A Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A red gingham corner floor cushion against blue-gray walls, month by month
Red checks and cool paint have kept each other honest in country kitchens for generations. This corner shows why, and how it will look in January and again in July.
The quick answer
A red gingham corner floor cushion stays cheerful all year against blue-gray walls, because the cool paint calms the red and the red warms the paint. Order any backrest together with the seat so both come from one dye lot, and pair the check with a larger-scale stripe rather than a second check.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
SaveWhat the corner says in cool daylight
A square corner, a box-edged seat in red and white gingham, self piping so the checks run right to the edge without a contrasting line. Two gingham pillows lean into the corner at an angle, and that angle is the comfort: you sit back into the join of the walls instead of against one flat wall.
The walls are blue-gray, and they do the quiet work. A cool color beside red keeps the red from shouting; red beside a cool color keeps the room from going cold. Behind glass, a cabinet of blue and white china ties the checks back to the paint. A round brass mirror adds a third color, a warm metal one, and throws light into the corner. Underfoot, a black and white striped rug brings in a second pattern at a bigger scale. A leafy ficus in a white pot and a black tray table finish the picture.
Gingham is a plain cloth with an honest face. It never pretends to be anything but glad to see you. More seats like it live under corner floor cushions, and the cloth itself under checked linen and gingham.
Where the colors trade favors
Five places in the photograph where one color does a kindness for another.
- Red gingham seat
The cool wall calms the red, and the red warms the wall.
- Angled backrest pillow
Pillows angled into the corner give a comfortable reclined position.
- Brass round mirror
A warm metal frame adds a third color and bounces light into the corner.
- Glass cabinet of china
Blue and white china behind glass ties the red check back to the blue walls.
- Striped rug
A larger-scale stripe underfoot is a safer partner for a check than another check.
- Red gingham seatThe cool wall calms the red, and the red warms the wall.
- Angled backrest pillowPillows angled into the corner give a comfortable reclined position.
- Brass round mirrorA warm metal frame adds a third color and bounces light into the corner.
- Glass cabinet of chinaBlue and white china behind glass ties the red check back to the blue walls.
- Striped rugA larger-scale stripe underfoot is a safer partner for a check than another check.
Twelve months in one corner
January. Low sun and short days. The red check is the warmest thing in the room, and the brass mirror catches what little light there is. This is the season the corner earns its keep.
April. Windows cracked open, light turning whiter. The blue-gray wall starts to lead, and the red reads crisper, more picnic than fireside.
July. Long, bright days. Gingham in strong light looks clean rather than heavy, and the striped rug keeps the floor from feeling busy.
October. Evenings come back early. Lamps go on sooner, the blue-gray deepens, and the red warms up again.
The cushion never changes; the room turns around it. Buy the cushion once, cry once: choose a color that still works in the worst light of the year, and the other eleven months take care of themselves. What does your corner look like at four o'clock in January, my friend? For floor seating near where people eat, see kitchen nook cushions.
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.
Sit well. — Harlan
