I have balloon shades made of drapery weight fabric. Instead of a built in bench, I have a Lane Cedar chest that I covered (bench top); nothing like tufting though. Far too elegant:) Anyway, hope this stimulates some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful:

mzdee,
Thanks for sharing your pic !!! I LOVE your windows, by the way !! And it was good to see a cushion, without welts, and without tufting . . . In my mind, I can visualize it, but seeing a picture of one was helpful !!
Thank you !!

C.

My built-in seating and wt are currently being made so can not share a pics with you.

Our windows look out to our lake and I didn't have any wt's for a long time because i didn't want to block that view but the decorator i conferred with suggested that we do just a valance with some end trims and set them high above the top of the window so the bottom of the valance falls only 2inches or so into the window.

So they will kinda be over a good portion of the wall above the window more so than over the window, if that makes sense.

We are doing the same thing to a large bow window in the open kitchen/DR.

We came down into the window so that if we need to put shades up due to sun glare you would not see them when in the up position. We have held off on the shades for now, need to assess over time what the impact is and if its really needed.

I think it will be a good fit and give the finished look without compromising the view.

Will post when they are complete.

I have several pictures saved in my inspiration file of window seats but most don't have any window treatments nor are they tufted. However I do have a picture of a tufted window cornice. I think it would look nice to do tufting on your cornice and seat cushions and it would help pull the eye up. Anyway for what its worth, here is the pic of the window cornice. You could do a diamond shape tufting if you like that better. I will post pics of the window seats if you think it would help.

How about something like this?
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What great ideas !! Thanks so much, everyone !!!

Kas, it was interesting to read your comments re: not wanting to block your view, and what your decorator had to say about it . . . Same scenario here . . . Our bay looks out to our backyard, which is GORGEOUS post winter . .
and I just have never wanted anything to seemingly keep the eye from travelling out to the yard . . .
One of the first things our decorator said when she came in the room, was that the window/wall needed something, even when I gave the "yeah, but, don't want to block the view, etc." . . . She said the same thing about a swag/valance being set high enough so only a small portion would come down into the window, with the swags coming down the sides a bit . . . I'd love to see pics of yours when finished, because as it is, when I ordered everything else, I passed on ordering the bay treatment for now, although I did order the fabric, since we're using the same fabric for the kitchen garden window, and wanted the fabric to be the same since the entire space is open.

Caminnc, that cornice is really nice . . . and what's really interesting is that it doesn't stop the eye from going outside !! My decorator keeps trying to tell me that a window treatment won't do that, and this picture is proof of that !!! If you do have a chance to post any pics of seat cushions, I'd appreciate that, also !!
I have actually ordered ours, but once the fabric comes in, a template has to be made, so I still have a little bit of time before the FINAL decision is made, I would imagine !! To tuft, or not to tuft !! I guess that's the question !!

kmcg . . that window configuration looks EXACTLY like ours (!!), so it's really interesting to see it put together !
And again, the eye isn't locked on the window treatment, but does go to mid-window and outside . . .
I keep glancing over at our window as I'm sitting here !!
That seat cushion is what we were originally going with . .
three-inch with welting, but our windows come down lower, so we have to go with 2-inch, with no welting, since it would look "stripey" . . . I was just concerned about a plain seamed cushion looking too boring, thought the tufting would add a bit of interest . . .
Anymore, I just dunno !!!!!!!!! Overloaded on decision making !! And this is just one room !!! Thought my dithering days were over once our kitchen was complete.
I guess not !!!!!

Again . . . thanks so much to all of you !!!
Your input is MUCH appreciated !!!

Chris

Here's mine - we just did cornices - I hung them too low though. THey need to be up another 5 inches. I just haven't gotten around to doing it -

Susan...what a pretty setting!

VERY pretty!

Susan . . . I have to echo the above comment . . .
What an absolutely beautiful room !!!! Thanks for sharing the pic !! I'm studying your room !! Once again, I'm finding that a window treatment does not keep the eye from automatically going outside !! And . . question re: your seat cushions . . . They appear to be three inches, correct ?? Is the welting out of the same fabric as the cushion ?? We're going with a red checked fabric, and when we had been considering welting, the decorator wanted to use a solid red for the welting, saying that the checked would look odd being cut on the bias . . . I hadn't been too crazy about solid red, thinking it would look too stripey . . . I do like the welted look, vs. trying to imagine a tufted look . . . and am just wondering about welting, if done out of the same fabric, if it could still be done on a two-inch cushion . . .

Again, I've got to say . . . what an absolutely gorgeous room !! Such a lovely, warm and inviting place !!!

Chris

Susan,
Do you know what color paint your kitchen is? Absolutely gorgeous. If I were building a home I would show the builder your picture and say - this is what I want!!

Thank you for the kind remarks. Yes, I used the same fabric for the welting. They are not tufted and they are 3 inches thick. The paint is Pittsfield Buff. Hope this helps!

Here are some pics of my 8' living room bay window. I didn't want large cushions blocking the view of my garden during the summer months so I went with the barrel pillows. Now I'm tired of that look and thinking about replacing them with the more traditional square pillows in different prints so it's more casual.

My bay window is all glass, another problem when you're trying to decide on pillows because everything ends up leaning against glass. The cushion isn't as thick as I wish it could be but I need clearance to be able to open up the windows.

The white sheers are cheap polyester, I bought them at Bed Bath & Beyond. My intent was to dye them an off-white but then I found out you can't dye polyester! So I'm stuck with these...but one thing I can change is their height which I'm in the process of doing right now with my sewing machine.

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Wow...beautiful pictures!

Flyingflower . . .

Looking at your window . . . is like looking at my window, so your pics are REALLY helpful !!! How thick is your cushion ?? We have double-hung windows on either side of the large window, and the clearance under the tab is just 2 inches. I never open the windows from the bottom, but I suppose the cushion does have to rest under the tab . .

Seeing your cushions, and Susan's cushions . . . are making me so second-guess my selection of fabric !!
OH NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went with a red/white large check . . . seemed to add just the "pop" I was looking for, but seeing a smaller check . . . oh heck !!! Sometimes I think it's just easier to never do anything !!!
Then, no dithering !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And seeing the cushions with welting . . . I'm thinking that I don't want tufting . . . such a much cleaner, neater look with welting . . . Just if the welting would look alright with a two inch cushion . . .

I'm sure that I'm driving my decorator NUTS !!! but, I just want to make sure I love it all, and that it's the most perfect thing for now, anyway . . . .

Thanks again to everyone who has chimed in on this !!!
I am really loving all the input !!!!!

Chris

This Milgard bay window is about 10 years old. I wish I knew then what I know now, pay the extra $$ for UV protection on the glass. The sun is the process of ruining the cushions, they're so faded. Not even the UV spray I bought from Calico Corners stops it. That's one reason why I put up the sheers, to slow down the deterioration of the cushion and pillows. For some reason it hasn't faded the barrel pillows as much as the cushion. When it comes time to replace the cushion fabric I may have to go with Sunbrella fabric to be sure I'll never have this problem again. Something to keep in mind when you're selecting fabric for your bay window. From personal experience I can tell you that eastern exposure in California is not kind to fabric in windows.

I pulled the cushion away from the window, you can see the window goes from top to bottom, no place to hang curtains!
I finally came up with a solution, buy cafe rods and hang them upside down from the only wood surface inside the bay...the "ceiling". With an all-vinyl window there's no other place for the screws to go. Hanging curtains on the wall doesn't block the sun from the fabric inside the bay, because the curtain would be on the outer edge of the bay. I was looking for a way to block the sun from getting inside the bay window not inside the living room. No one makes a small curtain rod to hang upside down.

The other problem you can see from the pictures is how low the window goes, straight to the floor of the bay. So we can't use a very high cushion. This one is 2.5" high (or 2.25"). I have never had a problem reaching down to open the window, there's a lip that protrudes, that's what your hand pulls up on to lift the window up. DH built the frame for this window and he didn't take into consideration that you need to have a few inches of wood on the bottom, he should not have taken the window all the way to the horizonal base. Live and learn.

What I do like about the cushions is the foam they chose, it's pretty firm. I made it very clear to the designer that I did not want to feel my butt hitting the wood base when I sat down on the cushion. For a cushion that narrow to support a body without mashing down, well it has to be firm. I'd prefer a softer look, not so tight like this one is...but then it would probably have to be thicker and then I have to deal with reaching down behind the cushion to find the window lip.

I thought I would read and lay inside this window but I never have. I attribute that to the lack of a wood frame because leaning up against glass is very unsettling, expecting it will shatter. So it's mainly there for show.

I think that covers all the issues I've had with this window. My advice is to think about comfort and sun-fade when you're deciding on fabric for a window. Even a few hours of sun can do a lot of damage. If your window has UV protection then consider yourself lucky...or smart that you made the wise decision to add that option to the glass.
The money I saved by not doing that has ended up costing me more in fabric.

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Flyingflower . . . you are so sweet to go to the trouble of taking pics for me, along with all your advice !!
Thank you so much !! You are helping me more than you know, since our configurations are just about identical . .

I've been studying your pic . . showing the bottom of the side window . . . does your cushion sit in front of the lip, or below and tucked under it, so to speak . . .

I'm trying to figure if we could actually go with a 3 inch cushion, and have it just kind of but up to the window lip, versus sitting under it . . . I really would prefer to do welting, vs. tufting after seeing all the pics that have been posted . . .

Thanks also for the heads up on fading . . . Hadn't even occured to me . . . what a DUH moment !!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I've never laid up in our window and read either . .
Totally for show, I guess !! except when company comes over and everyone wants to sit in the bay !!!!!!!!!!!

Okay . . outta here for now . . . need to rattle some pots and pans !!

Thanks again for all your help !!

Chris

My cushion sits in front of the lip. The lip is about half-way up the height of the cushion. But my window's lip may be different than yours. The only way the cushion could fit below it is it is were only an inch high. So when we measure the dimensions of the window seat area we took the lip into account.

I mentioned the fading problem to you because the designer I used didn't think of it either so if she wasn't aware of it yours might not. I've been thinking how I'm going to solve this problem when I replace the bolster pillows with new pillows. Maybe if I use sunbrella on the backs of them, the part that will face the sun, with the fabric I want on the front? Sunbrella fabric has that rough texture of patio cushions, not sure how I'm going to like the feel or look of it indoors...and there's also the problem of finding prints I like. My last visit to Calico Corners I checked out the newest Sunbrella prints and I wasn't impressed, they assuem most people want the fabric for outdoors so the stripes and tropical prints still dominate. No toiles or anything shabby chic like I'm hoping for because their customers typically don't want that on their patio furniture.

If I could just find a manufacturer that made a line UV protected fabric or used anti-fade dyes. Surely I can't be the only one who has this problem, why isn't there indoor fabric that is sun-proof (but doesn't need to be weather-proof like Sunbrella)? Maybe there is and I just haven't found it yet, a designer might know how to locate this specialty fabric. If your designer can find out would you mind passing on the name of the manufacturer to me?

I loved the window treatment and cushion from kmcg85 if you see this please give details on the window treatment. I am not sure how it was constructed by looking at the pic. Thanks so much.