---
title: "Window Seat Cushion in Red and White Stripe: A Real Project"
url: "https://cushionguide.com/readings/red-white-stripe-window-seat-sunlit-arch/"
section: "Readings"
author: "Élodie Marchand, The Colorist of New Orleans"
author_url: "https://cushionguide.com/masters/elodie/"
published: "2026-01-13"
updated: "2026-02-20"
keywords: "window seat cushion, custom window seat cushion, striped bench cushion, bench cushion indoor, made to measure cushion, bench seat cushion"
---

# A red and white striped window seat, from question to result

*Afternoon sun, a white arch, a terracotta floor and a stripe in true poppy red. I read it the way I read a painting, then I tell you how one buyer's own striped seat came to be.*

> **The quick answer:** A custom window seat cushion in a striped fabric can be made longer than the standard sizes: one buyer's 94 3/4 x 16 x 3 in seat was given its own custom size option. To keep the piping in the stripe, write the stripe's fabric code for the piping too. Ask for fabric and piping photographed side by side first.

![Red and white striped window seat cushion on a white paneled bench in an arched alcove with a trailing plant](https://cushionguide.com/media/window-seat-cushions/red-white-stripe-window-seat-sunlit-arch-1600.webp "A crisp red stripe brings café energy to a white arched window seat above terracotta tiles.")

## The plate: poppy red in afternoon gold

Red stripes run from a calm burgundy to a bright true red, and this window seat cushion sits at the bright end: poppy and white, box-edged, about 4 in thick, ending square to the wall at both sides of an arched alcove. Let one color speak and the others listen. Here the red speaks, and everything else in the frame has agreed to be quiet.

The white paneled base gives it a clean ground. Sheer linen curtains soften the golden afternoon so the white stripe stays white instead of drifting to cream. Then the warm family arrives: terracotta tiles underfoot, a terracotta pot on its saucer with a trailing plant on the sill. Terracotta takes the edge off a bright red; it turns a shout into a warm conversation. Beyond the glass, a rattan chair on the terrace carries the café feeling of the stripe outdoors.

The piping is cut from the stripe itself, so the edge reads as part of the pattern rather than an outline drawn around it. On a seat this graphic, a solid welt would frame it like a sticker.

## Where the light lands

Five places where red, terracotta and white are talking to each other.

1. **rattan chair outside**: The rattan chair beyond the glass carries the café feel of the red stripe outdoors.
2. **terracotta pot**: Terracotta softens bright red into a warm family.
3. **red stripe box edge**: A firm 4 in box ends square to the wall at both sides.
4. **paneled base**: White paneling lets a bright red carry the room on its own.
5. **terracotta floor**: Tile and pot repeat the warm tone at floor and sill level.

## A 94 3/4 in striped window seat: question, choices, result

**The question.** A buyer in the US had a long window seat and a photo of a beige stripe they loved: 94 3/4 in long, 16 in deep, 3 in thick. The longest 16-in-deep option on the menu stopped at 84 in.

**The choices.** Rather than ask them to give up nearly 11 in, the workshop added a custom size option. Then the piping. The buyer did not want a solid welt; they wanted the edge to continue in the stripe. The instruction was simple: write "piping same color N02," the stripe's own code. And the foam? They asked, and heard the plain truth: 32-density foam is firm and does not sag. It is not memory foam.

**The result.** A long, firm, self-piped striped seat, ready to order at its true length.

## What buyers ask before a stripe is cut

**A common question:** Could you photograph the cushion fabric and the piping fabric side by side for me?

**The workshop's answer:** Yes. The workshop photographs fabric pairs side by side so you can judge them together, for example one linen next to four different velvets, or a print next to a trim color. Ask for as many combinations as you need before you order.

**A common question:** My bay seat is a trapezoid with clipped corners. What exactly should I measure?

**The workshop's answer:** Every edge: front, back, both sides, any small clipped-corner edges, and the depth, measured straight from the highest point down to the base line. If the numbers don't add up, the workshop works out the depth from the sides and asks you to confirm; an 86 in top, 126 in bottom and 26 1/2 in sides gave about 17.4 in. Mark cut-outs, such as a window handle, on the drawing too.

**A common question:** Are both slanted sides of a trapezoid cushion always the same? What if my numbers don't add up?

**The workshop's answer:** Measure both sides; they can differ. Before cutting, the workshop checks that front, back, depth and sides close geometrically: a 68 in long edge, a 40 in short edge and 17 1/4 in depth give slants of about 22 1/4 in, so a 21 in side flags an error and you are asked to re-measure. If posts or moldings made you measure around them, say so, and a template drawing comes back for approval.

## Choosing your own red

Stripes are a family, my friends, and red has cousins. The bright true red in this photograph carries a room alone and wants nothing else on the seat: no pillows, no throw. In a busier room, with pattern on the rug or books on every shelf, I would reach for the darker burgundy end instead. It reads calmer and cozier, and it forgives more.

Whichever red you choose, see it beside its piping before anything is cut. Ask for both fabrics photographed side by side, then look again in your own window light at noon and near sunset. Stripes also have a direction to decide, front to back or along the seat, and [stripe direction](https://cushionguide.com/guides/striped-cushion-stripe-direction/) walks through it. The whole family lives in [striped cotton and ticking](https://cushionguide.com/fabrics/striped-cotton-and-ticking/), and more alcoves wait among the [window seat cushions](https://cushionguide.com/cushions/window-seat-cushions/).

> If a room already has pattern on the rug, choose a burgundy stripe over a bright red one for the window seat cushion; bright red wants the room to itself.
>
> — Élodie

> **Tailor's margin:** For striped piping, write “piping same color” plus the stripe's fabric code in the order. Leave the code out and you may get a solid welt.

## On the cutting table: the red stripe window seat

|   |   |
|---|---|
| Cushion | Window seat box cushion, square to the wall at both ends |
| Fabric | Red and white striped cotton |
| Piping | Self piping cut from the stripe |
| Thickness | About 4 in (10 cm), firm |
| Foam | 32-density foam: firm, non-sagging, not memory foam |
| Long seats | Custom size option beyond the standard menu |
| Care | Zippered cover, gentle wash at 86°F (30°C) |
| Best for | Arched windows, sunny alcoves, rooms with terracotta or warm wood |

## Questions buyers ask next

### Why does a red stripe look different in the late afternoon?

Low, warm sun pushes red toward coral and turns a white stripe creamy; sheer curtains soften the shift. Judge a red stripe in your own window light at more than one hour before you commit to it.

### Can a window seat cushion be longer than the sizes offered?

Yes. When a 94 3/4 in seat was longer than the longest 16-in-deep option of 84 in, the workshop added a custom size so the cushion could be ordered at its true length.

### Is 32-density foam the same thing as memory foam?

No. 32-density foam is a firm, high-density foam that holds its shape and does not sag. Memory foam is a different material that slowly molds to your body, and it is not what goes into these seat cushions.

## Related at the atelier

- [Ticking Stripe Window Seat Cushion: How the Cloth Feels and Wears](https://cushionguide.com/readings/black-piped-ticking-stripe-scandi-window-seat/): A ticking stripe window seat cushion in woven striped cotton feels cool, dry and faintly ridged under the hand, and its zippered cover comes off to wash on a gentle 86°F (30°C) cycle, then air dry.
- [Window Seat Cushion in Black Pinstripe: Sea Light and Shiplap](https://cushionguide.com/readings/black-pinstripe-shiplap-window-seat-coastal/): A black pinstripe window seat cushion holds a crisp line in bright coastal light, where a navy stripe would shift with every hour.
- [Green Ticking Window Seat Cushion Beside a Fiddle-Leaf Fig](https://cushionguide.com/readings/green-ticking-window-seat-fiddle-leaf-fig/): On a window seat cushion that sits on a drawer base, put the zipper on the back edge facing the wall, so the room sees only stripe and piping.
- [Cloud Dancer on a bench: off-white cushions that survive real life](https://cushionguide.com/concepts/cloud-dancer-off-white-cushions/): For an off white bench cushion, choose a warm cream linen over a stark white unless your room is cool and bright.
- [Which way will the stripes run on my bench cushion, and can I choose?](https://cushionguide.com/answers/stripe-direction-bench-cushion/): On a bench cushion, stripes run front to back across the depth by default, crossing the short side of the seat.
- [Custom cushions for Maltese balconies, roof terraces and townhouses](https://cushionguide.com/places/custom-cushions-malta/): Custom cushions in Malta do three jobs: a slim window seat inside the enclosed wooden gallarija, sun-safe cushions for the flat roof terrace, and courtyard seats in old limestone farmhouses.
- [Choosing cushion fabric: seven families compared for real homes](https://cushionguide.com/guides/cushion-fabric-types-compared/)
- [How to order a custom cushion size that isn't in the size menu](https://cushionguide.com/guides/custom-size-cushion-not-on-menu/)

*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/red-white-stripe-window-seat-sunlit-arch/