Cushions

MPF Conservation restores, conserves, and preserves upholstered objects in their studio in Portland Oregon; this page documents cushions. Some are part of upholstered objects, and some are in windowseats or built-in bench seats. Pillows have their own page.

Cushions come in many configurations, including the following:

  • Fiber-filled squabs
  • Spring fiber and cotton filled cushions
  • Modern latex and cotton filled cushions
  • Down-filled Cushions
  • Foam Cushions
  • Spring-filled Cushions
  • Bolsters

All the items below are created with cleaning in mind. Hidden zippers with interior muslin tickings make it easy to remove the decorative covers and take them to a good dry cleaners. Leather cushions are fitted with a fabric back panel to allow air to escape when they are sat or rested upon.

Down-filled Cushions

Our clients were tall and wanted a single long down-filled cushion sofa seat for their mountain top home which prompted the custom built long Chenille Sofa, “Couch in the woods”, right.

Details:

  • The frame was six quarter Eastern hard maple frame, double-doweled and corner blocked joinery.
  • Coil-spring base with ®Ultracell and cotton-batting fillers over jute webbing and canvas foundations.
  • Goose down seat cushion
  • Pre-washed chenille showcover from Kravet

Spring-filled Cushions

Below, a step-by-step of how we make a spring-filled cushion from scratch:

Crater Lake’s Superintendent’s Imperial Sofa is an excellent example of spring-filled cushions; Leather from Hide House.

Foam Cushions

Will discuss polyurethane foams, ultracell foam, latex rubber…

Cushions for a Modern Arts & Crafts Settle, 2005

In our client’s new ranch house, their modern settle and matching chair needed new cushions. Details:

  • Fabric by Beacon Hill

Note: Years before Mitchell made the custom drapes to match the furniture for another client; the new owners kept the drapes.

Cushions, Bolsters and Pillows for Window-seats circa 2010

Our clients had sofas they loved. They moved into a new home with a large game room and two window seats. The window seats needed pillows, cushions and bolsters. The cushions had to be able to take grand-kids roughhousing. MPFC found a good match in fabric to the sofas, shown above left, and created fitted cushions for window-boxes, above right. Bolsters and pillows were also created to match the sofas and window seats.

Details:

  • Seat cushions were ®Ultracell HR wrapped in cotton batting
  • Muslin envelopes
  • Bolsters were spun synthetic wool inside a percale envelope
  • Fabrics are all from Duralee; trims from Houles

Attorney’s Office, 2005

Our attorney had another life as a woodworker; he created the conference table, chairs and a modern settle for his offices. He came to us to create back and seat cushions. In the first image Mitchell is explaining the fabric inset back to allow for air to escape.

Details:

  • Seat cushions ®Ultracell-HR with cotton wrap inside muslin liners
  • Back cushions are 50/50 white goose down set into 400 ct cotton pocket-style envelopes
  • Leather from Hide House

Cushions for a Modern Stickley Set, 2013.

A new home on the coast meant an upgrade for a modern Stickley set. MPFC created rich brown leather cushions with fabric inset, detail below. The settles were also upholstered for the cushions crowns to rest into a depression crafted into the frames seat deck.

Details:

  • ®Ultracell cushions with spun synthetic wool batting uncased in muslin
  • Showcover woven leather by Asher Leather; other leather from hide House

Cushions and Pillows for a
Balinese Table’s Bench and Chairs

Our client had a dilemma in that her family members heights were both very tall, and very short. We used cushions to make the Balinese benches comfortable for long dinner meals, but the slender pillow toppers were created partly so that they could be flipped up to lean into, or down to add height to the chairs and bench seat.

Note the long bench seat also has pillows on top of the long cushion, to allow for seating on a bench to allow individuals to have the same options for comfort as someone sitting in a chair.

Matching table runners were made with different fabric sides so our client could change her mind with her mood. Dry clean only.

Details:

  • Firm latex and cotton cores for the bottom cushions
  • Bottom cushion showcover is a washed chenille brocade from Highland Court
  • Top pillows ®Ultracell cores with woolen batting surrounds uncased in percale muslin envelope
  • Pillow showcovers are red matlasse Beacon Hill and the goild brocaded taffeta is from Sunsilks

Above, layers of pillows and a cushion on the chairs,
below, bench cushions with pillows, and also shown, matching runners.

Gordon House Eight Cushions for Library Bench Seat circa 1957-1964

Frank Lloyd Wright designed this home for Evelyn and Ed Gordon in 1957. It was originally located near Wilsonville, Oregon, but was moved near Silverton, Oregon in 2001. Wright died in 1959, but the house was completed to his specifications. He designed the furnishings, as he often did.

The built-in library cushions were original to the home, and they needed to be preserved. In the USA, we have very little in the way of original upholstery except fragments, and MPFC applauds the Gordon House for preserving the original fabric chosen by an architect whose attention to every detail in his buildings is legendary.

Repairs were done to the original orange-red bouclé, and new cushion stuffing was installed as the original was breaking down (see photo).

Details:

  • Fresh latex slabs were laminated over the historic latex core after MPFC excavated portions of the degraded latex elevations which had turned to crumbs.
  • Cotton muslin internal cushions ere crafted and the cushion cores were wrapped in a thin sheet of cotton batting.
  • Muslin tickings
  • Historic showcover was rewoven and cushion cores were set into the historic cushions

Pets

We have made cushions for clients who are devoted pet owners to make their pets comfortable while giving the owners a place to train them in order to keep their messy hairs off the people furniture. (Cushions were made for their favorite chair and footrest too.)

Details:

  • ®Ultracell cushions with polyester wrap
  • Showcover fabrics by Sunbrella

Upholstered Objects  includes sofas, loveseats, recamiers, sofa-beds, hassocks and many kinds of chairs. Some lightly upholstered chairs (seat only, as in Dining and Side Chairs or Stools) are found under Wooden Objects.

Note: Our studio is not open for drop-in business.
Please make appointments by contacting us.