I am building an L-shaped arts and crafts-style quartersawn oak banquette in a corner of a kitchen. Each leg of the banquette is of equal length. The cushions are going to be fabricated by an upholsterer in a leather or leather-like material. I am to provide them with sheets of 3/8″ plywood-cut to size-for the fixed backs and the removable seat cushions. To this plywood, they will affix the foam, batting, fabric, cording, etc.
The client wants minimal separation between the cushions, but also wants to be able to lift the seat cushions off to access long-term storage below. If I provide two seat cushions, the question is how the cushions interface in the corner. I have gotten two different answers from two different upholsterers. 1) Make one cushion longer and have the other cushion butt it, making one straight separation seam, or 2) make each cushion equal in length with each cushion meeting the other at a 45 degree angle, making one angled separation seam. (I am torn because one option seems like it might look better, but the other option seems like it might be more practical. (I won’t say which is which-at this point(!), because I want to hear what you have to say!)
Anyone with any experience with this, suggestions, etc., please…
P.S. I am locked into the plywood-based cushion method.
Thanks.
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3) Make two rectangular cushions of equal size and a third square cushion for the corner.
That is definitely an option and I may ultimately chose it. The downside of it is that there would be two cracks between cushions into which flotsam will go. I'm trying to limit the number of cracks between the cushions to one; but, that may not be aesthetically pleasing or practical.
Thanks.
I like the mitered cusion best.
4) Make one large L-shaped cushion with a 45 degree joint (break in the foam with a seam, reinforce the material from the inside) in the corner - one cushion can be folded onto the other for access to storage, no openings between cushions means less accumulation of pennies and cookie crumbs in the storage below. Depending on the depth of the cushion you may want to also have a hinge in the plywood similar to a storm shutter hinge. Or if the cushions aren't too long (you don't say how long they are to be, but plywood gets heavy pretty fast) then you might be able to get away with a reinforced fabric hinge.