Updated: Aug 30, 2021
One question we are often asked is “Should I buy a seat pad cushion? Do I really need it?”
While Malawi Cane pieces look beautiful with or without a seat pad cushion – they do provide extra comfort, style and help create a polished look.
So the answer then really depends on what your chair will be used for.
Dining Chairs
We always recommend a seat pad cushion if your Malawi chair will be used as a dining chair - adding the 7.5cm of extra height with a seat pad cushion puts you at the perfect height to comfortably enjoy a long, lazy meal at a dining table.
If you have small children, you can put an extra seat pad cushion (so two cushions) on a Traditional Malawi Chair to bring them up to the perfect table height too! Which is a win all round, because it means you can keep your beautiful Malawi Chairs at the dinner table (rather than less aesthetically-pleasing kids chairs!).
Occasional Chairs
If you are using your Malawi Chair or another Malawi Cane piece as an occasional chair, the decision about a seat pad cushion may be more about how you want the chair to look.
Adding a seat pad cushion, a scatter cushion and even a throw helps to break up bold colours if you’ve chosen a coloured chair. You can also change scatter cushions and throws around as the season (or your styling preference) changes.
If you’ll be spending hours curled up in your chair reading a book – you may want the seat pad cushion to ensure your 'toosh' stays comfortable the whole time.
Lounges
If your piece is more of a lounge piece – for example, a piece from the Classic, Box or Premium ranges – adding a seat pad cushion creates a more comfortable and luxurious space for you to lounge away your afternoon.
For these bigger pieces, you’ll need multiple cushions for the multiple-seater pieces. For example, for a two seater, you’ll need two cushions. For a three-seater, three cushions.
Hanging Chairs
Planning to hang around for a lazy morning or afternoon – adding a seat cushion creates a more comfortable and luxurious space for you to snuggle, curl-up or stretch out in our hanging chairs!
Our Hanging Loveseat Chairs take a firm seat pad cushion similar to its four-legged friend. Whilst our Hanging Egg Chairs and Hanging Pod Chairs take a plump and salubrious down feather fill cushion.
Colours
Seat pad cushions come in a white, off-white or black depending on the range.
Consider the overall look you’re aiming for when deciding on the colour of your seat pad cushion, and whether you’re likely to also use a scatter cushion and/or a throw.
If you have a bold, accent colour on your Malawi Chair, an off-white seat pad cushion works well as it softens the contrast between the colour of the chair and the cushion. For chairs with a strong colour, the contrast of the bright white seat pad cushion can be too harsh. Adding a scatter cushion also helps to break up a bold colours.
Washing
No need to worry about having a white or off-white seat pad cushion – they come up beautifully when washed with a colour brightener or bleach tablet.
All our seat pad cushions have a firm zip for easy removal and washing. The seat pad cushion outers are a durable 50:50 heavy poly-cotton weave and wash well.
If you have any questions at all please send us an email hello@coastaldrift.net You’re welcome to send us photos of your space and we can provide specific advice about which seat cushion would work well.