SaveA Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A sand corduroy corner floor cushion with no piping, and the palette that lets a canopy lead
Harlan lays the swatches of a small reading nook side by side, sand, sage, terracotta and cream, and explains why this quarter-round was left without a welt.
Swatch strip measured from the photograph
- sand#c1b8a425%
- umber#736b5424%
- camel#a09c8623%
- oatmeal#cfc6b618%
- linen#dedad111%
The quick answer
Leave the piping off a corner floor cushion when something else in the nook should lead. This sand corduroy quarter-round has a box edge and no welt, so the swagged sage canopy, terracotta star pillow and striped lumbar carry the color. Corduroy's wale already draws fine lines, and piping would add a hard outline the soft nook doesn't need.
The nook in five swatches
- Sand beige#CDB894The corduroy pad: neutral, so the canopy can lead.
- Sage green#9CAF88The swagged canopy and the leaves in the prints.
- Terracotta#C0673FThe star pillow, picking up the rust in the frames.
- Cream#EFE7D6The braided rug, the cloud pillow and the square pillow.
- Rust stripe#A4522FA narrow stripe on the lumbar, pattern kept at the back.
Why the welt stayed in the drawer
There are three answers to piping, my friend: self, contrast or none. Each draws a different line, and this nook needed the quietest one.
Self piping would have traced the curve in sand. Tidy enough, but corduroy already carries its own lines; the wale runs across the pad like fine rain. A corded edge on top of that is one line too many.
Contrast piping, say in terracotta, would have outlined the quarter-round and pulled the eye down to the floor. That is a fine move when the cushion is meant to be the star of the room. Here the star is the canopy.
No piping leaves a soft box edge that lets sand melt into the cream rug. The pad becomes a stage, and the sage canopy, swagged along the wall to widen the opening, becomes its curtain. Corduroy has a nap, the way velvet does, so every panel should be cut with it running the same way; then the pad keeps one even shade. Velvet remembers, and corduroy is its country cousin.
The pillows sit at the back, where pattern can't crowd the seat: a terracotta star, a narrow cream and rust striped lumbar, a white cloud, a cream square. The framed botanical and animal prints repeat sage and rust, so the corner reads as one palette. The wooden toy camera, the stacking toy and the open picture book tell you who does the reading here, and the fairy lights in the canopy do the rest.
If your canopy or curtains are colored, keep the floor pad sand or oat. For the choice in full, read matching, contrast or no piping; for the cloth, see corduroy and the Pattern on wale and nap direction; for more quarter-rounds, corner floor cushions.
Pinned by Harlan: sand, sage and terracotta
Five pins through the nook, from the sand cord pad to the botanical frames that repeat its palette.
- Sand cord pad
A neutral sand tone lets the colored canopy lead.
- Swagged sage canopy
One side is pulled along the wall to widen the opening into a stage.
- Terracotta star
Warm accent that picks up the rust in the prints.
- Striped lumbar
A narrow stripe adds pattern at the back without crowding the seat.
- Botanical prints
Sage and rust in the frames repeat the nook palette.
- Sand cord padA neutral sand tone lets the colored canopy lead.
- Swagged sage canopyOne side is pulled along the wall to widen the opening into a stage.
- Terracotta starWarm accent that picks up the rust in the prints.
- Striped lumbarA narrow stripe adds pattern at the back without crowding the seat.
- Botanical printsSage and rust in the frames repeat the nook palette.
Eighty-four by ninety-two, in two pieces
A buyer in the US wanted one giant tufted French floor cushion to fill a nook wall to wall, 84 x 92 in (213 x 234 cm), with three low lumbar pillows along the back and a thickness of 4 to 5 in (10 to 13 cm).
After payment the workshop found it could not be made as a single piece at that size. The workshop agreed on two cushions of 42 x 92 in (107 x 234 cm), one in front and one behind, so the seam runs where it shows least. The finished pieces were 4 in (10 cm) thick, in velvet color 03, picked from photos.
I'll own the rest of it. We had underquoted, and the shop asked for a little more. The buyer paid only after seeing photos and video of the finished cushions, and I don't blame them. Plan the seam line with the buyer before the quote, not after.
Buyer questions: backrests, bars and a box that won't fit
- A common question
Can the backrest be as wide as the seat mattress?
The workshop's answerIt can, but the standard backrest is 16 in (41 cm) high. Making it the same size as the seat means buying two full mattresses, so the price rises; on one 30 x 73 in (76 x 185 cm) set the difference was noticeable.
- A common question
The metal support bars won't go together. What am I doing wrong?
The workshop's answerTwist and push. A metal insert inside grips the joint, and small dots click into holes. If a joint is stiff, click it in and out with the corner piece a few times to loosen it; the shop also sends a setup video. Bars that look oxidized on arrival can be wiped clean, and one buyer was sent a new set.
- A common question
I haven't opened my floor sofa, but it won't work in the room. How do returns work?
The workshop's answerFor a change of mind, the buyer arranges the return and pays the return shipping. The shop gave that buyer a return address in the US.
On the cutting table: the sand cord nook
| Cushion | Quarter-round corner floor cushion, box edge |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Corduroy, sand beige |
| Piping | None |
| Pillows | Terracotta star, cream and rust striped lumbar, white cloud, cream square |
| Canopy | Sage green, swagged along one wall, with fairy lights |
| Rug | Round cream braided |
| Standard backrest height | 16 in (41 cm) on floor cushion sets |
| Best for | Reading nooks and kids' corners under a colored canopy |
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.
Skip the piping on a corduroy floor cushion when a colored canopy should lead; the wale already draws enough lines.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
When should a cushion have no piping at all?
When something else in the room should lead, or when the fabric already has lines of its own. On this sand corduroy pad the wale draws fine stripes and the sage canopy carries the color, so a plain box edge keeps the nook soft.
What color floor cushion goes under a colored canopy?
A neutral one. Sand, oat or cream lets the canopy lead instead of competing with it. Put the warmer accents, like a terracotta or striped pillow, at the back of the nook where they won't crowd the seat.
Why do very large floor cushions come in two pieces?
Past a certain size a single piece can't be made or handled well. An 84 x 92 in nook cushion was split into two 42 x 92 in pieces, front and back, so the seam fell where it shows least.
Sit well. — Harlan
