Quick answer
These two shops are not selling the same thing, and that is the whole comparison. Bed Bath N' Table sells finished cushions with the filling already inside — 136 of them, roughly $30 to $90, ready to drop on the sofa. Gleemium sells covers only — 79 handmade designs, $45 to $120, and you supply your own insert. Bed Bath N' Table works out cheaper and needs no extra thinking. Gleemium costs more and needs an insert, but you get hand embroidery, block printing and tufting that machines cannot copy, and the covers fold flat in a drawer instead of filling a cupboard.
Start here: the thing that confuses everyone
Search "cushions Australia" and you get two completely different products with almost the same name.
A cushion is the finished thing — fabric outside, filling inside, ready to use.
A cushion cover is just the outer fabric. It has a zip. You slide your own insert in.
Bed Bath N' Table mostly sells the first. Gleemium only sells the second. Until you have decided which one you actually want, comparing prices between them tells you nothing — a $45 cover and a $45 cushion are not competing, because one of them still needs a $15 insert before you can use it.
So this guide is not really "which shop is better". It is three questions that will tell you which shop is for you.
Key takeaways
- Gleemium is covers only. Every listing says so: "This is a cover only. Filler insert is sold separately." Gleemium does not sell inserts either, so you will buy those elsewhere.
- Bed Bath N' Table is mostly filled cushions, largely under its own Morgan & Finch label — 126 of the 136 items listed.
- Bed Bath N' Table is cheaper. Its cushions sit in three price bands: 30 items at $10–$29, 42 at $30–$49, 43 at $50–$99. Gleemium's covers run $45 to $120 with a median of $65, before you add an insert.
- Gleemium has more variety in one narrow category — 79 cover designs, 78 in stock, all handmade using embroidery, block printing, tufting or macrame.
- Your insert should be the same size as the cover or up to 5cm bigger. A 45cm cover with a 50cm insert looks plump. A 45cm cover with a 40cm insert looks sad (Sheet Society, Simply Cushions).
- Covers store flat. Three seasons of filled cushions fill a cupboard. Three seasons of covers fit in a drawer.
This article covers
- Question 1: Do you already own cushion inserts?
- Question 2: How often do you change your look?
- Question 3: Does it matter to you how it was made?
- What it actually costs
- Side-by-side facts
- Getting the insert size right
- Washing and care
- So who should buy where?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
Question 1: Do you already own cushion inserts?
If you have inserts sitting in old tired cushions, buy covers. If you are starting from nothing, filled cushions are simpler and cheaper.
This is the fork in the road. Most Australian homes already own four to six cushions where the fabric has faded, pilled or just gone out of favour — but the insert inside is completely fine. Feathers and polyester fill last years longer than the fabric wrapped around them.
If that is you, buying whole new cushions means paying again for filling you already have, then finding somewhere to put the old ones.
If you are furnishing a room from scratch, the calculation flips. A filled cushion from Bed Bath N' Table arrives finished. A cover from Gleemium arrives as fabric, and you still need to buy inserts before your sofa looks like anything.
Worth being straight about: Gleemium does not sell inserts. You will need to get them from somewhere like IKEA, Kmart, Spotlight or a specialist such as Simply Cushions. That is an extra order and an extra decision, and for some people that alone settles it.
Question 2: How often do you change your look?
Change things once and forget about it — buy cushions. Change with the seasons or your mood — buy covers.
Here is the part nobody mentions in cushion guides: storage.
A filled 45cm cushion is bulky. Four of them take up most of a shelf. If you buy a new set every spring, after three years you own twelve cushions and eight of them live in a cupboard you would rather use for something else.
A cover is a flat piece of fabric. Four of them fold into the corner of a drawer. You keep four inserts permanently and rotate the covers.
That is the real argument for covers, and it is a practical one rather than a financial one. It also means less going to landfill, since the bulky part of the cushion keeps getting reused.
Question 3: Does it matter to you how it was made?
If a cushion is just a colour to you, buy the cheaper one. If you want texture you can feel, that is where Gleemium's range sits.
Bed Bath N' Table's cushions are made in volume for a national chain. The Morgan & Finch range covers linen blends, velvets, faux fur and printed designs, and it is coordinated so a cushion matches the bedding two aisles over. That consistency is genuinely useful when you want a room to look pulled together.
Gleemium's covers are made by hand — hand embroidery, hand block printing, tufting, macrame knotting, sequin work. The pattern is worked into the fabric rather than printed on the surface, so it has depth you can feel with your hand, and no two pieces are quite identical.
Neither is better. They are aimed at different things. A mass-produced velvet cushion in exactly the right shade of olive may be precisely what your room needs. So might a hand-tufted cover that nobody else on your street owns.
Some starting points in Gleemium's range: the Tribal Cushion Cover ($50) as an affordable entry, the Arrow Tufted Cushion Cover ($66) for real raised texture, or the Tribal Monochrome Lumbar Cushion Cover ($48) if your sofa needs a long one. The full range is in Cushion Covers.
What it actually costs
Let's do the maths honestly, for a sofa with four cushions.
| Bed Bath N' Table | Gleemium | |
|---|---|---|
| First purchase | 4 filled cushions at ~$45 = $180 | 4 covers at $65 = $260, plus 4 inserts at ~$15 = $320 |
| What you end up with | 4 finished cushions | 4 covers + 4 reusable inserts |
| Changing the look later | 4 new cushions = $180 | 4 new covers = $260 (inserts reused) |
| After three changes | $540, and 12 cushions to store | $840, and 12 covers in a drawer |
Bed Bath N' Table is cheaper. It stays cheaper. We are not going to pretend otherwise — buying covers does not save you money against a chain retailer's sale prices, and Bed Bath N' Table discounts often.
What the extra money buys at Gleemium is handwork, designs that are not in every second living room, and a set that stores flat. If those things are worth roughly $100 per refresh to you, covers make sense. If they are not, they do not, and the honest advice is to go to Bed Bath N' Table.
Prices are indicative. Bed Bath N' Table figures are taken from its cushions page in September 2026, when much of the range was discounted; full prices are higher. Insert prices are typical Australian retail, not a Gleemium product.
Side-by-side facts
| Gleemium | Bed Bath N' Table | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Cover only, insert separate | Mostly filled cushions |
| Items listed | 79 covers (78 in stock) | 136 cushions |
| Price range | $45 – $120 (median $65) | Bands: $10–$29, $30–$49, $50–$99 |
| Own brand | Gleemium | Morgan & Finch (126 of 136) |
| How made | Hand embroidered, block printed, tufted, macrame | Made in volume |
| Materials | Cotton, velvet | Linen blend, velvet, faux fur, cotton |
| Shapes | Square and lumbar | Square, lumbar, round, novelty |
| Sells inserts | No | Included in most items |
| Where to buy | Online only, ships from Perth | Stores nationwide plus online |
| Free shipping | Every order, no minimum | Over a spend threshold |
| See before buying | Photos only | Yes, in store |
Compiled from both companies' public websites in September 2026. Ranges and prices change.
Getting the insert size right
This is where most cover purchases go wrong, and it is easy to avoid.
The rule: your insert should be the same size as the cover, or up to 5cm bigger. Never smaller.
A 45cm cover with a 45cm insert gives a neat, tailored look. The same cover with a 50cm insert gives a full, plump one, and stops the corners going floppy over time (Sheet Society). Go smaller than the cover and you get a flat, creased cushion that looks like a mistake.
| Cover size | Insert for a tailored look | Insert for a plump look |
|---|---|---|
| 45 × 45cm | 45 × 45cm | 50 × 50cm |
| 50 × 50cm | 50 × 50cm | 55 × 55cm |
| 30 × 50cm (lumbar) | 30 × 50cm | 35 × 55cm |
| 40 × 60cm (lumbar) | 40 × 60cm | 45 × 65cm |
45 × 45cm is the most common size in Australian homes, with 50 × 50cm close behind (Simply Cushions).
Measure the insert, not the old cover. Covers stretch and shrink with washing; the insert is the honest measurement.
Feather or polyester? Feather inserts look better — they slump slightly and have that lived-in look designers like — but they need plumping and can poke through fine fabric. Polyester holds its shape with no effort and suits anyone who wants the sofa to look neat without fussing.
Washing and care
Covers are easier to look after than filled cushions, and that is a real advantage.
With a cover, you unzip it and wash it. With a filled cushion, you are washing the filling too, which takes ages to dry and often never regains its shape.
For cotton and velvet covers:
- Take the insert out first
- Cold wash on a gentle cycle
- Turn embroidered, tufted or sequinned covers inside out so the stitching does not catch
- Skip the dryer — line dry in the shade, because strong Australian sun fades natural dye quickly
- Iron on low from the back if needed
- Spot clean macrame and heavily textured pieces instead of full washing
For filled cushions: check the label. Many are spot clean only. Some have removable covers hidden behind a zip, which is worth checking before you buy.
So who should buy where?
Buy from Bed Bath N' Table if you want it finished and on the sofa today, you are furnishing from scratch, price is the deciding factor, you want to match cushions to bedding, or you like to squeeze the thing before you buy it.
Buy from Gleemium if you already own inserts, you change your look with the seasons, you want handwork rather than print, you are short on storage, or you would rather not chase a minimum spend for free shipping.
A combination works well too. Plenty of people run two or three plain, good quality filled cushions from a chain as the base, then add one or two handmade covers as the pieces that actually get noticed. That is cheaper than going all handmade and looks better than going all mass-produced.
Frequently asked questions
Does Gleemium sell cushion inserts?
No. Gleemium sells covers only — every listing states that the insert is sold separately. You will need to buy inserts from another retailer such as IKEA, Kmart, Spotlight or a cushion specialist.
Are Bed Bath N' Table cushions filled or covers only?
Most items in its cushions range are complete filled cushions with the insert included, largely under its own Morgan & Finch brand. A small number of covers appear in the range, so check the individual product page.
What size insert do I need for a 45x45 cushion cover?
A 45 × 45cm insert for a neat, tailored look, or a 50 × 50cm insert for a fuller, plumper one. Never use an insert smaller than the cover, as it will look flat and creased.
Is it cheaper to buy cushion covers or whole cushions?
Whole cushions are usually cheaper to buy, especially on sale at a chain retailer. Covers become the better value only if you already own good inserts and plan to change your look more than once, since you are not repaying for filling each time.
How much do cushion covers cost in Australia?
Basic covers start around $10 to $20. Mid-range designs run $30 to $60. Handmade covers with embroidery, tufting or block printing generally sit between $45 and $120, depending on the work involved.
Can you wash handmade cushion covers?
Yes. Remove the insert, wash cold on a gentle cycle, and line dry in the shade. Turn embroidered, tufted or sequinned covers inside out first to protect the stitching. Spot clean macrame instead of machine washing.
What is the most common cushion size in Australia?
45 × 45cm is the most common, with 50 × 50cm next. Lumbar cushions are usually around 30 × 50cm or 40 × 60cm.
Should I use feather or polyester inserts?
Feather gives a softer, more relaxed look but needs regular plumping and can shed through fine fabrics. Polyester holds its shape with no maintenance and is better for allergies and for anyone who wants a neat sofa without effort.
Sources
- Gleemium — Cushion Covers collection (79 products, pricing, materials, cover-only listings, accessed September 2026) — gleemium.com
- Bed Bath N' Table — Cushions (136 items, price bands, Morgan & Finch brand count, accessed September 2026) — bedbathntable.com.au
- Sheet Society — Cushion Size Guide (insert sizing for plump versus tailored) — sheetsociety.com
- Simply Cushions — Standard Cushion Sizes in Australia (common Australian sizes) — simplycushions.com.au
Last reviewed: 21 September 2026. Product counts and prices were checked on both websites in September 2026. Bed Bath N' Table prices were recorded during a sale period and will differ at full price.
Already own inserts? Browse Gleemium's handmade cushion covers — hand embroidered, block printed and tufted, with free postage anywhere in Australia.
