A Reading by HarlanStar Poufs & Giant Star Floor Cushions
An olive and cream striped star floor cushion, and how it stays put in a nursery
Harlan writes about a striped star pouf under a lit canopy, where the colors came from the monsteras, and about the fastening questions a floor piece quietly asks.
SaveThe quick answer
A star floor cushion in a nursery has no frame to tie to, so ties are out: ask about a non-slip base if it sits on a bare floor, and put the zip along a stripe line on the box wall. Run wide stripes one way across the top and level around the sides so the star never looks twisted.
High Point ·
To the one setting up a reading corner beside the crib,
Where the olive stripe came from
Stripes tell the truth about a seam. Look at this olive and cream star floor cushion and you will see the stripes run one way across the top and wrap the box wall level all the way around. That is why the star sits square in the photograph instead of looking wrung out like a dishrag.
The colors came in through the window. The wide olive band matches the monstera leaves in their white pots, and the cream band matches the walls, so the pouf belongs to the plants and the room at once. The terracotta star pillow is the only warm note, and the wooden rainbow on the shelf answers it from above. The gray triangle rug is pattern at a different scale, so the stripes stay the thing you notice.
Every prop has a job. The fairy-light canopy marks the corner as a place to sit. The wall shelves put books within reach of the pouf. The natural-wood crib, the felt cloud mobile and the sheer curtains keep the room soft and quiet. It is a reading spot for a grown-up and a baby, and it looks like one.
The part you cannot see, my friend, is how the thing stays put and how the cover comes off. Will yours sit on a rug or on bare boards?
Pinned by Harlan in the leafy nursery
Five pins: the olive awning stripe, the terracotta star pillow, the potted monsteras, the wall book shelves and the gray geometric rug.
- Olive awning stripe
The olive band repeats the monstera leaves; the cream band matches the walls.
- Terracotta star pillow
The only warm accent, echoed by the wooden rainbow on the shelf.
- Potted monsteras
Real leaves by the window are where the stripe color came from.
- Wall book shelves
Shelves beside the canopy put books at reach from the pouf.
- Geometric rug
Gray triangles add pattern in a different scale so the stripes stay the star.
- Olive awning stripeThe olive band repeats the monstera leaves; the cream band matches the walls.
- Terracotta star pillowThe only warm accent, echoed by the wooden rainbow on the shelf.
- Potted monsterasReal leaves by the window are where the stripe color came from.
- Wall book shelvesShelves beside the canopy put books at reach from the pouf.
- Geometric rugGray triangles add pattern in a different scale so the stripes stay the star.
Three fastening questions a floor pouf asks
Will it slide?
A pouf on a rug has nothing to tie to, so ties are out. If yours will sit on a bare floor, ask about a non-slip base before you ask about color.
Where does the zip go?
On a striped box wall, the closure should follow a stripe line rather than cut across one. Say where you want it on the order, the way you would give a size. The zipper placement guide shows the options.
If there is a backrest, what holds it up?
Floor sofas stand their backs up with metal support bars. Count them the day the box opens, before anyone sits down.
The floor sofa that arrived short of backrests
A buyer in the US opened a modular floor sofa and found pieces missing: two L-shaped backrests and one of the five metal support sets. The design had changed, to one long seat and an ottoman instead of three 15 3/8 x 15 3/8 in (39 x 39 cm) ottomans, and the listing had not caught up. Holiday delays did not help. The workshop sent the parts and refunded part of the order.
Here is the part I like. Once the sofa was whole, the buyer came back for slimmer backrests, two L-shaped and one straight, 7 in (18 cm) deep instead of 15 3/8 in (39 cm). On L-shaped backs that run 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in (100 x 100 cm), that slimmer depth leaves a good deal more seat to sit on.
Count every piece and every fastening the day it arrives. And remember that a backrest's depth is a number you can change. Stripes like this one live in striped cotton and ticking.
- Sizes
- L-shaped backrests 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 x 15 3/8 in (100 x 100 x 39 cm); custom versions 7 in (18 cm) deep
The lesson: Check a modular floor sofa against the current piece list on arrival; backrest depth can be customized.
Buyer questions: picking a size, black fabric and a back under the sill
- A common question
I'm not sure what size floor cushion to order. Can you help me choose?
The workshop's answerYes. Send a photo of the space or your wall measurements. Sizes the workshop has suggested by use: 28 x 40 in (71 x 102 cm) for a meditation seat, 28 x 56 in (71 x 142 cm) to match the listing photos, about 40 x 80 in (102 x 203 cm) for an adult to lie on, and 24 x 70 or 27 x 70 in (61 x 178 or 69 x 178 cm) for a sleepover bed.
- A common question
Can the floor sofa be black, or in regular velvet instead of corduroy?
The workshop's answerBlack isn't in the corduroy range, but the sofa can be made in black velvet or linen, and the workshop shares its velvet color card for other shades. Crushed velvet is not offered.
- A common question
Can the backrest be low enough to fit under a window sill?
The workshop's answerYes. The floor cushion is 4 in (10 cm) thick, so with a sill 11 in (28 cm) off the floor there are 7 in (18 cm) left for the back. The workshop makes a low flat back piece in place of the round bolster.
On the cutting table: the nursery star
| Cushion | Star floor pouf with a box edge |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Wide awning stripe in olive green and cream |
| Stripe direction | One way across the top, level around the box wall |
| Piping | Self piping |
| Accents | Terracotta star pillow and a white square pillow |
| Sliding | Nothing to tie to; ask about a non-slip base on bare floors |
| Zip to request | Along a stripe line on the box wall |
| Best for | Nursery reading corners with books on wall shelves |
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.
On a striped star floor cushion, run the stripes one way across the top and level around the box wall, or the star looks twisted.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
Which way should the stripes run on a star pouf?
One direction across the top, with the stripe wrapping the box wall horizontally. Keeping the lines level around the side stops the star's points from looking twisted, and it gives the zip a stripe line to follow.
What stripe color suits a nursery full of plants?
Pick a stripe whose dark band matches your greenest thing, here the monstera leaves, and whose light band matches the walls. Then add one warm accent, such as a terracotta pillow, and repeat it once on a shelf.
Does a nursery floor pouf need ties?
No, there is nothing on the floor to tie to. Ties belong on chairs, swings and benches with rails. For a pouf the questions that matter are whether it slides on a bare floor and where the cover's zip sits.
What should I check when a modular floor sofa is delivered?
Lay every piece out and count it against the current piece list, including the metal support sets. One buyer's delivery was missing two backrests and a support set after a redesign, so check before you assemble anything.
Sit well. — Harlan
P.S. Choose the stripe standing next to your greenest plant. In this nursery, the monstera made the choice.
Star poufs in cord, velvet and stripe
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