Styling Throw Pillows In Your Home
Throw pillows are to your home what jewelry is to your outfit. They can really gussy things up in a formal way, be a focal point, or even add pops of color to an otherwise neutral space.
At Elegant Simplicity, we’re believers that throw pillows are an accessory + pairing them together, mixing + matching them in fun + unique ways is an integral part of creating an emotionality around your home.
Really, from sophisticated + formal to casual + comfortable, throw pillows can help do it all.
And one of the small, but oh so frustrating, things our clients often struggle with in their home is pulling it all together.
Often our clients come to us wanting for Elegant Simplicity to take the lead + do it all for them because these tiny details of not knowing how or where to start are simply put: overwhelming.
They’re overwhelming because it’s not only not an area of expertise but focusing on this steals their time away, which is ever fleeting, from loving on their people.
So, we’re breaking down styling throw pillows in your home because when it comes to design, peace of mind in knowing it was done right is the ultimate luxury.
Throw Pillows: Covers vs Inserts
Let’s kick things off by breaking down the anatomy of a quality throw pillow.
Throw Pillow Covers
A throw pillow cover is, as it sounds, the cover. It’s the fabric that you see on the pillow itself. In quality throw pillows, the pillow covers are separate from the pillow insert with an envelop or zipper that keeps the pillow + the insert together.
Throw Pillow Inserts
On the otherhand, a pillow insert is the actual cushion or pillow that is used to fill the pillow covers. From pattern, texture and color… the world of pillow covers is as a diverse as you’d imagine but so too is the selection of pillow insert types.
There are various types of pillow inserts but some of the most common we use are — down inserts, synthetic-down inserts, soft feather inserts, and kapok or green fiber pillow inserts. More on this later…
Determining Throw Pillow Sizing
Understanding that throw pillow covers + inserts are two separate things is often just the icing on the cake boo *wink*
Determining the right type of insert + the correct size for your throw pillow covers can be tricky. On one hand, you want a throw pillow to look full + show off that gorgeous design but you don’t want it to be too full that it’s uncomfortable or worse loosening the threads of your pillow cover.
On the otherhand, you don’t want the pillow too be too slouchy that it doesn’t provide any support or makes the pillow cover look like a size too big for it’s insert.
If this sounds like a game of cat + mouse, then you’re right it. It is :)
We use a general rule to help determine the appropriate size pillow insert that pairs well with the pillow covers we’ve selected for our full-service design clients.
Now, this isn’t grade school friend — rules are guidelines + certain situations call for breaking them.
Selecting The Right Size Pillow Insert
To determine the right size pillow insert, we take the size of the pillow cover + add 2” to determine our pillow insert. We’ve found that anything more than 2” makes a pillow feel very full + distracts from the luxurious look.
For an 18” square pillow cover, we’d select a 20” pillow insert.
A 22” pillow cover, we’d choose a 24” pillow insert.
From time-to-time, a situation will require a pillow insert to be the same size as the pillow cover + as long as the fill is selected correctly this too will look great.
Throw Pillow Layout
Determining the right layout for throw pillows on a bed, sofa, sectional, bench or chair can be difficult but in classic Elegant Simplicity fashion, we’re all about making things simple.
In general, when it comes to throw pillow layouts, we start by placing the largest throw pillows in the back + layering them with smaller pillows up front. This does two things:
It ensures that when someone sits down — it’s comfortable + that it supports them in the way they expect for it to. In other words, the throw pillows function correctly ;)
But it also does something from an aesthetic perspective as well — by placing the smallest throw pillows in front we’ve created a small vignette where all the throw pillows are actually visible.
Regardless of what type of furniture it is… we typically layer throw pillows in 2” increments.
A 24” pillow should have a 22” pillow in front
A 20” pillow should have an 18” pillow in front
Now again, these rules or formulas we use are merely guidelines. Interior design + creating home is an art so from time-to-time, we need to break the rules *wink*
Pillow Insert Types
As we mentioned earlier, the world of pillow insert types is complex but we’ll break down several that we often use on our client projects.
Feather or Down Inserts
For a soft + lofty feel, feather + down are certainly at the top of the list. Not only are these pillow inserts comfortable as they form to your body but they maintain their shape + their volume over time. As need be, they can be fluffed + reshaped to look beautiful + full again.
When it comes to values that we build home around we know it’s important (+ difficult) to find feather or down inserts that have been ethically harvested, cleansed, steam cleaned and/or sanitized in a way that’s not harmful to anyone (animals or people) in the process. That’s why as a full-service interior design firm, we pride ourselves in the Awesome Vendors we use :)
Down Alternative Inserts
Down alternative is often a great pillow insert option for those with down-allergies or anyone who doesn’t like feather or down inserts but wants the comfort + feel. While technically, down-alternative comes in many different blends we often use a polyester microfiber that emulates down extremely well.
Kapok is another down alternative that is naturally harvested, resistant to mites, antimicrobial + hypoallergenic. It is a bit more buoyant than most down alternatives while Green fiber is made from recycled materials.
Styling Throw Pillows
With the basics of how size, layout + insert types can play a huge impact on the aesthetics of throw pillows, let’s focus now on the styling or design considerations around throw pillows.
There’s a lot of different ways that our design team at Elegant Simplicity approach styling throw pillows.
Once we’ve nailed the layout (remember, we’re thinking in descending order)... take for instance, we know that in the center of the sectional there might be a 24” pillow in the corner, a 22” in the middle + a small lumbar in front.
Now, we’re focused on a few different aspects of the aesthetics.
Determining The Appropriate Design Palette
Often people think of design palettes as color, texture, pattern. And that’s absolutely true. BUT at Elegant Simplicity — when we think of design palettes we’re taking it a step further.
We’re considering what mood the space is going to exude. We want to be incredibly intentional about selecting color, textures and patterns that are in alignment with the emotionality of the spaces we’re designing.
Selecting Color
As we’ve talked about quite a bit on the blog, color has an incredible impact on how we feel in a space + we want the spaces we’re designing to naturally flow together.
When we’re selecting color palette’s we’re incorporating biophillic principles, looking around at what else is being designed in the space + pulling together tones that further the emotionality + feeling we’re after.
One great place to start is to consider what is the general color of the furniture that the throw pillows will be on. Is it a neutral sectional? A custom walnut bench? An upholstered bed? And what colors are already present in those pieces?
While selecting color is an important aspect to finishing a space, you don’t want to overwhelm the room with so many colors that it feels jarring or unsettling.
Choosing Pattern
When it comes to throw pillows, patterns add a layer of luxury to the space. They don’t have to be matchy-matchy to work together. In fact, we use a simple a rule to help us choose patterns when selecting throw pillows for our clients.
Yep, that’s it. That’s the rule. If we’re marrying two patterns together — which pattern is taking the lead from a scale perspective? We don’t want two small patterned throw pillows together nor do we want two large patterned throw pillows together.
We want one pattern that’s more dominant in scale and another that’s smaller. This ensures that the throw pillows will feel tailored + well thought out.
Incorporate Texture
Incorporating texture is another important aspect to creating a home that feels like a place you never want to leave. Now, a lot like patterns… textures can be bold or subtle.
They can be smooth. They can be soft. They can be fuzzy. They can be tasseled.
Throw pillows that incorporate texture might be small and almost hard to tell the texture is even there until you’re up close but they can also be large.
Oftentimes, pattern + texture can go hand-in-hand.
Karate Chopping Throw Pillows
Huh? Yeah, boo. Karate :)
If you’ve never heard of this don’t worry you’re not alone — pillow chopping your throw pillows is like the rest of designing your home… personal preference. In any case, a pillow chop simply karate chops the top of the pillow to create an indentation.
We like the look as it can highlight and add a dimension to a particular pattern or texture but it also can dress up + formalize a space.
Fluffing Throw Pillows
On the other side of things, simply fluffing the throw pillows works too. Fluffing is simply evening out the pillow so the insert is full in all areas + then squeezing the sides of the pillow so the center looks “fluffed.”
Fluffing can create an inviting + comfortable look to the space without drawing attention.
It’s important to remember when it comes to designing your home, peace of mind is the ultimate luxury. From throw pillow sizing, pillow inserts to choosing color, pattern and texture there’s a lot to consider. Don’t be afraid to drop your comments about styling throw pillows below OR if you’re completely overwhelmed by all of this (which we totally get) + you’re in need of a bit of help, then let’s chat.
And if you absolutely loved this article about styling throw pillows for your home then trust me boo, you’re going to really enjoy this FREE video course: 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.