Crate seat cushion

“To add comfort and function to the Crate series, the Crate Seat Cushion is a loose seat cushion, specially shaped to fit the seat perfectly.” : HAY

A 4 cm cushion, with no attachments, featuring an anti-slip backing “to keep it in place.” Two sizes: one for the Crate chair (48.8 × 42.5 cm) and one for the bench (122.7 × 42.5 cm): the menu above is used to select the seat, then the color.

The fabric

HAY describes a fabric with a “water-repellent finish” and “high UV resistance, making it fade-resistant, with good color fastness,” for “all-year-round” use. The exact composition is not published on the HAY pages; their retailers list it as solution-dyed olefin, over polyurethane foam. Four colors, matching the wood finishes: beige, sky grey, iron red, and anthracite.

Crate, Gerrit Rietveld’s crate furniture

In 1934, Gerrit Rietveld designed a chair using planks from shipping crates: reclaimed wood, visible joints, and an assembly plan anyone could follow. HAY summarizes the origin: “originally designed to utilize surplus wooden shipping crates.” The series was sold at the time as “weekend furniture” by the Metz & Co store in Amsterdam, notes Titus Darley of Rietveld Originals. HAY reissued it in 2023 with Rietveld Originals: armchair, chair, coffee table, and side table first, followed by the sofa, bench, and dining table in 2024. Rolf Hay, co-founder of the brand: “It’s hard to imagine anything closer to our design values, because Rietveld’s mission was really to create a cool, affordable, and accessible range of furniture for everyone.”