Crazy Expensive Pancake Pillows

Mornings are better with pancakes. That’s just science, or at least something I’d be willing to argue over breakfast. But imagine being able to start and end your day lounging on a stack of them. Designer Todd von Bastiaans and collaborator Bryan McCarthy created Pancake Floor Pillows that look like oversized flapjacks. They’re soft, round, ridiculously realistic, and, most importantly, not edible. Why does every piece of food-shaped furniture insist on breaking my heart like this?

Back in 2011, the more elaborate versions were reported at a jaw-dropping $750. Seriously, why? That’s not what most people expect to pay for a pile of breakfast-themed cushions, even if the result looks good enough to drown in maple syrup. The fun is in the visual trick: what appears to be a stack of pancakes is actually a collection of cushions intended for sitting around and generally doing nothing. My kind of meal, frankly.

Pancakes Big Enough to Lounge On

Each standard pancake pillow was described as measuring about 36 inches across, with printed upholstery wrapped around two-inch, memory-type foam. The digital printing supplied the golden, just-cooked look. Some special versions featured more detailed sides and thicker foam. Rather than trying to imitate a tidy sofa cushion, the design celebrates everything uneven and gloriously silly about a short stack of pancakes. Add the butter-shaped accent and suddenly your living room looks suspiciously like the breakfast menu at a diner run by giants.

You could pile several cushions together for a proper stack, scatter them around as floor seats, or lean against one while watching television. Those are obvious lounging ideas, not evidence that the pillows were tested for any special durability or support. What matters is the joke: a familiar breakfast food becomes something big enough to sit on. I already know the first thing guests would say when they walked into my house. The second thing would probably be to ask whether there was any syrup.

The Price Tag Is the Real Breakfast Surprise

Now for the part that might make you choke on your coffee. Contemporary reports described ordinary versions at about $600 each and some special versions at $750. The $750 price applied to some special versions, not every variation, so those pancakes came with different levels of financial pain. Either way, these pancakes were a long way from a budget breakfast. You could furnish a room with regular floor cushions for less, although those probably wouldn’t make you hungry every time you sat down.

There’s no need to pretend they’re a sensible purchase. The appeal is part design experiment, part joke, and part love letter to breakfast. A single enormous pancake cushion might be a conversation starter; a whole stack would look like you lost control of a breakfast-themed decorating project. And that’s kind of wonderful. The only problem is the same one I keep having with food-inspired furniture: no matter how delicious the printing looks, I still can’t eat it. At these prices, maybe that’s for the best.