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A Reading by HarlanBench Cushions

A purple velvet cushion on a stair-landing bench, and the measurements that make it fit

A painted box bench tucked between the stair treads and the balustrade. Purple velvet, self piping, a sconce overhead. Nothing fancy, and every inch of it spoken for.

The quick answer

Measure a stair-landing bench cushion from the bench itself, wood to wood, at the back and again at the front. Check the depth at both ends and note anything that rises above the seat, such as balustrade slats or a riser. Give exact sizes, write a non-standard thickness in the personalization note, and allow a handmade tolerance of about 1/2 to 1 in.

Read by

The Elder of High PointPublished Updated 5 min read

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A seat boxed in on three sides

Some seats you can measure with one pull of the tape. A landing bench is not one of them. This one sits between the white stair treads and a slatted balustrade, so the cushion has walls and wood pressing on it from three sides. It had to be cut to a true rectangle that slips in tight against the slats and the riser, with no gap for a sock or a pencil to fall through.

Purple against cream paint and old pine should not work, but it does, because the landing is otherwise plain. The velvet is the only rich surface on it. Velvet remembers, and a pile like this one holds the light of the sconce along its front edge in the evening and the daylight from that little casement window in the morning.

The piping is self piping, the same purple, and that was the right call. The balustrade already draws a dozen vertical lines. A contrast welt would have added one more line to a place that has plenty. The wall sconce with its cream shade turns the seat into an evening reading spot, the framed landscape gives the eye somewhere to rest, and those wide pine floorboards warm up a cool purple from below. What presses against the edges of yours? Write it down before you pick up the tape. You can find more stair landing and understairs benches in the Concept Sketches.

Pinned by Harlan

Five pins, from the pine boards up to the sconce.

Pinned: Purple velvet box cushion with self piping on a painted landing bench beside white stairs and a slatted balustrade
  1. Self-piped front edge

    Same-color piping keeps the outline quiet among all the vertical slats.

  2. Purple velvet top

    The velvet sheen is the only rich surface on a plain landing.

  3. Slatted balustrade

    The cushion is cut to fit tight against the slats and the stair riser.

  4. Cream-shade sconce

    A wall light turns the landing seat into an evening reading spot.

  5. Old pine floorboards

    Warm pine balances the cool purple.

  1. Self-piped front edgeSame-color piping keeps the outline quiet among all the vertical slats.
  2. Purple velvet topThe velvet sheen is the only rich surface on a plain landing.
  3. Slatted balustradeThe cushion is cut to fit tight against the slats and the stair riser.
  4. Cream-shade sconceA wall light turns the landing seat into an evening reading spot.
  5. Old pine floorboardsWarm pine balances the cool purple.

Measuring a landing bench, and where folks go wrong

  1. Measure the wood, not the old cushion

    A tired cushion has spread and sunk. Measure the bench itself, wall to balustrade, to the nearest 1/8 in, and type the numbers out.

  2. Take the length twice

    Once against the back wall, once along the front edge. A seat squeezed between a wall and a balustrade can come out a hair different at each.

  3. Take the depth at both ends

    From the wall to the front edge, left end and right end. Write both down, even if they match.

  4. Note what rises above the seat

    Slats, a stair riser, a baseboard, a trim board. Anything the cushion has to tuck against belongs in your note.

  5. Decide the front edge

    Flush with the bench, or hanging over. An overhang of up to 2 in (5 cm) is common, but on a landing people pass close, so flush is often kinder.

  6. Write the thickness in the note

    If you want something off the menu, like 6 in (15 cm), put it in the personalization note. Then allow about 1/2 to 1 in of handmade tolerance.

A real project

Two squares, six inches thick

A designer in the US wrote to the workshop for a client: two 24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm) velvet cushions, in navy, slate blue and terracotta, and could they be 6 in (15 cm) thick? The client had children, so the workshop recommended velvet for durability and confirmed the 6 in by having it written in the personalization note, at no extra cost.

Then came the colors. Deep navy 131 with burnt terracotta 112 piping, and teal blue 129 with navy 131 piping. Notice the order of things, my friend: size first, thickness written down, color last. That is how a cushion gets made right the first time.

Sizes
2 cushions, 24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm), 6 in (15 cm) thick
Fabric
Velvet 131 with 112 piping; velvet 129 with 131 piping

The lesson: A non-standard thickness can be ordered by writing it in the personalization note.

What buyers ask about velvet benches

  1. A common question

    Does the piping run around the top and the bottom, or only the top?

    The workshop's answer

    Both. The piping goes all the way around the top and bottom edges, and both faces are the same fabric, so the cushion can be flipped.

  2. A common question

    Will a back cushion stand up by itself, or does it need a wall behind it?

    The workshop's answer

    It needs something to lean on. Backrests are not freestanding; they rest against a wall or the back of a cabinet, so the workshop sizes them to your wall or floor plan.

  3. A common question

    Why is a tufted cushion quoted higher than a plain foam one?

    The workshop's answer

    Because tufting is done fully by hand. For three dining bench cushions, the tufted quote came to roughly one and a half times the plain foam-filled one, and a tufted replacement floor cushion was likewise priced above the plain version.

Measure a landing bench at the back wall and again at the front edge. A seat boxed in by a wall and a balustrade can differ between the two.

Harlan
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On the cutting table

CushionBox-edge bench cushion cut to a landing seat
FabricPurple velvet, code 121
PipingSelf piping on the top and bottom edges
FacesSame velvet on both, so it can be flipped
FitTight to the balustrade slats and the stair riser
ThicknessAny non-standard thickness written in the personalization note
ToleranceAbout 1/2 to 1 in, handmade
Best forStair landings and reading nooks with a window

Order this cushion

Have it made

Have this made — ask Harlan’s workshop

Fabric has a temper and foam has a memory. Better to settle both in a conversation than to guess at them alone. — 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.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
Purple velvet, code 121
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
Self piping on the top and bottom edges
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

Want to pick the shape and add photos? Use the full quote form

Questions buyers ask next

Should a landing bench cushion hang over the front edge?

It can. An overhang of up to 2 in (5 cm) is common and does not hurt a high-density foam cushion. On a landing, though, people pass close on the stairs, so a flush front edge is often the kinder choice.

Is velvet a sensible fabric for a bench on the stairs?

Yes. The workshop has recommended velvet for durability in a home with children. Its pile catches light along the front edge, which suits a plain landing where the cushion is the one rich surface.

How close to my measurements will a handmade cushion come out?

Expect a handmade tolerance of about 1/2 to 1 in. Give the exact size of the seat and let the maker work its own allowance into the cut, rather than shaving an inch off yourself. There is more on size tolerance.

Can I order a thicker cushion than the size options show?

Yes. Write the thickness you want in the personalization note. A designer asked for 6 in (15 cm) on two 24 in square velvet cushions, and they were made that way at no extra cost.

Sit well. — Harlan