A Reading by HarlanStar Poufs & Giant Star Floor Cushions
A letter on a navy star cushion and everything around it
A star in a corner, a canopy, a rattan lamp and a ledge of picture books. Harlan writes about why each thing earned its place.
SaveThe quick answer
A star floor cushion fits a kids' corner best set square, with two points touching the walls so a canopy can fall around its back. Navy wide-wale corduroy looks slightly different from each side because the ribs run one way, so choose the tip that faces the doorway. Steam out any shipping creases in the first days.
High Point ·
My friend,
Look at the corner first
Most folks look at the cushion. I look at the corner, because a corner tells you whether a cushion was placed or just dropped.
This one was placed. A navy star floor cushion in wide-wale corduroy, box edge, no piping, set square so two of its points touch the walls. The white canopy with its fairy lights hangs behind, and the drape falls around the back points the way a skirt falls around a chair. Seen from 45 degrees, you can tell the star was turned on purpose.
The ribs of that corduroy run one way across the top. Look from the window side and the navy goes deep, near ink. Look from the cube shelf and it catches a little light. Same cushion. That's the nature of a pile with a direction, and the notes on wale and nap direction explain it better than I can in a letter.
No piping, and rightly so. Wide wale already draws its own lines. A welt around every point of a star would look like a cookie cutter.
Pinned by Harlan
Five pins, from the navy star set square to the owl and squirrel on the shelf.
- Navy star set square
Two points meet the walls so the canopy drape falls around the back.
- Blush cloud pillow
The warmest color in the corner, placed at the center.
- Window ledge books
Books by the window make the nook a daylight reading spot.
- Rattan pendant
Hung off-center so it does not clash with the canopy crown.
- Owl and squirrel
Woodland figures add a gentle theme without wallpaper.
- Navy star set squareTwo points meet the walls so the canopy drape falls around the back.
- Blush cloud pillowThe warmest color in the corner, placed at the center.
- Window ledge booksBooks by the window make the nook a daylight reading spot.
- Rattan pendantHung off-center so it does not clash with the canopy crown.
- Owl and squirrelWoodland figures add a gentle theme without wallpaper.
Every prop in this corner has a job
Now the things around it. None of them is there by accident.
The blush cloud pillow sits dead center on the star. It's the warmest color in a cool blue room, and warm things belong where the hand goes first.
The gray star pillow repeats the shape of the seat at a smaller size. Children like finding a thing twice.
The rattan dome pendant hangs off-center, so it doesn't fight the canopy crown for the same spot on the ceiling.
The window ledge of picture books is just to the left. Books by the glass make the nook a daylight reading spot, and nobody has to hunt for a lamp switch.
The pegboard of paper birds and bead strings gives small hands something to rearrange without moving furniture.
The owl and squirrel figures on the white cube shelf, and the pine storage with its books and pompoms, give a woodland note without a roll of wallpaper.
When you copy this in your own kids' room, stand in the doorway before you choose which tip faces the room. That's the view everyone sees first. What does your child keep within arm's reach of the floor?
Flaking bars and four weeks of creases
A family in the US wrote to the workshop about a corduroy modular sofa. The metal bars arrived flaking. The shop explained it was oxide from production and suggested wiping it off. When that didn't work, new bars went out, and the family found them much nicer.
The corduroy covers had a second trouble: shipping creases still showing after four weeks. The shop advised hot steam or careful ironing, and offered replacement covers at a discount. The lesson it drew was plain. Creases from compressed shipping set in if the piece sits under a blanket for weeks.
So unwrap corduroy, let it breathe and steam the creases while they're young. The first days after unpacking are covered in the first 72 hours of a vacuum-packed cushion. A seam is a promise, and a crease left alone keeps its word too.
Buyer questions: a bed size, a missing bar, a true white
- A common question
How big is the floor sofa when I lay it out flat as a bed?
The workshop's answerEach seat mattress is 39 x 79 in (100 x 200 cm). Side by side they make a bed of about 79 x 79 in (200 x 200 cm), 6.3 in (16 cm) thick. As a sofa it measures 39 x 79 x 14 in (100 x 200 x 36 cm).
- A common question
One of the U-shaped bars for my corner sofa frame seems to be missing. Can you send it?
The workshop's answerMissing parts have been sent on before, so start by checking the count: a corner sofa should make four L-shaped frame sets, and if you can only complete three, a U-shaped or short piece is missing. Then send the workshop a photo of the pieces you received and ask when the missing bar will ship.
- A common question
The white looks gray in your styled photos. Can I see it in a real home?
The workshop's answerYes. The shop sends real-life photos from customers for any color, and the white is lighter than it looks in the styled shots. Colors also shift with screen settings and home lighting, so judge them in more than one light.
On the cutting table
| Piece | Star floor cushion (star pouf) |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Navy wide-wale corduroy |
| Piping | None |
| Edge | Box |
| Placement | Set square into a corner, two points touching the walls |
| Wale | Runs one way across the top; the navy shifts with where you stand |
| Shipping creases | Hot steam or careful ironing, in the first days |
| Best for | Kids' rooms, reading corners under a canopy |
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.
Steam the shipping creases out of a corduroy cover in the first days; leave it under a blanket for four weeks and the creases stay.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
How should a star floor cushion sit in a room corner?
Set it square, with two points touching the two walls. That tucks the back of the star in, gives a canopy room to fall around it and turns one tip toward the room, the tip everyone sees from the doorway.
Why does a corduroy star cushion look like two shades of navy?
Corduroy has ribs and a pile that lies in one direction. Seen along the pile it looks deeper; seen against it, lighter. On a star the ribs run one way across the top, so each point looks a little different.
How do I get creases out of a new corduroy cover?
Use hot steam or careful ironing, and do it in the first days after unpacking. Creases from compressed shipping can set if the cover sits under a blanket for weeks, as one family found after four weeks.
Is wide-wale corduroy a good fabric for a kids' reading corner?
It is soft and warm, with a ribbed texture children like to run a hand over. Deep navy is forgiving in a busy room; for paler schemes, the gallery shows the same star shape in sand, ivory, anthracite and rust corduroy.
Sit well. — Harlan
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