---
title: "Window Seat Cushion in a Sunroom: Periwinkle and Maroon Stripe"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/readings/periwinkle-maroon-stripe-sunroom-window-seat/"
section: "Readings"
author: "Élodie Marchand, The Colorist of New Orleans"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/"
published: "2026-08-07"
updated: "2026-08-29"
keywords: "window seat cushion, custom window seat cushion, striped bench cushion, bench cushion indoor, custom size cushion, bench seat cushion"
---

# A periwinkle and maroon striped window seat cushion, read in garden-room light from morning to dusk

*Terracotta underfoot, rattan all around, and one long stripe that cools the room down. My friends, this is a lesson in choosing color for the light you have, not the light on your screen.*

> **The quick answer:** In a sunny garden room, a two-tone striped window seat cushion is a safer choice than one plain color: the stripe hides gradual fading and crumbs, and each color can answer something in the room. Here the maroon repeats the terracotta floor and the periwinkle cools the warm rattan. Judge both colors from a swatch in the room's own daylight.

![Periwinkle and maroon striped box cushion on a white paneled window seat in a sunroom with terracotta tiles and rattan](https://cushionguide.com/media/window-seat-cushions/periwinkle-maroon-stripe-sunroom-window-seat-1600.webp "The maroon in the stripe picks up the terracotta floor, while periwinkle cools the whole garden room down.")

## Buyer questions

**A common question:** Do you have performance fabrics that are easy to wash?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. The workshop told the buyer that all its fabrics are machine-washable performance fabrics and that they are pre-shrunk, which suits seats that see a lot of use.

**A common question:** How do I find out what a custom trapezoid window seat cushion will cost?

**The workshop's answer:** The price appears on the trapezoid listing as soon as you enter the size range. Two quoted examples: a seat 70 in (178 cm) across the front, 44 in (112 cm) across the back and 20.5 in (52 cm) deep, 2 in thick with 2.5 in notches; and a pointed bay variant priced at 13 in (33 cm) deep and 89 3/8 in (227 cm) long.

**A common question:** Could you make a 25 x 17 in window seat cushion in a beige velvet or chenille?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. Choose the 17 x 25 in (43 x 64 cm) option on the custom window seat listing and give the color number from the velvet chart; for this buyer it was color 33.

## Periwinkle at nine, maroon at five: one stripe through a day

Daylight never lies; your screen sometimes does. This garden room proves it every hour.

The seat is long and shallow, a white paneled [window seat](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/window-seat-cushions/) under a three-pane garden window, and the cushion stays slim so the sill is clear and the proportions stay light. The cloth is a tight cotton stripe in periwinkle and a maroon brown, cut so the stripes stand upright on the boxing band and meet the top panel at a [self-piped](https://cushionguide.com/glossary/#self-piping) edge.

In cool morning light, periwinkle leads. It reads as a clear blue with a breath of lilac, and the maroon sinks back to a quiet brown. By late afternoon the light turns gold and bounces up off the terracotta tiles, and the order reverses: the maroon warms toward brick, the periwinkle grays a shade, and the whole seat moves closer to the floor. That is not a flaw. The maroon was chosen to echo those tiles, so seat and floor belong to each other at the warmest hour.

Every prop is a natural fiber, so none of them argues with the pattern. A leafy fern on a rattan stool softens the open end of that long, hard line. A macrame hanger lifts trailing pothos into the corner and draws the eye up. The rattan armchair, with its ivory pillow and oatmeal knit throw, gives the smooth printed stripe a rough-textured neighbor. A wicker basket and the tiles hold the warm half of the palette; periwinkle holds the cool half alone.

The Pattern on [screen versus daylight](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-color-screen-vs-daylight/) explains how to judge a swatch at home, and [sunroom cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/sunroom-cushions/) gathers more seats that live in full light.

Which color does your sunroom floor throw back at dusk?

## Pinned by Élodie: the band, the fern, the hanger, the chair, the tiles

Five pins follow the color from the stripe on the boxing band out to the terracotta floor that chose it.

1. **Stripe on the boxing band**: The band is cut so the maroon and periwinkle stripes stand vertical and line up with the top panel at the piped edge.
2. **Fern on rattan stool**: A leafy plant at the open end softens the long hard line of the seat.
3. **Macrame plant hanger**: Trailing greenery brings height to the corner so the eye travels up from the cushion.
4. **Rattan chair and throw**: Oatmeal knit and rattan give a textural foil to the smooth printed stripe.
5. **Terracotta tiles**: The maroon stripe was chosen to echo these tiles, tying the seat to the floor.

## Swatch strip: the garden-room palette

- Periwinkle — #8E9AD4 — The cool stripe; it leads in morning light
- Maroon brown — #6B2E2A — The warm stripe, taken from the floor tiles
- Terracotta — #B5623D — The floor that sets the warm half
- Rattan honey — #C39A5F — Armchair, stool and basket
- Oatmeal — #D8CBB3 — The knit throw, a soft neighbor for the stripe
- Fern green — #5B7E45 — The only green, at the open end of the seat

## A striped corner bench, split in two on purpose

A buyer in the US ordered samples first, which always makes me smile. Then they asked for cushions on an L-shaped corner bench in a striped fabric, N05, about 3 in (8 cm) thick.

The workshop made it as two cushions meeting flush at the corner rather than one L-shaped piece. The final sizes were 16.5 x 62.4 in (42 x 158 cm) and 16.5 x 45.5 in (42 x 116 cm), ordered in the 17–20 x 61–63 in and 17–20 x 44–46 in size ranges.

Two butt-jointed cushions are easier to cover and to wash, and they let the stripe run true on each leg. On a single L piece, one leg would have to carry the stripe the other way. The Pattern on [stripe direction](https://cushionguide.com/guides/striped-cushion-stripe-direction/) shows why, and the [striped cotton and ticking](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/striped-cotton-and-ticking/) shelf holds more two-tone stripes.

## On the cutting table: the sunroom window seat

|   |   |
|---|---|
| Product | Custom window seat cushion, long and shallow |
| Fabric | Periwinkle and maroon brown cotton stripe, code IN-07 |
| Stripe | Vertical on the boxing band, matched to the top panel at the edge |
| Piping | Self piping in the stripe |
| Edge | Box edge, kept slim to clear the sill |
| Palette logic | Maroon repeats the terracotta floor; periwinkle cools the rattan |
| Light | Bright garden light for most of the day |
| Best for | Sunrooms and garden rooms with warm floors |

> A two-tone stripe on a sunroom window seat hides slow fading and crumbs better than one plain color, and gives you two colors to pull through the room.
>
> — Élodie

> **Tailor's margin:** Hold a stripe swatch against your floor at 9 a.m. and again at 5 p.m.; the stripe that wins at dusk will rule the room.

## Questions buyers ask next

### Why does a periwinkle cushion look grayer in the evening?

Evening light is warmer and lower, and it carries the color of whatever it bounces off. In a room with terracotta floors, gold light washes over cool blues and mutes them, while warm reds and browns grow stronger. Check a swatch at both ends of the day.

### Should the stripes on a window seat boxing band run up and down or along the seat?

On this seat the band is cut so the stripes stand vertical and meet the top panel's stripes at the piped edge. The pattern stays continuous as your eye moves from the top to the side, and the seat looks deliberate from across the room.

### Do striped cushions fade more slowly than plain ones in a sunny room?

Not necessarily, but they hide it better. A tight two-tone stripe breaks up the surface, so gradual fading and crumbs show less than on one plain color. Turning the cushion now and then spreads the sun's work more evenly across it.

## Related at the atelier

- [Window Seat Cushion in Navy Pinstripe: 4 Mistakes It Avoids](https://cushionguide.com/readings/navy-pinstripe-ivory-window-seat-cushion-garden-room/): On a white window seat, choose a cushion with a fine stripe rather than plain ivory: a navy pinstripe on ivory reads as texture from across the room yet gives the box edge a clear line.
- [Window Seat Cushion in Blue Pinstripe over Sunroom Cubbies](https://cushionguide.com/readings/blue-pinstripe-window-seat-sunroom-cubbies/): A window seat cushion over open cubbies needs a firm, high-density foam block so the seat stays flat across the gaps instead of dipping into them.
- [Window Seat Cushion in Jade Stripe: Box Edge, Square Fit](https://cushionguide.com/readings/jade-stripe-window-seat-sage-country-kitchen/): A box-edged window seat cushion cut square to its recess shows a striped fabric at its best: with the stripes running front to back, the tall front band becomes a neat ladder of color.
- [Sunroom and three-season room cushions: fabric for sun, heat and damp](https://cushionguide.com/guides/sunroom-cushion-fabric-humidity/): For sunroom cushions, choose fabric for the room's harshest exposure: outdoor fabric where hours of direct sun, screened walls or regular damp reach the seat, and indoor velvet or smooth microfiber…
- [Will a window seat cushion fade? Choosing fabric for sun through glass](https://cushionguide.com/guides/window-seat-cushion-fading-sun/): A window seat cushion can fade gently over the seasons when hours of direct sun reach it through the glass, so choose a fabric rated 6 or higher on the 1-to-8 blue wool lightfastness scale, or a…
- [Custom cushions for Finnish summer cottages, apartments and lake terraces](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-finland/): Custom cushions in Finland serve two lives: the city apartment with its glazed balcony, and the summer cottage, or mökki, by a lake with a sauna and a terrace.
- [Why mildew grows under a window seat cushion in winter, and what helps](https://cushionguide.com/guides/window-seat-cushion-mildew-condensation/)

*With color and care — Élodie*

---

Written by Élodie Marchand (https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/) for CushionGuide (https://cushionguide.com/about/). The site explains made-to-measure cushions and the partner workshop makes them; measurements are in inches first. This Markdown mirrors the page at https://cushionguide.com/readings/periwinkle-maroon-stripe-sunroom-window-seat/