SaveA Reading by HarlanCorner Floor Cushions & Poufs
A teal corduroy corner floor cushion that remade a kids' corner
Harlan reads a bare white corner that found its purpose the day a teal quarter-circle went down under the canopy.
A saturated teal base under a paler mint canopy makes a two-step color gradient that keeps the corner fresh.
The quick answer
Plan a kids' corner makeover around the corner floor cushion and let everything else take its color from it. Here a deep teal corduroy quarter-circle sits under a mint canopy two shades paler, with only two pale pillows and a knit throw. The pattern stays the same in any fabric; one buyer's green corduroy version measured 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm).
Before the cushion, the canopy had nowhere to land
A quarter-circle floor cushion 46 in (117 cm) along each wall will turn a dead corner into the seat every child in the house argues over.
Think about what this corner was before. A white wall, another white wall, one framed pastel print and a mint tulle canopy hanging over bare floor. Pretty enough. But a canopy with nothing under it is a porch with no chair on it.
Then the teal went down. One deep corduroy corner floor cushion, and the room changed its mind about that corner. The canopy had something to shelter. The fairy lights had something to fall on. The picture book had a lap waiting for it.
That is the makeover thinking I would pass on to you, my friend. Do not start with the canopy or the rug. Start with the cushion, because it is the only piece anybody sits on, and let the rest take its color from it. Buy the cushion once, cry once.
Pinned by Harlan
Five pins on this corner, from the teal gusset up to the mint canopy and back down to the braided rug.
- Teal corduroy gusset
A deeper shade on the cushion grounds a color that would look washed out if it were pale.
- Mint tulle canopy
The canopy is a few shades lighter than the cushion, so the two read as one color family.
- Knit throw over the edge
Letting a throw spill over the gusset breaks the hard curve and makes the nook look lived in.
- White cloud pillow
White on teal is the strongest contrast in the frame and pulls the eye up.
- Blue braided rug
Blue rings in the rug tie the floor to the cushion without repeating the exact color.
- Teal corduroy gussetA deeper shade on the cushion grounds a color that would look washed out if it were pale.
- Mint tulle canopyThe canopy is a few shades lighter than the cushion, so the two read as one color family.
- Knit throw over the edgeLetting a throw spill over the gusset breaks the hard curve and makes the nook look lived in.
- White cloud pillowWhite on teal is the strongest contrast in the frame and pulls the eye up.
- Blue braided rugBlue rings in the rug tie the floor to the cushion without repeating the exact color.
Two steps of one color, and every prop earning its keep
The teal is the deep step and the mint canopy is the pale step of the same hue. Your eye climbs from floor to ceiling without a break. Had the cushion been as pale as the tulle, the fresh morning light in that white room would have washed the pair into one tired color.
Corduroy was a sound choice for a child's corner. The ribs hold a color deep and catch the light a little differently along each wale, so a plain box reads rich without any piping. There is no welt here at all. The long curved gusset is left clean and the cloth does the talking. The Pattern on corduroy wale and nap is worth ten minutes before you choose.
Now the props, one at a time: - Cream star and white cloud pillows. Only two, set to the back, so most of the teal top stays free to sit on. The white cloud is the brightest thing in the frame and lifts your eye. - Oatmeal knit throw. Spilled over the right edge to break that long hard curve. It makes the nook look used, which is the whole point. - Blue and cream braided rug. Its blue rings carry the cushion's color down to the floor without repeating it exactly. - Open picture book and wooden blocks. They tell you who this seat belongs to. - Framed pastel print. One piece of art keeps the white wall from feeling bare. - String lights trailing on the floor. Lovely at bedtime. I would tuck the loose end up and out of the way of small feet.
What would your child's corner look like if you chose the cushion first?
A corduroy swap on a shape the buyer already liked
One buyer wrote in about the quarter-circle corner cushion. They liked the shape, but the listing showed it in velvet and linen, and they wanted corduroy. Could it be done?
It could. The workshop cut a 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm) corner cushion in green corduroy and told the buyer to pick any green shown on the listing and note the fabric with the order. The pattern did not change. Only the cloth did.
Keep that in your pocket. If you have found a shape that fits your corner, ask about the fabric before you give up on it. The corduroy swatch family is a good place to start, and the gallery here shows the same corner in sage, dusty pink, oatmeal, navy and sand. For sizing, the quarter-circle measuring Pattern comes first; for the rest of the room, see kids' room cushions.
On the cutting table
| Piece | Quarter-circle corner floor cushion |
|---|---|
| Size in the past order | 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm) along the two walls |
| Fabric | Deep teal corduroy |
| Edge | Box edge with a long curved gusset |
| Piping | None; the corduroy ribs carry the line |
| Pillows | Cream star and white cloud, kept to two |
| Softener | Oatmeal knit throw over the right edge |
| Makeover order | Cushion color first, canopy second, rug last |
| Best for | Kids' rooms and canopy reading corners |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Harlan’s workshop
The best cushions I have known began with somebody asking one more question. Ask yours here. — 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.
Buyer questions: washing, a torn cover and the price question
- A common question
Do the covers come off for washing, and can the non-slip bottom go in the machine too?
The workshop's answerThe top covers are removable and machine washable. Leave the non-slip bottom section out of the wash. Dry the covers on a low or medium dryer setting, never high, or let them dry in the sun.
- A common question
One cover arrived torn at a seam. Do I have to send back the whole set?
The workshop's answerNot in past cases, my friend. Photograph the torn seam the day the box opens and tell the workshop which piece it is. For one frayed daybed cover, the buyer was offered either a free new cover or a partial refund, whichever they preferred.
- A common question
The same set costs less on your own website than on the marketplace. Will you match it?
The workshop's answerThe marketplace price can't come down, because marketplace commissions are built into it. What the workshop can do is cancel the marketplace order so you can buy on the website instead, and one buyer received a partial refund of part of the difference.
Pick the corner floor cushion's color first, then hang the canopy two shades paler; a pale cushion under a pale canopy washes out by noon.
Harlan
Questions buyers ask next
How do I size a corner floor cushion?
Measure each wall from the corner out to where you want the curve to end; the quarter-circle is sized by those two lengths. A past corduroy one was 46 x 46 in (117 x 117 cm). Leave walking room past the curve.
Can a corner floor cushion be made in a fabric the listing doesn't show for that shape?
Often, yes. Ask before ordering. One buyer wanted corduroy on a shape listed in velvet and linen, and the workshop made it in green corduroy. The pattern stays the same; only the cloth changes.
Why pair a teal cushion with a mint canopy instead of matching them?
Two steps of one hue, one deep and one pale, let the eye travel from floor to ceiling without a break. Matching pale on pale tends to wash out in bright morning light, while the deeper cushion grounds the corner.
Does a corduroy floor cushion need piping?
Not necessarily. Corduroy ribs already give the surface a strong line, so a plain box edge reads finished on its own. The teal cushion here has no welt at all, and its long curved gusset stays clean.
Sit well. — Harlan
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