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A Furry White Bed Sounds Like Maintenance Troub...
When we first saw Notion of W's render for our client's bedroom, we thought it was intriguing. But nothing beats seeing the space in real life. The designer covered one of the walls in plaster, hand-raked into diagonal ripples, running from floor to ceiling. He then layered the wall with another feature panel on the right in a gentle serpentine curve that would also house a light strip giving the room a gentle ambience in the evening. With so much going on, the bed frame had to take a back seat. Why white, and why furry Notion of W wanted the bed to sit quietly against the cream plaster. A simple white, neutral fabric would have been the obvious choice. But he chose a heavy chenille with a deeply textured pile instead. The designer liked that the fabric's texture kind of repeats the wall's patterns, just at a much smaller scale. The client's question: how do you maintain it? The client didn't object but asked how anyone keeps a white, fuzzy bed clean in Singapore. It's a common worry: under a Singapore couple's Lemon8 post about their bouclé bed frame, one of the first comments asked whether the fabric was hard to clean. Dust and hair is easy, says the owners of upholstered headboards who vacuums regularly. Oil is harder. An Apartment Therapy reader found her partner's hair had stained their headboard to a point where it's past rescuing. Bearing this in mind, we suggested making the fabric removable for easier cleaning. The headboard: a removable cover with velcro The headboard hangs on a wall cleat and is built in two layers, 11 cm thick in total. The layer facing the front is padded, the back of this layer is covered in velcro receptive fabric that the velcro on the slip cover grips. The layer at the back is shorter, narrower where a wall cleat is attached to. The bed base: a Cove with its own cover For the base, the client chose our Cove bed base: a solid kapur wood frame with a padded surround that holds the mattress and keeps the sheets tucked tidily inside a frame. Our client's king sized mattress sits on the Cove bed base which comes in two elements so that we can fit it into the client's lift. At site, we pull the bed base's slip cover over the two units. You don't have to remove the mattress to take out the slip cover. The spare set The client also ordered a second set of covers for the headboard and the base. One set stays on the bed while the other is in the wash and drying. Any stain accidents mean a cover swap rather than a panic. Living with a white fabric bed in Singapore Vacuum the headboard and bed base once a month with a soft brush. If your bed comes with a slip cover: Remove the covers gently so you don’t stretch or tear the fabric or zips. Machine wash cold, at 30°C or below Use a low spin setting Rack dry the covers on a sunny day Do not tumble dry. The heat can shrink the covers and they may no longer fit. Run a fan for part of the day to keep the room dry When it’s time to put the slip covers back on, it’s easier with two people, so you may want a family member to give you a hand. Faqs Is a fabric bed frame easy to maintain in Singapore? Yes, especially those designed with removable covers. Consider buying a second set of covers to keep your bed covered while the other is in the laundry. What's the difference between chenille and bouclé? Bouclé is woven from looped yarn and has tight curls. Chenille has a soft, fuzzy pile with a slight sheen, and heavy versions like the one used in this project are often mistaken for bouclé. Can I get removable covers on a custom bed frame? Yes. Here, the headboard cover fastens with velcro and the Cove bed base has its own slip cover. Can you build a bed frame around a mattress I already own? Yes. We measure the mattress itself, since many come in slightly under their labelled size. What bed suits a heavily textured feature wall? A simple shape, in a fabric that echoes the wall's texture at a smaller scale.We have over 10,000 upholstery colours and textures to choose from for your custom bed project. If you have a specific requirement, DM us at +65 8750 6522
A Furry White Bed Sounds Like Maintenance Troub...
When we first saw Notion of W's render for our client's bedroom, we thought it was intriguing. But nothing beats seeing the space in real life. The designer covered one of the walls in plaster, hand-raked into diagonal ripples, running from floor to ceiling. He then layered the wall with another feature panel on the right in a gentle serpentine curve that would also house a light strip giving the room a gentle ambience in the evening. With so much going on, the bed frame had to take a back seat. Why white, and why furry Notion of W wanted the bed to sit quietly against the cream plaster. A simple white, neutral fabric would have been the obvious choice. But he chose a heavy chenille with a deeply textured pile instead. The designer liked that the fabric's texture kind of repeats the wall's patterns, just at a much smaller scale. The client's question: how do you maintain it? The client didn't object but asked how anyone keeps a white, fuzzy bed clean in Singapore. It's a common worry: under a Singapore couple's Lemon8 post about their bouclé bed frame, one of the first comments asked whether the fabric was hard to clean. Dust and hair is easy, says the owners of upholstered headboards who vacuums regularly. Oil is harder. An Apartment Therapy reader found her partner's hair had stained their headboard to a point where it's past rescuing. Bearing this in mind, we suggested making the fabric removable for easier cleaning. The headboard: a removable cover with velcro The headboard hangs on a wall cleat and is built in two layers, 11 cm thick in total. The layer facing the front is padded, the back of this layer is covered in velcro receptive fabric that the velcro on the slip cover grips. The layer at the back is shorter, narrower where a wall cleat is attached to. The bed base: a Cove with its own cover For the base, the client chose our Cove bed base: a solid kapur wood frame with a padded surround that holds the mattress and keeps the sheets tucked tidily inside a frame. Our client's king sized mattress sits on the Cove bed base which comes in two elements so that we can fit it into the client's lift. At site, we pull the bed base's slip cover over the two units. You don't have to remove the mattress to take out the slip cover. The spare set The client also ordered a second set of covers for the headboard and the base. One set stays on the bed while the other is in the wash and drying. Any stain accidents mean a cover swap rather than a panic. Living with a white fabric bed in Singapore Vacuum the headboard and bed base once a month with a soft brush. If your bed comes with a slip cover: Remove the covers gently so you don’t stretch or tear the fabric or zips. Machine wash cold, at 30°C or below Use a low spin setting Rack dry the covers on a sunny day Do not tumble dry. The heat can shrink the covers and they may no longer fit. Run a fan for part of the day to keep the room dry When it’s time to put the slip covers back on, it’s easier with two people, so you may want a family member to give you a hand. Faqs Is a fabric bed frame easy to maintain in Singapore? Yes, especially those designed with removable covers. Consider buying a second set of covers to keep your bed covered while the other is in the laundry. What's the difference between chenille and bouclé? Bouclé is woven from looped yarn and has tight curls. Chenille has a soft, fuzzy pile with a slight sheen, and heavy versions like the one used in this project are often mistaken for bouclé. Can I get removable covers on a custom bed frame? Yes. Here, the headboard cover fastens with velcro and the Cove bed base has its own slip cover. Can you build a bed frame around a mattress I already own? Yes. We measure the mattress itself, since many come in slightly under their labelled size. What bed suits a heavily textured feature wall? A simple shape, in a fabric that echoes the wall's texture at a smaller scale.We have over 10,000 upholstery colours and textures to choose from for your custom bed project. If you have a specific requirement, DM us at +65 8750 6522
Our biggest curved sofa started on a living roo...
At 450 cm wide and about 200 cm deep, this island sofa is the largest curved piece we have ever made. And before any material was ordered or built, this beast existed as a sheet of upholstery fabric, cut to 1:1 scale and laid out on the second floor of a landed house in Singapore so that the interior designer who commissioned the sofa, Notion of W, can have a feel of it. A drawing isn't good enough A detailed drawing tells our factory how much wood to cut, but it says little about how a curve will look and feel in an actual room. There's also a lot of subjectivity when it comes to a freeform curve. Case in point: In our first draft, our gentle curve was just not curved enough for Notion of W. The first template didn't pass the mark Scale is also hard to judge from paper as well. On paper, everything can seem fine but in real life, sofas can seem too big/ too small. We are also mindful about getting things right from the get-go as a made-to-measure sofa is not returnable. How the fabric template worked We almost always cut our furniture templates from our excess upholstery fabric. Fabric is light, rolls up easily and lays flat on the floor. The fabric template also helps our upholsterer plan where each panel will be cut and where the seams will fall. The process: We plan and cut a 1:1 scale template on leftover upholstery Lay it where the sofa will stand and review it on site with the interior designer. Mark the changes, recut and review again. Send the approved template to the factory, which builds the frame according to its outline. Use the same template to plan the cut on the client's chosen upholstery While reviewing our first draft, the team at Notion of W asked for bigger, more obvious curves so the dip in the middle and the rounded ends would register from across the room. Custom made as two frames, one slip cover The sofa was originally discussed as a single 450cm wide frame and we brought up using a crane to get the sofa to our client's home on the second floor. But we decided to split the sofa into two frames instead and carry two elements by hand. On site we flipped the sofa over, locked the frames together from underneath, turned it upright and fitted a single removable top cover across both. Movable backrests With no wall behind it and a depth of about 200 cm, an island sofa gives someone sitting upright nothing to lean on. Our backrests to the rescue! We made them weighted and have anti-slip fabric sewn onto the base, so they stay put when someone leans back. These backrests can be lifted and moved to wherever our clients want to sit, with oversized back cushions at the front for comfort. Upholstery and colour The curved sofa's body is upholstered in aquaclean®, a Spanish high performance fabric. The client picked aquaclean®'s Venice, a mini bouclé performance fabric while the back cushions are in aquaclean® Duetto, a collection featuring larger bouclé nubs. We put the smaller loop where we expect more traffic on. A tight, short loop is less likely to catch on a watch strap or a handbag than a chunky one. The larger loop goes on the cushions for contrast, where its texture shows from across the room. Notion of W helped the client choose an olive green for the sofa to give the curves an edge in a large room. It also forgives stains better than cream/ white and still reads as a neutral, so it sits comfortably with whatever surrounds it. FAQ Should I buy an organic-shaped sofa off the shelf or have it custom made? Off-the-shelf curved sofas come in fixed sizes and fixed curves and drawn for a showroom. Custom lets you set the width, depth and the shape of each curve to your layout. We also plan how your sofa will get delivered, such as splitting the frame for a staircase. How do I check if a large curved sofa suits my room before it's made? Ask for a full-size template and lay the template on the floor where the sofa will stand. Tape on the floor works for regular sofas but not for big curved sofas. Can a sofa this size go up the stairs without a crane? Yes, if it is designed in sections and then joined in the room. Is a backless island sofa comfortable? It needs something to lean on. Our movable, weighted backrests let you add support where people sit. Can the cover be cleaned? Yes. The top cover is one removable piece; follow the care instructions for your chosen fabric. If you're planning a custom sofa, especially a large or curved one, message us with your floor plan and a few photos of your space. Reference images will also be helpful. We'll tell you what size and shape will work, and whether a full-size template is worth doing before anything gets built. DM us at +65 8750 6522
Our biggest curved sofa started on a living roo...
At 450 cm wide and about 200 cm deep, this island sofa is the largest curved piece we have ever made. And before any material was ordered or built, this beast existed as a sheet of upholstery fabric, cut to 1:1 scale and laid out on the second floor of a landed house in Singapore so that the interior designer who commissioned the sofa, Notion of W, can have a feel of it. A drawing isn't good enough A detailed drawing tells our factory how much wood to cut, but it says little about how a curve will look and feel in an actual room. There's also a lot of subjectivity when it comes to a freeform curve. Case in point: In our first draft, our gentle curve was just not curved enough for Notion of W. The first template didn't pass the mark Scale is also hard to judge from paper as well. On paper, everything can seem fine but in real life, sofas can seem too big/ too small. We are also mindful about getting things right from the get-go as a made-to-measure sofa is not returnable. How the fabric template worked We almost always cut our furniture templates from our excess upholstery fabric. Fabric is light, rolls up easily and lays flat on the floor. The fabric template also helps our upholsterer plan where each panel will be cut and where the seams will fall. The process: We plan and cut a 1:1 scale template on leftover upholstery Lay it where the sofa will stand and review it on site with the interior designer. Mark the changes, recut and review again. Send the approved template to the factory, which builds the frame according to its outline. Use the same template to plan the cut on the client's chosen upholstery While reviewing our first draft, the team at Notion of W asked for bigger, more obvious curves so the dip in the middle and the rounded ends would register from across the room. Custom made as two frames, one slip cover The sofa was originally discussed as a single 450cm wide frame and we brought up using a crane to get the sofa to our client's home on the second floor. But we decided to split the sofa into two frames instead and carry two elements by hand. On site we flipped the sofa over, locked the frames together from underneath, turned it upright and fitted a single removable top cover across both. Movable backrests With no wall behind it and a depth of about 200 cm, an island sofa gives someone sitting upright nothing to lean on. Our backrests to the rescue! We made them weighted and have anti-slip fabric sewn onto the base, so they stay put when someone leans back. These backrests can be lifted and moved to wherever our clients want to sit, with oversized back cushions at the front for comfort. Upholstery and colour The curved sofa's body is upholstered in aquaclean®, a Spanish high performance fabric. The client picked aquaclean®'s Venice, a mini bouclé performance fabric while the back cushions are in aquaclean® Duetto, a collection featuring larger bouclé nubs. We put the smaller loop where we expect more traffic on. A tight, short loop is less likely to catch on a watch strap or a handbag than a chunky one. The larger loop goes on the cushions for contrast, where its texture shows from across the room. Notion of W helped the client choose an olive green for the sofa to give the curves an edge in a large room. It also forgives stains better than cream/ white and still reads as a neutral, so it sits comfortably with whatever surrounds it. FAQ Should I buy an organic-shaped sofa off the shelf or have it custom made? Off-the-shelf curved sofas come in fixed sizes and fixed curves and drawn for a showroom. Custom lets you set the width, depth and the shape of each curve to your layout. We also plan how your sofa will get delivered, such as splitting the frame for a staircase. How do I check if a large curved sofa suits my room before it's made? Ask for a full-size template and lay the template on the floor where the sofa will stand. Tape on the floor works for regular sofas but not for big curved sofas. Can a sofa this size go up the stairs without a crane? Yes, if it is designed in sections and then joined in the room. Is a backless island sofa comfortable? It needs something to lean on. Our movable, weighted backrests let you add support where people sit. Can the cover be cleaned? Yes. The top cover is one removable piece; follow the care instructions for your chosen fabric. If you're planning a custom sofa, especially a large or curved one, message us with your floor plan and a few photos of your space. Reference images will also be helpful. We'll tell you what size and shape will work, and whether a full-size template is worth doing before anything gets built. DM us at +65 8750 6522
How to Pick Dining Chairs for a Live Edge Table
A suar wood live edge table in a Singapore home, ten upholstered dining chairs and a teal botanical fabric with a hidden civet cat. Why mixing beats matching.
How to Pick Dining Chairs for a Live Edge Table
A suar wood live edge table in a Singapore home, ten upholstered dining chairs and a teal botanical fabric with a hidden civet cat. Why mixing beats matching.
Spare Sofa Covers or Performance Fabric for you...
What does performance fabric actually do? It repels liquid and stains. Spill juice on it and the liquid sits on the surface for a while instead of soaking in, which gives you time to blot it away. For a home with young children that's a useful feature to have. We used Aquaclean's recycled linen collection for this project. It's liquid and stain repellent. We tested it in our studio before the clients committed. What do spare covers do? It means that you're never without covers. While one set is being laundered the other is on the sofa. Nobody sits on bare cushions for a week. They also help with wear. The seat everyone fights for shows it first, with faded colour and a tired surface. Replacing a worn cover later means a scramble to re-measure and re-match the fabric. A spare set ordered while the cushions are being made spares you that, because the measurements and fabric are already settled. Which one should you pick? YOUR MAIN WORRY BETTER CHOICE WHY Juice and drink spills from small children Performance fabric You can blot before it soaks in A sofa that smells or looks tired Spare covers Launder one set while the other is in use One seat that everyone fights for Spare covers Swapping sets spreads the wear A light colour you love but don't trust Performance fabric Spills are what stand between you and cream Wanting a different look now and then Spare covers Change the colour and keep the sofa A tighter budget Performance fabric One set costs less than two Why our clients chose both Our clients are a couple with two young children. Their interior designer, HouseofChais, built them a conversation pit sofa and they came to us for custom seat and back cushions. For the covers they chose Aquaclean's recycled linen in a creamy white. Then they ordered a second set in a pastel sage. The first reason was practical: the second set goes on while the first is being laundered. The second reason was colour: Our client picked a different shade for the spare set because she wanted it to feel like a change. An identical spare would only be a replacement. In a sage green, it also feels like a small refresh. Having both options is probably excessive for many households. But it made sense for our clients because owning a conversation pit isn't something you replace in a few years, and a cream sofa will meet a lot of life with two small children around. Had they needed to pick one, we would have steered them to performance fabric. Why does a different colour feel like a change? There's no magic in it. People get used to what surrounds them and the pleasure fades. Psychologists call this hedonic adaptation. The sofa you loved in March is just a sofa by September. Swapping a cover resets that. The room is the same and so is the layout, but the colour is new, so you notice it again. It also hands you a small decision, and a choice you make yourself often feels better than one that was made for you. Frequently asked questions Is performance fabric waterproof? No. It's liquid-repellent. That buys you time to blot a spill before it soaks in. Why buy a second set of sofa covers? So you're never without covers. One set goes on while the other is being laundered. A different colour for the second set also gives you a change without replacing the sofa. Can I use a light colour if I have young children? Yes, if the fabric is performance fabric. A light colour in a standard fabric is a harder bet. If you're in Singapore and weighing this up, visit the Blafink studio. Bring a glass of something. We'll let you spill it.
Spare Sofa Covers or Performance Fabric for you...
What does performance fabric actually do? It repels liquid and stains. Spill juice on it and the liquid sits on the surface for a while instead of soaking in, which gives you time to blot it away. For a home with young children that's a useful feature to have. We used Aquaclean's recycled linen collection for this project. It's liquid and stain repellent. We tested it in our studio before the clients committed. What do spare covers do? It means that you're never without covers. While one set is being laundered the other is on the sofa. Nobody sits on bare cushions for a week. They also help with wear. The seat everyone fights for shows it first, with faded colour and a tired surface. Replacing a worn cover later means a scramble to re-measure and re-match the fabric. A spare set ordered while the cushions are being made spares you that, because the measurements and fabric are already settled. Which one should you pick? YOUR MAIN WORRY BETTER CHOICE WHY Juice and drink spills from small children Performance fabric You can blot before it soaks in A sofa that smells or looks tired Spare covers Launder one set while the other is in use One seat that everyone fights for Spare covers Swapping sets spreads the wear A light colour you love but don't trust Performance fabric Spills are what stand between you and cream Wanting a different look now and then Spare covers Change the colour and keep the sofa A tighter budget Performance fabric One set costs less than two Why our clients chose both Our clients are a couple with two young children. Their interior designer, HouseofChais, built them a conversation pit sofa and they came to us for custom seat and back cushions. For the covers they chose Aquaclean's recycled linen in a creamy white. Then they ordered a second set in a pastel sage. The first reason was practical: the second set goes on while the first is being laundered. The second reason was colour: Our client picked a different shade for the spare set because she wanted it to feel like a change. An identical spare would only be a replacement. In a sage green, it also feels like a small refresh. Having both options is probably excessive for many households. But it made sense for our clients because owning a conversation pit isn't something you replace in a few years, and a cream sofa will meet a lot of life with two small children around. Had they needed to pick one, we would have steered them to performance fabric. Why does a different colour feel like a change? There's no magic in it. People get used to what surrounds them and the pleasure fades. Psychologists call this hedonic adaptation. The sofa you loved in March is just a sofa by September. Swapping a cover resets that. The room is the same and so is the layout, but the colour is new, so you notice it again. It also hands you a small decision, and a choice you make yourself often feels better than one that was made for you. Frequently asked questions Is performance fabric waterproof? No. It's liquid-repellent. That buys you time to blot a spill before it soaks in. Why buy a second set of sofa covers? So you're never without covers. One set goes on while the other is being laundered. A different colour for the second set also gives you a change without replacing the sofa. Can I use a light colour if I have young children? Yes, if the fabric is performance fabric. A light colour in a standard fabric is a harder bet. If you're in Singapore and weighing this up, visit the Blafink studio. Bring a glass of something. We'll let you spill it.
Custom Seat Cushions: What Goes Into Getting On...
A seat cushion fitted for your bay window or built in carpentry nook looks like a simple feature to add to your space. But getting one right depends on far more than picking a fabric and foam thickness. This guide covers what to consider before ordering a custom bay window or built-in carpentry seat cushion: measuring, climate, fabric, cost expectations, and a real project example with exact numbers. Off-the-shelf vs. custom-measured: what's the actual difference? Searching for "bay window cushion Singapore" mostly surfaces two very different products: Off-the-shelf / budget custom Site-measured custom How it's measured Customer self-measures and submits dimensions online Measured in person, on site, by the maker Handles irregular shapes Usually assumes a straight rectangle Accounts for depth variation, and non-standard corners Typical price range From around $88, priced largely by foam density and size 2.4m starts from $690, price varies by size, complexity and upholstery type Turnaround Often fast, sometimes stocked in standard sizes 4 - 6 weeks What happens if it doesn't fit Usually the customer's responsibility to return, resize, or accept it Maker takes responsibility for correcting the fit Both have a place.A budget option can work fine for a genuinely simple, rectangular bay window. The risk is applying that same approach to a window that isn't actually simple, which is more common than people expect. Why bay window seats are harder to measure than they look At first glance, most bay windows look regular but there's often A slight variation in depth across the length of the seat An off notch or irregular corner A corner that isn't quite the 90 degree angle it appears to be Ergonomic seat depth/ seat height issues that aren't visible until someone actually sits down A quick DIY tape-measure job may not cover all possible issues. They tend to surface only during a proper, in-person professional site measurement. The Singapore-specific factor Singapore's climate changes what "the right fabric" means. A few things worth knowing before choosing: Leather traps heat. Genuine or faux, leather doesn't breathe, which makes it uncomfortable on a sun-facing bay window seat. It's the same reason a car's leather seats feel unbearable after being parked in the sun. Natural fibers like cotton and linen breathe better, allowing heat to pass through rather than trapping it against skin. A blend of natural and synthetic fibers is often a practical middle ground with durability from the synthetic component and breathability from the natural one. UV exposure degrades fabric. Fading, fiber weakening and yellowing effects are cumulative, so they're rarely obvious until a cushion has already been sat on for a few months. For east- or west-facing bay windows especially west-facing, it's worth specifically asking for an indoor-outdoor performance fabric rather than a standard indoor upholstery fabric. If your bay window gets direct morning or afternoon sun, this matters more than color or texture when choosing upholstery. Case study: a 46.1cm seat that needed more On one recent project, our client's seat measured 46.1cm deep and we advised that it was a little shallow for genuinely comfortable sitting, even for occasional or task use. The solution was a wall wrap that extended the seat depth by an odd 5.9cm, bringing the total sitting depth to 52cm. It's a small adjustment on paper, but it's the difference between a cushion that's merely adequate and one that's actually comfortable to sit in. Key takeaway: seat depth isn't just a measurement. A cushion that "fits" the window opening can still be too shallow to sit on comfortably. Case study: designing around built-in drawers The same project had built-in drawers directly beneath the window seat. This meant the wall wrap's height had to be carefully planned at a 17cm tall, deliberately kept short enough that it wouldn't cover or obstruct the drawers below. Key takeaway: a wall wrap isn't just a finishing detail. Its height and placement need to work with the carpentry underneath it, not just the window above it. Choosing a fabric that isn't the same as everyone else's White, grey, green, and brown colour options has become the default choice for upholstered furniture. It's a safe option, but not a distinctive one. On the case-study project above, the client chose to skip a popular white boucle in favour of a fabric with a different hand feel, chosen from our wider range of textures and colors. The result matches the room better, rather than defaulting to whatever's most common online. Why we measure every project on site Numbers like 46.1cm, 5.9cm, 17cm, aren't visible in a finished photo. But they're the difference between a cushion that fits and one that just sits there. That's why every confirmed custom seat cushion project starts with a free, in-person site measurement rather than customer-supplied measurements. Even when a measurement doesn't go exactly to plan (which is rare, and has mostly occurred with certain feather-filled cushions) responsibility for correcting it sits with us, not our customer. Frequently asked questions Why is measuring a bay window for a seat cushion difficult?Bay windows often have subtle variations in depth, irregular notches, or corners that aren't a true right angle. These details are easy to miss with a standard tape measure and are typically only caught during an in-person site visit. Is leather a good choice for a bay window seat cushion in Singapore? Generally, no. Leather doesn't breathe, so it traps heat. Natural fibers like cotton and linen, or a natural-synthetic blend, are usually more comfortable.What fabric should I use for an east- or west-facing bay window seat?An indoor-outdoor performance fabric is usually a better choice than standard indoor upholstery since it's engineered for UV and fade resistance while still looking and feeling like typical indoor fabric. Should I order curtains or a seat cushion first? It's worth planning both together. Curtains installed before the cushion's final height is confirmed can end up too long, resulting in excess fabric spilling messily over the finished seat. What is a wall wrap, and why does it matter?A wall wrap is fabric that extends from the cushion up the adjoining wall, both as a finishing detail and, in some cases, to add usable seat depth. Its size needs to account for nearby fixtures — outlets, skirting boards, curtains, or built-in drawers — so it doesn't interfere with them. What if my window seat feels too shallow to sit on comfortably?A shallow seat can often be corrected with a wall wrap that extends the sitting depth by a few centimeters. Do I need to measure my own bay window before ordering a cushion?No, an in-person site measurement removes the need for a customer to measure the space themselves, and accounts for irregularities that are easy to miss without professional tools and experience. What if the cushion doesn't fit once it's made? This is rare, but if it happens, the responsibility for fixing it, whether adjusting or remaking the cushion, sits with the maker, not the customer. Thinking about a custom seat cushion for your bay window or built-in carpentry? Send a photo of your space, and we'll walk you through what to consider before you commit to a design.
Custom Seat Cushions: What Goes Into Getting On...
A seat cushion fitted for your bay window or built in carpentry nook looks like a simple feature to add to your space. But getting one right depends on far more than picking a fabric and foam thickness. This guide covers what to consider before ordering a custom bay window or built-in carpentry seat cushion: measuring, climate, fabric, cost expectations, and a real project example with exact numbers. Off-the-shelf vs. custom-measured: what's the actual difference? Searching for "bay window cushion Singapore" mostly surfaces two very different products: Off-the-shelf / budget custom Site-measured custom How it's measured Customer self-measures and submits dimensions online Measured in person, on site, by the maker Handles irregular shapes Usually assumes a straight rectangle Accounts for depth variation, and non-standard corners Typical price range From around $88, priced largely by foam density and size 2.4m starts from $690, price varies by size, complexity and upholstery type Turnaround Often fast, sometimes stocked in standard sizes 4 - 6 weeks What happens if it doesn't fit Usually the customer's responsibility to return, resize, or accept it Maker takes responsibility for correcting the fit Both have a place.A budget option can work fine for a genuinely simple, rectangular bay window. The risk is applying that same approach to a window that isn't actually simple, which is more common than people expect. Why bay window seats are harder to measure than they look At first glance, most bay windows look regular but there's often A slight variation in depth across the length of the seat An off notch or irregular corner A corner that isn't quite the 90 degree angle it appears to be Ergonomic seat depth/ seat height issues that aren't visible until someone actually sits down A quick DIY tape-measure job may not cover all possible issues. They tend to surface only during a proper, in-person professional site measurement. The Singapore-specific factor Singapore's climate changes what "the right fabric" means. A few things worth knowing before choosing: Leather traps heat. Genuine or faux, leather doesn't breathe, which makes it uncomfortable on a sun-facing bay window seat. It's the same reason a car's leather seats feel unbearable after being parked in the sun. Natural fibers like cotton and linen breathe better, allowing heat to pass through rather than trapping it against skin. A blend of natural and synthetic fibers is often a practical middle ground with durability from the synthetic component and breathability from the natural one. UV exposure degrades fabric. Fading, fiber weakening and yellowing effects are cumulative, so they're rarely obvious until a cushion has already been sat on for a few months. For east- or west-facing bay windows especially west-facing, it's worth specifically asking for an indoor-outdoor performance fabric rather than a standard indoor upholstery fabric. If your bay window gets direct morning or afternoon sun, this matters more than color or texture when choosing upholstery. Case study: a 46.1cm seat that needed more On one recent project, our client's seat measured 46.1cm deep and we advised that it was a little shallow for genuinely comfortable sitting, even for occasional or task use. The solution was a wall wrap that extended the seat depth by an odd 5.9cm, bringing the total sitting depth to 52cm. It's a small adjustment on paper, but it's the difference between a cushion that's merely adequate and one that's actually comfortable to sit in. Key takeaway: seat depth isn't just a measurement. A cushion that "fits" the window opening can still be too shallow to sit on comfortably. Case study: designing around built-in drawers The same project had built-in drawers directly beneath the window seat. This meant the wall wrap's height had to be carefully planned at a 17cm tall, deliberately kept short enough that it wouldn't cover or obstruct the drawers below. Key takeaway: a wall wrap isn't just a finishing detail. Its height and placement need to work with the carpentry underneath it, not just the window above it. Choosing a fabric that isn't the same as everyone else's White, grey, green, and brown colour options has become the default choice for upholstered furniture. It's a safe option, but not a distinctive one. On the case-study project above, the client chose to skip a popular white boucle in favour of a fabric with a different hand feel, chosen from our wider range of textures and colors. The result matches the room better, rather than defaulting to whatever's most common online. Why we measure every project on site Numbers like 46.1cm, 5.9cm, 17cm, aren't visible in a finished photo. But they're the difference between a cushion that fits and one that just sits there. That's why every confirmed custom seat cushion project starts with a free, in-person site measurement rather than customer-supplied measurements. Even when a measurement doesn't go exactly to plan (which is rare, and has mostly occurred with certain feather-filled cushions) responsibility for correcting it sits with us, not our customer. Frequently asked questions Why is measuring a bay window for a seat cushion difficult?Bay windows often have subtle variations in depth, irregular notches, or corners that aren't a true right angle. These details are easy to miss with a standard tape measure and are typically only caught during an in-person site visit. Is leather a good choice for a bay window seat cushion in Singapore? Generally, no. Leather doesn't breathe, so it traps heat. Natural fibers like cotton and linen, or a natural-synthetic blend, are usually more comfortable.What fabric should I use for an east- or west-facing bay window seat?An indoor-outdoor performance fabric is usually a better choice than standard indoor upholstery since it's engineered for UV and fade resistance while still looking and feeling like typical indoor fabric. Should I order curtains or a seat cushion first? It's worth planning both together. Curtains installed before the cushion's final height is confirmed can end up too long, resulting in excess fabric spilling messily over the finished seat. What is a wall wrap, and why does it matter?A wall wrap is fabric that extends from the cushion up the adjoining wall, both as a finishing detail and, in some cases, to add usable seat depth. Its size needs to account for nearby fixtures — outlets, skirting boards, curtains, or built-in drawers — so it doesn't interfere with them. What if my window seat feels too shallow to sit on comfortably?A shallow seat can often be corrected with a wall wrap that extends the sitting depth by a few centimeters. Do I need to measure my own bay window before ordering a cushion?No, an in-person site measurement removes the need for a customer to measure the space themselves, and accounts for irregularities that are easy to miss without professional tools and experience. What if the cushion doesn't fit once it's made? This is rare, but if it happens, the responsibility for fixing it, whether adjusting or remaking the cushion, sits with the maker, not the customer. Thinking about a custom seat cushion for your bay window or built-in carpentry? Send a photo of your space, and we'll walk you through what to consider before you commit to a design.
Small bedroom? Make your headboard wider than y...
When the bedroom is small, most people go for the slimmest headboard they can find, or they skip it and push the bed straight against the wall. It rarely makes the room feel bigger. In a HardwareZone thread from November 2024, a homeowner with a tiny room asked if they could remove their 2 to 3 inch headboard to gain a bit of space. The replies were quick and practical: the wall behind your head gets dirty, and bare concrete is not what you want to knock your head on at 2am. Why a wider headboard makes a small bedroom look bigger Your eye follows lines. A headboard that stops at the edge of the mattress puts a short block in the middle of the wall, and the bare strips on either side make the wall, and the room, look narrow. Run the headboard past the bed and you get one long horizontal line instead. The eye travels along it from one end to the other, so the wall reads as wider. In most HDB and BTO bedrooms the bed wall is the first thing you see when you open the door, which is why this one line does so much work. What a headboard does that a bare wall can't Looks are only half of it. A headboard also earns its place every night. It keeps hair oil off your wall. Scalp oil and hair products slowly leave a greyish patch on paint right where you lean back to scroll your phone, and once it soaks in, a wipe won't shift it. A headboard takes that contact instead of the wall. It softens the midnight bump. Turn over too fast or sit up half asleep and your head meets padding, not concrete. It gives you room for lights and power. The bed usually ends up covering the wall socket, which is how you end up with an extension cord snaking across the side table. A wider headboard has space at each end for a reading light and a power point, right where your hand reaches in the dark. One bedroom, three panels, duck egg blue A recent client came to us already sure of one thing: they wanted a wide headboard. We can build a headboard in almost any shape or layout, but they knew exactly what they liked. Three panels, all the same size, sitting side by side. Equal panels keep your eye moving across the wall. No single panel steals the attention, so the width is what you notice. The colour Our client loves a soft, bluish duck egg, so we picked a textured woven fabric in that shade for both the headboard and the storage bed. The weave has a slight nubby feel under your hand, and it looks a little different in morning light than it does at night. Using one fabric for both pieces matters in a small room. The bed and headboard read as a single piece of furniture rather than two things competing for space. The proportions This is the part an off-the-shelf headboard can't do for you, because standard sizes don't know where your window or your wardrobe is. Height: we kept the top of the headboard almost level with the window sill. It lines up with something already in the room, so it looks planned instead of floating at a random height. Width: wide, but not too wide. There's a wardrobe right beside the bed, and a headboard that ran any further would have blocked its door. We stopped it just shy of the wardrobe door, so the door still swings fully open. The little extras The extra width beyond the bed gave us room to build in reading lights and power points at each end of the headboard. Phones charge right beside the pillow, and the light switches on without anyone climbing out of bed. No extension cords, no cables trailing across the bedside table. How to size a wide headboard for your bedroom Get a measuring tape out before you fall for a fabric swatch. These are the checks we run on every headboard we build. Measure the whole bed wall, end to end, and mark anything that opens nearby: wardrobe doors, the bedroom door, windows, wall skirting. Leave room for every door that swings toward the bed. If a door can't open fully, the headboard is too wide, however good it looks. Choose a height that lines up with something, like a window sill Decide on reading lights and power points early, after the width is final, so the switches and power outlets sits where your hands actually go. Match or coordinate the fabric with your bed base, so the two read as one piece in a tight room. Pick a split that suits your taste. One long panel, two, or three equal ones like our client's all work; the width does the visual stretching either way. FAQs Do I need a headboard in a small bedroom? You don't strictly need one, but without it your wall takes the hair oil and the head bumps. In a small room a headboard is also one of the few pieces that can make the space look wider. Will a wide headboard make my room look smaller? Usually the opposite. A headboard that runs past the bed creates one long horizontal line, and that makes the wall read as wider than it is. How wide should a headboard be? Wider than the bed, and as wide as the wall allows without blocking a door, window or switch. Our client's headboard stops just short of the wardrobe door beside it. How tall should a headboard be? Line it up with something already in the room. For this project we took it to just below the window sill height. Can a headboard have built-in reading lights and power points? Yes. A wider headboard leaves space at each end for a light and power outlets, so you don't need cables trailing across your bedside table. Our client's three-panel headboard has both built in.
Small bedroom? Make your headboard wider than y...
When the bedroom is small, most people go for the slimmest headboard they can find, or they skip it and push the bed straight against the wall. It rarely makes the room feel bigger. In a HardwareZone thread from November 2024, a homeowner with a tiny room asked if they could remove their 2 to 3 inch headboard to gain a bit of space. The replies were quick and practical: the wall behind your head gets dirty, and bare concrete is not what you want to knock your head on at 2am. Why a wider headboard makes a small bedroom look bigger Your eye follows lines. A headboard that stops at the edge of the mattress puts a short block in the middle of the wall, and the bare strips on either side make the wall, and the room, look narrow. Run the headboard past the bed and you get one long horizontal line instead. The eye travels along it from one end to the other, so the wall reads as wider. In most HDB and BTO bedrooms the bed wall is the first thing you see when you open the door, which is why this one line does so much work. What a headboard does that a bare wall can't Looks are only half of it. A headboard also earns its place every night. It keeps hair oil off your wall. Scalp oil and hair products slowly leave a greyish patch on paint right where you lean back to scroll your phone, and once it soaks in, a wipe won't shift it. A headboard takes that contact instead of the wall. It softens the midnight bump. Turn over too fast or sit up half asleep and your head meets padding, not concrete. It gives you room for lights and power. The bed usually ends up covering the wall socket, which is how you end up with an extension cord snaking across the side table. A wider headboard has space at each end for a reading light and a power point, right where your hand reaches in the dark. One bedroom, three panels, duck egg blue A recent client came to us already sure of one thing: they wanted a wide headboard. We can build a headboard in almost any shape or layout, but they knew exactly what they liked. Three panels, all the same size, sitting side by side. Equal panels keep your eye moving across the wall. No single panel steals the attention, so the width is what you notice. The colour Our client loves a soft, bluish duck egg, so we picked a textured woven fabric in that shade for both the headboard and the storage bed. The weave has a slight nubby feel under your hand, and it looks a little different in morning light than it does at night. Using one fabric for both pieces matters in a small room. The bed and headboard read as a single piece of furniture rather than two things competing for space. The proportions This is the part an off-the-shelf headboard can't do for you, because standard sizes don't know where your window or your wardrobe is. Height: we kept the top of the headboard almost level with the window sill. It lines up with something already in the room, so it looks planned instead of floating at a random height. Width: wide, but not too wide. There's a wardrobe right beside the bed, and a headboard that ran any further would have blocked its door. We stopped it just shy of the wardrobe door, so the door still swings fully open. The little extras The extra width beyond the bed gave us room to build in reading lights and power points at each end of the headboard. Phones charge right beside the pillow, and the light switches on without anyone climbing out of bed. No extension cords, no cables trailing across the bedside table. How to size a wide headboard for your bedroom Get a measuring tape out before you fall for a fabric swatch. These are the checks we run on every headboard we build. Measure the whole bed wall, end to end, and mark anything that opens nearby: wardrobe doors, the bedroom door, windows, wall skirting. Leave room for every door that swings toward the bed. If a door can't open fully, the headboard is too wide, however good it looks. Choose a height that lines up with something, like a window sill Decide on reading lights and power points early, after the width is final, so the switches and power outlets sits where your hands actually go. Match or coordinate the fabric with your bed base, so the two read as one piece in a tight room. Pick a split that suits your taste. One long panel, two, or three equal ones like our client's all work; the width does the visual stretching either way. FAQs Do I need a headboard in a small bedroom? You don't strictly need one, but without it your wall takes the hair oil and the head bumps. In a small room a headboard is also one of the few pieces that can make the space look wider. Will a wide headboard make my room look smaller? Usually the opposite. A headboard that runs past the bed creates one long horizontal line, and that makes the wall read as wider than it is. How wide should a headboard be? Wider than the bed, and as wide as the wall allows without blocking a door, window or switch. Our client's headboard stops just short of the wardrobe door beside it. How tall should a headboard be? Line it up with something already in the room. For this project we took it to just below the window sill height. Can a headboard have built-in reading lights and power points? Yes. A wider headboard leaves space at each end for a light and power outlets, so you don't need cables trailing across your bedside table. Our client's three-panel headboard has both built in.