloud pillow
Blush repeats the skirting and softens the navy.
- Gray star pillow
Repeats the shape without competing with the navy.
- Rattan pendant
Natural texture stops the blues from feeling cold.
- Origami pegboard
Paper birds add color at eye level, away from the floor piece.
- Navy corduroy starTone-on-tone with the pale blue wall, warmed by pink skirting.
- Blush cloud pillowBlush repeats the skirting and softens the navy.
- Gray star pillowRepeats the shape without competing with the navy.
- Rattan pendantNatural texture stops the blues from feeling cold.
- Origami pegboardPaper birds add color at eye level, away from the floor piece.
Measuring a star, and where folks go wrong
Let it breathe first
A vacuum-packed star is not done arriving. Most foam recovers in about 24 hours, some pieces in 36 to 48. Measure after the first days out of the bag, never before.
Measure flat, tip to tip
Lay the tape on the floor across the two widest points. That overall width is how a star is sized: 35½ in (90 cm) or 50 in (127 cm).
Keep the tape off the dome
Run it along the floor, not over the top. A tape that rides a curve always reads long.
Measure the corner it will live in
Wall to wall, or wall to bed, then compare it with the star's width before you order for a kids' room.
The playground that wanted fifty stars
A buyer who ran an indoor playground wrote to the workshop wanting twenty to fifty giant stars in two sizes, about 35½ and 50 in (90 and 127 cm). Their rules called for certified flame-retardant fabric and filling, both.
Cloth was one question, filling another. Our filling carries no flame-retardant certification, and the workshop told them so plainly rather than promise what it could not keep. The buyer weighed buying covers only and filling them locally.
I think of that one often. A regulated room asks two questions: one about the cloth, one about what is inside it.
- Sizes
- Stars 35½ in (90 cm) and 50 in (127 cm) across
The lesson: For regulated spaces, check fabric and filling certification separately.
A star floor cushion is sized tip to tip across its widest points. Lay the tape along the floor, not over the top, or it reads long.
Harlan
On the cutting table: the navy star
| Cushion | Star pouf: five points, box wall |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Navy wide-wale corduroy |
| Piping | None; plain edges on all ten corners |
| Sized by | Width across the points, e.g. 35½ in (90 cm) or 50 in (127 cm) |
| Shipping | Vacuum-packed; unpack within a few days |
| Recovery | About 24 hours; some pieces 36 to 48 |
| Best for | Kids' rooms, reading corners, play areas |
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.
Questions buyers ask next
Does a star pouf need piping?
No. Piping is optional and costs the same either way. This navy star has none, which keeps its ten corners soft; striped stars often carry piping cut to match the stripe.
Why navy in a child's room instead of a pastel?
Navy hides wear and grows up with the child. Warm it with one soft color nearby, like the blush pillow here, plus rattan or pine.
Can a corduroy star go out on the porch?
Not in corduroy, which is indoor-only, with no UV or water resistance. The star can be made in outdoor fabric instead; write the outdoor chart code in your order notes.
Sit well. — Harlan
Stars in other rooms
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