A Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A raspberry and pink stripe corner floor cushion, read from a workshop notebook
A white room, a dark concrete floor and one loud seat. I read it with a notebook open, because on a striped cushion the finishing tells you more than the color does.
SaveThe quick answer
A striped corner floor cushion looks properly finished when its self piping follows the curved front and the top and side stripes meet on one clean line. Before you order from a photograph, ask the size of the cushion in it: pictured corner seats run 40 x 40 in (102 cm) and 46 x 46 in (117 cm) along the walls.
Notebook, page one: the edge before the color
Fifty-some years at the bench, and I still read a seat the same way: edges first, color last.
This is a corner floor cushion, a quarter-round with a box edge, sitting low on dark polished concrete. That dark floor is a hard judge. It shows every inch of the curved base, and the curve is where a maker's hand gets tested.
Look at the front edge. The piping is cut from the same stripe, what the trade calls self piping, and it rides the curve without a pucker. Where the top panel meets the side band, the stripes land on one line. That does not happen by luck. A seam is a promise.
Two flanged backrest pillows in the same stripe lean on the white walls. The flange, a flat border of cloth around the filled part, gives each back a crisp outline against plaster, so they read as tailored rather than slumped.
Sizes worth writing down
Every number here came out of a buyer's question. Inches first; centimeters for the cutting table.
| Piece | Size | Where the number came from |
|---|---|---|
| Round tufted sample in a photo | 24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm) | A parent sizing a reading nook |
| Round cushion ordered | 30 in (76 cm) across | The same nook, after seeing the sample size |
| Corner floor cushion, smoke gray photo | 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm) | A buyer asking what the photos show |
| Corner floor cushion, emerald photo | 40 x 40 in (102 x 102 cm) | The same question |
| Large corner cushion | 60 in (152 cm), 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) thick | A request for the thickest possible seat |
| Closed-corner floor sectional, overall | 118 x 79 x 14 in (300 x 200 x 35 cm) | A buyer checking the pieces |
| Floor seat piece (four in the set) | 78 x 39 x 6.5 in (200 x 100 x 17 cm) | The same sectional |
| L-shaped backrest (three in the set) | 39 x 39 x 15 in (100 x 100 x 39 cm) | The same sectional |
| Straight backrest (one in the set) | 39 x 15 x 15 in (100 x 39 x 39 cm) | The same sectional |
Corner seats are measured along the two walls. The curve is drawn from those two numbers, never measured on its own.
Five pencil marks on the photograph
Five places I marked, from the green canvas down to the striped rug.
- Abstract green canvas
Sage green is the complement to pink, so the art cools the stripe down.
- Pink and red stripe
Two tones from one color family make a bold stripe that still feels soft.
- White tray table
A slim white table disappears against the wall and keeps focus on the seat.
- Red-striped rug
The rug repeats the red in a thinner stripe so the pattern echoes without matching.
- Piped front edge
Self piping follows the curve so top and side stripes meet on a clean line.
- Abstract green canvasSage green is the complement to pink, so the art cools the stripe down.
- Pink and red stripeTwo tones from one color family make a bold stripe that still feels soft.
- White tray tableA slim white table disappears against the wall and keeps focus on the seat.
- Red-striped rugThe rug repeats the red in a thinner stripe so the pattern echoes without matching.
- Piped front edgeSelf piping follows the curve so top and side stripes meet on a clean line.
Why the rest of the room keeps quiet
Cool gallery light is hard on red. Pure red on white makes the eye flinch. Two tones from one family, raspberry and candy pink, give the punch without the jolt.
The only other large color is the sage of the abstract canvas. Sage sits across the color wheel from pink, so it cools the stripe and makes the pink look richer. The slim white tray table all but vanishes against the wall and keeps the eye on the seat. The cream rug carries a thinner red stripe, an echo and not a match. One small potted plant adds a living thing, and that is all.
Here is what I would copy, my friend, for a plain modern living room: one saturated stripe, one complementary picture, and nothing else in color. The striped cotton and ticking family has plenty of candidates, and the quarter-circle sizing Pattern has the numbers. What color is the largest picture on your wall?
The 24-inch sample that settled a 30-inch order
A parent in the US wrote to the workshop about a reading nook for a daughter. The plan was a round, tufted, French-style floor cushion in salmon, 30 in (76 cm) across. First, though, came a sensible question: how big is the round cushion in the photo?
It was 24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm). With that one number the parent could picture the sample on their own floor, and they chose the larger 30 in size with confidence instead of a guess.
A photograph without a size is only half a picture. Ask for the size of the sample, then lay a tape on your own floor.
- Sizes
- 30 in (76 cm) round; the photo sample was 24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm)
The lesson: Ask the size of the pictured sample so you can judge scale before you order.
Three floor cushion questions
- A common question
What size are the corner floor cushions in your photos, and how thick can a big one be made?
The workshop's answerThe smoke-gray one in the photos is 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm) and the emerald green one is 40 x 40 in (102 x 102 cm). A 60 in (152 cm) corner cushion made 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) thick has also been quoted.
- A common question
I was about to go measure it myself: how big is the closed-corner sectional floor sofa, piece by piece?
The workshop's answerOverall it is 118 x 79 x 14 in (300 x 200 x 35 cm). It has four floor seat cushions at 78 x 39 x 6.5 in (200 x 100 x 17 cm), three L-shaped backrests at 39 x 39 x 15 in (100 x 100 x 39 cm) and one straight backrest at 39 x 15 x 15 in (100 x 39 x 39 cm). A matching ottoman is available too.
- A common question
If I buy three floor sofas at once, what is the best you can do?
The workshop's answerThree teddy floor sofas shipped to one address were quoted together at a bundle price, and a sofa ordered with a bean bag and ottoman was priced as a set as well. Ask for one combined quote before you check out.
The corner seat, line by line
| Cushion | Quarter-round corner floor cushion, box edge |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Striped cotton in raspberry and candy pink |
| Piping | Self piping cut from the stripe, following the curve |
| Backs | Two flanged backrest pillows in the same stripe |
| Sizing | Two straight sides along the walls; the curve follows |
| Sizes in photos | 40 x 40 in (102 x 102 cm) and 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm) |
| Thicker option | A 60 in (152 cm) seat was quoted 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) thick |
| Best for | Low seating in a plain modern living room |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Harlan’s workshop
Old upholsterers will tell you the real cutting happens in the conversation, long before the shears come out. Tell the workshop what you sit on, and they will talk it through with you. — 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.
A corner floor cushion is sized by its two straight sides along the walls. Pictured corner seats run 40 x 40 in and 46 x 46 in, so ask which one you are looking at.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
How do I measure a room corner for a quarter-round floor cushion?
Measure the two straight sides along the walls, from the corner outward. Those two numbers set the curve, so the arc never needs measuring. Pictured corner seats run 40 x 40 in (102 cm) and 46 x 46 in (117 cm).
Does a bold stripe work in a minimal white room?
Yes, when it is the only strong pattern. A tonal stripe, two shades of one color like raspberry and pink, gives punch without the glare of pure red on white. Add one complementary color, like the sage canvas here, and keep everything else neutral.
Can a corner floor cushion be made extra thick?
Yes. One buyer asked for a 60 in (152 cm) corner cushion 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) thick and received a quote for it. A thicker seat sits higher off the floor, so check it against the backrest pillows you plan to lean on.
What is a flanged pillow, and why use one on a floor seat?
A flanged pillow has a flat border of fabric stitched around the filled center. Against a wall it keeps a crisp outline instead of slumping, and with a busy stripe the border frames the pattern like a mat around a picture.
Sit well. — Harlan
Corner seats and stripe charts from the same shelf
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
