SaveA Reading by MaggieBench Cushions
A poppy bloom bench cushion on a white box, and the props that keep a busy bedroom calm
Gingham, a floral bedspread, a gallery wall and yellow floorboards, and still the room doesn't shout. The navy cushion is holding it all together, and the two pillows on it were chosen as if with tweezers.
Gingham, florals and a gallery wall layer happily because the bench cushion keeps to a dark navy base.
The quick answer
To style a patterned bench cushion in a room that already has prints, give the cushion a dark ground and pick each pillow to copy one of its colors exactly. This navy poppy print on a white bench anchors gingham, florals and a gallery wall; the teal and red pillows repeat two bloom colors, and the pattern sizes stay different.
Four patterns, one dark ground
Count the patterns in this bedroom: gingham at the wardrobe, a floral bedspread, a gallery wall of mixed frames, and a poppy print on the bench cushion. Four is usually two too many. Here it works, and the bench cushion is the reason.
The cushion is a cotton canvas print, code P-25, with red, teal and white blooms on a navy ground. That navy is the anchor. Every other pattern in the room is light or mid-toned, so the dark cushion gives the eye a place to land, and the prints around it stop blurring together. It is a box cushion, self piped so the edge adds no extra line, and it finishes exactly at the edge of a low white storage bench. The bench is plain; the print does the decorating.
The sage walls are soft and grayed, a quiet background for red and teal. Sunny daylight picks up the yellow painted floorboards, and a gray rug sits between the yellow and the navy so the two strong colors never touch.
I will confess, dear, that I used to buy pillows because I liked them in the shop. That is how you end up with seven pillows and no plan. The two pillows on this bench were chosen the right way: each copies one bloom color exactly. Nothing else was invited.
The bench cushions hub has plainer benches, the bedroom collection has more for the foot of the bed, and the cotton prints and gingham shelves hold both fabric families. How many patterns is your bedroom carrying right now?
Pinned by Maggie: cushion, two pillows, a wall and a curtain
Five pins, starting at the navy cushion and working out to the pillows, the gallery wall and the gingham curtain.
- Poppy bloom cushion
The navy ground anchors a room full of other patterns.
- Teal pillow
Teal copies one of the bloom colors exactly.
- Red oblong pillow
Red matches the largest flowers and adds a bright accent.
- Gallery wall
Mixed frames above work because the cushion keeps a strong dark base.
- Gingham curtain
A small check next to a big floral works because the pattern sizes differ.
- Poppy bloom cushionThe navy ground anchors a room full of other patterns.
- Teal pillowTeal copies one of the bloom colors exactly.
- Red oblong pillowRed matches the largest flowers and adds a bright accent.
- Gallery wallMixed frames above work because the cushion keeps a strong dark base.
- Gingham curtainA small check next to a big floral works because the pattern sizes differ.
Every prop around the poppy bench cushion, and its job
- The teal linen pillow copies one of the bloom colors exactly, so it looks cut from the same cloth.
- The red oblong pillow matches the largest flowers and breaks up the square shapes with a long one.
- The gallery wall can be busy because the cushion keeps a dark base below it.
- The gingham curtain works beside the floral: small check, large blooms.
- Sunflowers in a pot repeat the yellow of the painted floorboards at eye level.
- The books and white bedside cabinet stay plain, giving the eye a rest.
- The gray rug separates the yellow floor from the navy cushion so the two strong colors never touch.
Mixing patterns on a bedroom bench cushion works when one print keeps a dark ground and the next changes scale: big poppies beside small gingham.
Maggie
A bay seat, 2 in straight ends and a slant that didn't add up
A buyer in the US sent the workshop a drawing of a bay window seat: 86.5 in (220 cm) along the bottom, 39.5 in (100 cm) across the top, 24.5 in (62 cm) deep, with 2 in (5 cm) straight ends and angled sides of 31 in (79 cm).
The workshop ran the geometry. Take off the 2 in straight ends and the angled part is 22.5 in deep; each side steps in 23.5 in. That makes each slant about 32.5 in (83 cm), not 31. For 31 in slants to be right, the top would have had to be about 43 in (109 cm). So the shop asked, politely, for the top width again.
The buyer re-measured. The top was just under 40 in, as drawn, and the slants really were 32.5 in. The cushion went ahead at 4 in (10 cm) thick.
My rule since: if the slant you measured and the slant the drawing predicts differ by more than about 1 in, something needs re-measuring before anyone cuts. Measure the bench, not the cushion you used to have. The bay window calculator will do the arithmetic for you.
On the cutting table: the poppy bench
| Product | Bench cushion on a low white storage bench |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Cotton canvas print, code P-25: navy ground with red, teal and white blooms |
| Edge | Box edge, finishing at the bench edge |
| Piping | Self piping |
| Pillows | One teal linen square, one red oblong |
| Room | Sage walls, gingham curtain, floral bedspread, yellow floorboards |
| Best for | Bedrooms already carrying two or more patterns |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Maggie’s workshop
Have the tape measure handy when they call. Old cushions shrink and sag; the seat underneath does not. — Maggie
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.
Buyer questions: an extra cushion, a piping pick and a mudroom niche
- A common question
I've already placed my order. Can I add another cushion to it?
The workshop's answerPlace a separate order for the extra one. Once the first is in production, keeping them apart avoids mix-ups with hundreds of orders in the queue. If you haven't ordered yet, the workshop can build one custom link that bundles everything and ships it together.
- A common question
Would you choose the piping color for me?
The workshop's answerThe workshop would rather you choose, since color is personal, but it will suggest one if asked: L-02, a cream that blends with the light tones of a pattern, or L-01, a lighter, whiter option. A suggestion may not be a perfect match, so switch codes before production if you prefer another.
- A common question
What size cushion should I order for a bench niche in my mudroom?
The workshop's answerFor a niche 17 x 35.75 in (43 x 91 cm) and 15 in (38 cm) high, a 3 in (8 cm) cushion gives an 18 in (46 cm) seat. Select 17 in width, 36 in length and 3 in thickness, then write the exact 17 x 35.75 x 3 in in the order note. Production took about a week, delivery 3-5 days.
Questions buyers ask next
How do I mix a floral bench cushion with gingham and other prints?
Vary the scale and keep one dark ground. A big floral beside a small check reads as two different voices, and a navy background under the flowers gives the eye somewhere to rest.
Should pillows on a patterned bench cushion match the print or contrast with it?
Pull each pillow from one color in the print, as the teal and red pillows do here. Solid pillows in the print's own colors look chosen; a second pattern at the same scale tends to blur into the cushion.
Why does the poppy cushion stop exactly at the bench edge?
On a plain, low box the print does the decorating, and a flush edge keeps the bench's lines crisp. An overhang would soften the box and push the pattern where knees brush it.
Stitch straight — Maggie
