A Mother’s Guide to Sitting Comfortably on (or Close to) the Floor

This brown leather pouf is the only option on this list that cannot be stored away easily, since it’s a piece of furniture and the others are all cushions. But it’s fairly compact (at about 18 square inches) and works as a footrest or a seat (though CB2 says in the product listing that it’s “not intended for sitting”). It’s also firm enough to place books or magazines. It looks heavy but is remarkably light and can be picked up with one hand or kicked around to where it needs to be. My children themselves use it to sit at the edge of the kitchen and chat with me while I cook. It also works well near the front door for guests to have a quick seat while removing shoes or putting them back on.

It can only be spot cleaned, so you do have to be a little careful with liquids around it, but the buffalo leather otherwise looks better with more use and gets less slippery, which makes it feel more stable to sit on. It would be a better seat if it weren’t quite so stuffed, but since sitting isn’t its primary purpose, it is definitely more versatile this way. I just wish it were easier to remove the tag completely.

The most versatile option is this colorful, stackable corduroy-cushion set from Ikea. With three cushions, you can change the height of your seat as needed, and they can be used for sitting, resting your feet, or even lying across if placed in a row. They’re firm and comfortable to sit on, and the children love spreading them around and jumping from cushion to cushion when the floor turns into lava. Although the bright playful colors look perfect for a children’s room, the corduroy material actually makes it look sophisticated enough as a living-room addition. But if you don’t want to leave them out, they’re also easy to store since each individual pillow can easily slide under a sofa or shelf.

I find adult guests gravitate toward these as much as children and often stack them up to sit at coffee-table level with their drink within reach.

This foldable cushion is getting a lot of love from my entire family. It is very light and folds in half for easy storage or for doubling the cushion height. You can sit cross-legged on the entire cushion or use it folded to raise your backside higher than your legs. The cover is made from a durable, nice-looking canvas and can be used both indoors and out (Snow Peak is known for its camping gear, and this is designed for use at the campsite or at home). This cushion looks nice enough to keep out on its own, and it’s easy to maintain: It can be dusted off and spot-cleaned as needed.

This crescent-shaped buckwheat meditation pillow gets you down to about six inches off the ground, keeping your backside more elevated than your legs when you’re seated cross-legged. That spinal extension allows you to sit for longer. You can unzip the inner compartment to increase or decrease the amount of buckwheat for your own comfort, although I found the amount it came with was perfect. The buckwheat really molds to your body’s shape and helps me sit up straight. Its small handle makes it easy to move around. It looks a bit like it belongs in a physical therapist’s office, but it’s small enough to be put away when not in use. It comes in a range of monochromatic colors, and the cover is machine washable.

The Muji Idee Mini Puuf is about two-thirds the size of the CB2 one and is more like a beanbag than an ottoman. It’s also lightweight and can easily be moved from room to room. The washable cover is sold separately, but the cover doesn’t fully envelop and comes without a zipper or buttons, so it tends to slip around and needs readjusting often. But the pouf itself is comfortable and takes on the shape of the sitter, getting you close to the ground but not so low that you risk getting stuck there. I don’t love the fact that it doesn’t return to its original shape after use, which looks a little sloppy to me, but the range of covers available makes it possible to coordinate easily with your décor.

This basic round meditation cushion is perfectly adequate if you want a bit of padding to sit cross-legged on the floor, but it doesn’t really do anything that a regular cushion can’t do. I find my children use it to sit on the floor and read sometimes, but visually it’s not really one I want to have out in the living room.