A No-Sew Method For A Do-it-Yourself Bay Window Cushion
When we first moved into our ranch house one of our favorite features was the large bay window in the living room. Our house is small but having the bay window allowing so much natural light in makes the living room feel so much larger. Through the years we have figured out what will and will not work for us with this window and were able to design it how we needed it to be for our family. Below is a photo of the living room and bay window when we bought the house.
First things first we had to remove the old curtains and we painted the bay window white to match all trim in the room. We used Sherwin Williams Snowbound in semi-gloss. The photo below is soon after we painted the bay window. It already felt much lighter and brighter with everything being white!
However, while it was beautiful while it lasted, we have two large dogs. Both dogs are curious and loved jumping up onto the bay window. This quickly caused so many scratch marks and paint chipping from their nails. The picture below shows how bad the paint looked due to the dogs! In addition to the dogs messing up the paint, it did start to feel like wasted space. We spent a long time considering what would be best in this space. We considered plants, pictures, decor, etc., but after trying out a few plants in the window for a few weeks we realized that would not work either. Our dogs would knock them over when they jumped into the window, haha! So, onto the next idea…
We decided the only logical and pretty solution here was a cushion. It would allow a more cozy space for the dogs to lay and would protect the wood from the dogs nails. After a lot of research, I found that a custom made cushion for a bay window could run hundreds of dollars and that just was not in the budget for this project. So, we got to work!
The Project
I am not someone who knows how to sew, so this was a very simple and no-sew way to make a cushion.
The first step was to get plywood and cut it to size for the window. It had to be cut into three separate pieces. A rectangle in the middle and two triangles on each side. We did take a quarter of an inch off of the measurements to allow space for the foam and fabric. Once we cut the pieces to size we placed them in the window to make sure the cuts were correct before moving on. Below is a picture of that step. Luckily, the cuts were perfect!
Once we knew the pieces were cut correctly, we connected the pieces together using large brackets to make one solid piece of plywood. Next, we cut the foam to size. The foam we used was from Amazon and cost about $30 in total. You can find that here. Below is the photo of the foam laid out on the plywood prior to being cut to size.
After the foam was cut to size, it was time to attach the fabric. We knew we needed to use Sunbrella fabric because this cushion had to be sturdy for when the dogs are on it, needs to be able to be wiped clean because it is not removable, and needs to be able to withstand the sun. Sunbrella was the best option for this. I decided on a darker green and searched to find the best place to purchase it. I ended up ordering from Amazon for this as well, which made the process very easy! You can find the fabric I purchased here.
We ordered by the yard, so for this project we ordered four yards to cover the entire piece. It was the perfect amount of fabric. Each yard was about $39 dollars so in total the fabric order cost $164.44.
We used a staple gun to secure the fabric. It was a super simple process, just lay out the fabric, flip the entire piece upside down, cut to size, pull tight to avoid any extra fabric pooling anywhere and staple to the underside of the ply wood. Once the fabric was secured, the piece was done!
Below is the final piece which I am super happy with. For less than $300 we have a custom cushion that is super comfortable to sit on and beautiful to look at.
The next step is to decorate the bay window. As of now, I am thinking that the best option is to get new pillows to make it a super cozy sitting space, add some bamboo blinds, and maybe hang a plant or two from the top. I am loving the way this cushion looks and am excited to decorate it.
Have you made your own DIY bay window cushion or have any other great solutions for a bay window? Let me know in the comments below!
