---
title: "Petrol Teal Lumbar Pillow in Linen-Look: Feel, Wear and Washing"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/readings/petrol-teal-lumbar-pillow-oak-headboard-pothos/"
section: "Readings"
author: "Élodie Marchand, The Colorist of New Orleans"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/"
published: "2026-06-18"
updated: "2026-09-24"
keywords: "lumbar pillow, custom throw pillows, cushion cover, custom size cushion, custom cushion covers"
---

# A petrol teal linen-look lumbar pillow under trailing pothos: how the cloth feels, wears and washes

*The questions came first, so they go first here. Then the photograph: a teal that sits between leaf and linen, and a weave you can read with your fingertips.*

> **The quick answer:** A linen-look lumbar pillow has a dry, matte, lightly slubbed hand that reads like linen from across the room, and a zippered cover that comes off for washing. Unzip and remove any non-slip base before washing a cover, and size a cover for a soft-filled insert about 1 in larger each way.

![Petrol teal lumbar pillow and matching square on a white bed with an oak headboard, pothos and cane wall basket](https://cushionguide.com/media/lumbar-pillows/petrol-teal-lumbar-pillow-oak-headboard-pothos-1600.webp "Petrol teal sits between the green of the plants and the warm oak, pulling the room's natural tones together.")

## Buyer questions

**A common question:** What are the dimensions of the replacement sofa covers?

**The workshop's answer:** The set has two floor seat covers of 78 x 39 x 6.5 in (200 x 100 x 17 cm) and two L-shaped backrest covers of 39 x 39 x 15 in (100 x 100 x 39 cm). Covers can also be made to custom sizes.

**A common question:** My flat cushion covers tore after I washed them. Can I get replacements?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. After seeing photos, the workshop sent two replacement non-slip bottom parts free. The tears came from washing the non-slip base together with the cover, so unzip it and take it off before the next wash.

**A common question:** A backrest insert still smells of cigarette smoke after airing. What can I do?

**The workshop's answer:** Washing the cover took the smell out of the fabric, but the insert was too big for a home washing machine, so the workshop sent a replacement filling for that backrest. Covers can be washed several times to lift odors.

## The hand, read from a photograph

Now the photograph. A white bed, a light oak panel headboard with a ledge, and a pothos trailing over that ledge from a terracotta pot. A cane basket on the wall. In the middle of it all, a petrol teal lumbar pillow with a matching square set squarely behind it.

Petrol teal is not a random choice. It sits halfway between the leaf green of the pothos and the blue-white of the bedding, so it belongs to both. Hold a paint chip of each and the teal falls right into the gap. The terracotta pots do the opposite job: warm clay against cool teal, the counter-color that keeps the room from going cold.

Now touch it with your eyes. A linen-look weave has a dry, matte face with small slubs in the yarn. It does not shine the way velvet does; it takes daylight evenly, so the teal looks the same from the center of the pillow to its edge. Daylight never lies; your screen sometimes does, so judge a teal like this on a swatch by a window.

The cushions leave texture to the cane basket on the wall, which is why nothing here feels busy. The arrangement is tidy on purpose: the lumbar level and centered, the square squarely behind, [knife edges](https://cushionguide.com/glossary/#knife-edge), no piping. A clean room wants a clean stack.

The care notes came straight from the messages above. Covers wash; a smell can wash out of a cover and still live in a big insert; and anything with a non-slip base should come apart before the machine.

To copy the room, my friends, pick a pillow color midway between your plants and your walls. The [linen-look weaves](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/linen-look-fabrics/) are the place to look for those in-between shades, and [real linen versus linen-look](https://cushionguide.com/guides/real-linen-vs-linen-look-cushion-fabric/) explains what the label means. For the washing itself, see [how to wash cushion covers](https://cushionguide.com/guides/how-to-wash-cushion-covers/).

What is growing nearest your bed?

## Pinned by Élodie

Five pins, from the teal lumbar up to the clay pots that warm it.

1. **Petrol teal lumbar**: Teal lies between the pothos green and the blue-white bedding, so it belongs to both.
2. **Teal square**: Set squarely behind the lumbar, the square gives a tidy, level stack suited to a clean room.
3. **Pothos on headboard**: Trailing leaves over the ledge soften the straight line of the oak panel.
4. **Cane wall basket**: Cane adds woven texture on the wall that the cushions deliberately leave out.
5. **Terracotta pots**: Warm clay is the counter-color to cool teal.

## Care notes, in the order they matter

- ✓ Unzip the cover and take off any non-slip base before washing; washed together, covers tore in the same spots
- ✓ Wash a cover more than once to lift a smell out of the fabric
- ✓ An insert too big for a home machine is not washed like a cover; ask about a replacement filling
- ✓ For a soft-filled insert, cut the cover about 1 in larger in each dimension so it is not tight
- ✓ Ordering covers only? Send all three numbers, like 78 x 39 x 6.5 in, not just length and width

## A crash pad, sized one inch up

A parent in the US wrote to the workshop about a sensory crash pad for a playroom, a soft-filled square of about 60 x 60 x 9 in (152 x 152 x 23 cm). What they wanted was a removable, washable cover in a light oatmeal.

The workshop sized the cover at 61 x 61 x 10 in (155 x 155 x 25 cm), a full inch larger each way, so the soft insert could go in without a fight, and planned a long zipper to close it. The linen chart went over for the color, with one question back: piping or not?

A soft insert pushes out against its cover. Give it an inch and the cover sits smooth instead of drum-tight. More builds like this live under [play tents and crash pads](https://cushionguide.com/concepts/play-tent-and-crash-pad-cushions/).

## On the cutting table

|   |   |
|---|---|
| Front pillow | Lumbar pillow, knife edge, petrol teal linen-look |
| Behind it | Matching teal square, set squarely behind |
| Frame | Two cream euro shams on a white duvet |
| Piping | None |
| Hand | Dry, matte, lightly slubbed weave |
| Care | Zippered cover; remove any non-slip base before washing |
| Cover sizing | About 1 in larger each way for a soft-filled insert |
| Best for | A bright bedroom with plants and light oak |

> Size a cushion cover for a soft-filled insert about 1 in larger each way: a 60 x 60 x 9 in crash pad got a 61 x 61 x 10 in cover.
>
> — Élodie

> **Tailor's margin:** Before washing a cushion cover, unzip and remove the non-slip base. Washed together, the base and the cover tore in the same spots.

## Questions buyers ask next

### What does linen-look fabric feel like?

Dry and matte, with a slight slub in the weave. It takes daylight evenly instead of shining, so a color like petrol teal looks the same from the middle of the pillow to its edge. The Pattern on real linen versus linen-look explains the label.

### Why choose petrol teal for a bedroom with plants?

Petrol teal sits between leaf green and cool white bedding, so it links the plants to the bed. Warm terracotta pots then act as the counter-color. Pick your pillow color midway between your plants and your walls.

### Can I order a cover for an insert I already own?

Yes. Measure the insert, then size the cover. For a soft-filled insert, go about 1 in larger in each dimension, the way a 60 x 60 x 9 in crash pad was covered at 61 x 61 x 10 in.

### Should a lumbar pillow have piping?

It is a choice. This petrol teal lumbar and its square have knife edges and no piping, which keeps a pared-back bed calm. The workshop will ask whether you want piping, so decide before you send your sizes.

## Related at the atelier

- [Lumbar Pillow in Charcoal Slub Against a Birch Plywood Wall](https://cushionguide.com/readings/charcoal-slub-lumbar-birch-plywood-wall-bedroom/): A single charcoal lumbar pillow makes a small bedroom feel more generous because it gives the eye one dark anchor while everything else stays pale.
- [Lumbar Pillow in Burgundy With Striped Squares: Why Knife Edges](https://cushionguide.com/readings/burgundy-lumbar-red-stripe-squares-walnut-bed/): A lumbar pillow on a bed looks best with a knife edge, where front and back panels meet in one seam, because it softens against sheets and a headboard.
- [Cornflower Blue Lumbar Pillow With Black Ticking in an Attic](https://cushionguide.com/readings/cornflower-blue-lumbar-black-ticking-beadboard-attic/): A cornflower blue lumbar pillow reads from across a room as one calm block of color, while black-and-cream ticking only shows its fine stripe up close.
- [Is your linen cushion fabric really 100% linen?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/is-linen-cushion-fabric-100-percent-linen/): Usually not: the standard linen cushion fabric is a blend or a linen-look weave, not 100% linen.
- [Cushion covers for allergies: natural fibers, known fills and covers that wash](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushions-for-allergies-natural-fibers/): For an allergy-prone home, choose a zippered cushion cover in 100% cotton, pure linen or a cotton-linen blend, ask what the fill is made of, and wash the cover at 86°F (30°C).
- [Can I wash the white non-slip bottom on the floor sofa?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/floor-sofa-non-slip-bottom-washing/): No, the white non-slip bottom of a floor sofa must never go in the washing machine.
- [Matching throw pillows and lumbars to a seat cushion, color by color](https://cushionguide.com/guides/matching-throw-pillows-lumbar-pillows/)
- [What to measure for a custom daybed mattress cover](https://cushionguide.com/guides/daybed-mattress-cover-measurements/)

*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/petrol-teal-lumbar-pillow-oak-headboard-pothos/