Measuring an L-Shape Bench: A Step-by-Step Field Guide

L-shape benches are where made-to-measure cushion orders most often go sideways. A rectangle forgives a quarter-inch slip; an L-shape does not. The two legs have to meet at the inside corner without a gap, overlap, or lean. Most fit problems we unstitch in the atelier trace back to the same mistake — someone measured the outside of the bench, or assumed the corner was perfectly square when it was a degree or two off.

This guide walks you through the five numbers we need, in the order our pattern cutters use them. Ten minutes, one tape, one sketch.

Tools you'll need

• A rigid measuring tape (carpenter's tape, not fabric tape — fabric tape sags and lies to you)
• A carpenter's square, a book with a true 90° corner, or a phone app with an angle finder
• A pencil and a sheet of paper — even graph paper if you have it
• A second pair of hands, optional but helpful at the corner
• Your phone camera

Step 1 — Sketch the bench from above

Before you touch the tape, draw. Stand at one end of the bench and sketch its footprint as if you were a bird looking straight down. Label five points on your drawing:

• A — Total width. The full outside length of the longer leg, end to end.
• B — Total depth. The full outside depth of the shorter leg, from the front edge back to the wall.
• C — Notch width. The length of the empty cut-out on the long-leg side — the part of the rectangle that isn't bench.
• D — Notch depth. The depth of that same cut-out, from the open front back to the inside corner.
• E — Thickness. How tall you want the finished cushion to sit.

Those five letters match the L-shape inputs our configurator uses. If your sketch has them, the rest is just careful tape work.

Step 2 — The five measurements, explained

Take each measurement three times along its length and keep the smallest reading. Walls are never as straight as they look, and the smallest number is the one that keeps the cushion from buckling.

A — Total width. Run the tape along the front edge of the longer leg, outside end to outside end. Not along the wall behind it — along the front, where you'll actually sit. B — Total depth. On the shorter leg, measure from the front edge straight back to the wall (or built-in backrest). Pull the tape square at 90°; don't follow the wall. C — Notch width. Imagine completing your L into a full rectangle. The empty cut-out has a width — measure it in the same direction as A. On most breakfast nooks this is where the table legs live. D — Notch depth. Same cut-out, measured in the same direction as B. C and D together define where the inside corner turns. E — Thickness. Most seat cushions land between 2 and 4 inches. If you're replacing an existing pad, measure the bench top you want covered — not the old cushion, which has compressed.

Step 3 — Double-check the inside corner angle

Here's the step almost nobody does, and it's the one that makes or breaks an L-shape cushion.

Set your carpenter's square — or the corner of a hardcover book — into the inside corner where the two legs meet. The two edges should sit flush against the two front edges of the bench with no daylight between them.

If you see a gap, your corner isn't 90°. That's common in older homes and built-in nooks. If the deviation looks like two or three degrees, note it on your sketch and send us a photo of the square in place. For anything larger, the cleanest path is our muslin template kit — we'll send you a trim-to-fit pattern to draw the real angle.

Step 4 — Confirm thickness preference

Sit on the bare bench and stack folded towels under you until the seating height feels right. Measure the stack — that's your real E. Our pattern treats your chosen thickness as the finished cushion height measured seam to seam; we build the pre-compression in.

• 2 inches — thin and firm, good for formal dining benches and window seats
• 3 inches — the balanced everyday choice, our most-ordered thickness
• 4 inches — plush, lounge-leaning, best paired with a back cushion or bolster

Common mistakes to avoid

Measuring outside-to-outside, corner to corner. The cushion sits on top of the bench, it doesn't wrap around it. Measure the top surface only. Assuming the corner is 90°. It usually isn't, by a degree or two. Always put a square in there. Rounding up "to be safe." Overshoot by half an inch and the cushion buckles along the wall. Measure honestly; we'll add the ease. Measuring an old cushion instead of the bench. Old foam has compressed and old covers have stretched. The bench is the source of truth. Forgetting the notch. Leave C and D off and we'll cut a rectangle.

What to send us

Drop us a single message with:

1. A top-down photo of your sketch with A, B, C, D, E labeled. 2. A photo of the carpenter's square in the inside corner (or a note confirming it sat flush). 3. Your five numbers in inches or centimetres — just be consistent. 4. Your fabric preference, or two or three shortlisted from our library.

If any measurement feels uncertain, say so — we'd rather pause and confirm than ship a cushion that doesn't hug the corner.

Start your order

Keep our printable diagram open on your phone at [/pages/how-to-measure](/pages/how-to-measure), then head into the [cushion configurator](/collections/custom-cushions) — choose the L-shape option, type in your five numbers, and your piece goes into the atelier queue the same day.