image via BHG
Happy Monday friends. I’ve got another round of my Design Chat series for you today and I’m answering a question about selecting and styling pillows for your sofa.
Deziree is having trouble selecting pillows for her living room sofa and posed the following question to me…
” I have had the hardest time styling my living room. I have purchased probably 8 sets of curtains, multiple pillows, hand-made covers, and I still have not finished it. My walls are a grey taupe and my sectional is tan and I currently have natural ivory off white linen curtains. I would love help with picking pillow colors, patterns, shapes and amounts for my sectional. Any suggestion”?
I’ve gotten this question on more than one occasion from readers and I hope the tips I’m sharing will help you if you’re struggling with your pillow decor.
First let’s start with a photo of Deziree’s room…
You can see from the photo that the core color theme of the room is made up of different shades of neutral. Currently the drapes are solid off-white color although you can see in the photos that Deziree has tried patterned drapes in the space as well.
In analyzing the photos, my impression is that Deziree likes neutrals and tends to lean towards softer colors. The teal/aqua lamp on the side table is also an indication that she likes blue tones. So, based on all of that, here are some tips I have for selecting pillows for your sofa and a few recommended pillow combinations for Deziree.
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♦ SELECTING PILLOWS FOR YOUR SOFA ♦
- Pillows are a great way to jazz up your sofa and infuse color into the room. As you go about selecting pillows, think about the other patterns and colors in the room (artwork, rug, painted furniture) and look for pillow options that create a story and tie all of the colors together.
- Think of your pillow combination as jewelry to an outfit and combine a mix of patterns, colors and textures to create impact and visual interest. And keep in mind that pillows should become part of the overall design of the room and not stand out like a sore thumb.
- As part of the visual impact, use pillows in different sizes and shapes. For a standard sofa that could mean combining square pillows with round or lumbar shaped pillows. And for a sectional sofa the combination can become even more dynamic with a mix of square pillows in different sizes plus round pillows plus lumbar pillows.
- A good formula to work with when selecting patterns is ONE LARGE PATTERN (floral) + A MEDIUM SCALE PATTERN IN A DIFFERENT STYLE (geometric or stripe) + A SMALLER SCALE PATTERN OR SOLID (tonal pattern or texture). The photo below represents this pattern mix.
- Start with a dominant pattern and then pull your colors and other patterns from those colors.
- When possible, always buy pillows with down inserts because your pillows will have more loft and will be more comfortable when they are being used. Tip: look for pillows with down inserts in the clearance aisle of your favorite home stores. You can often find not-so-pretty pillows for a bargain and once home, all you have to do is remove the cover and use the down inserts in your own pillow covers.
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♦ STYLING PILLOWS ON YOUR SOFA ♦
The first thing I want to point out is that the number of pillows you have on your sofa is a personal preference. Some people love lots of pillows and use then daily to lounge and relax on the sofa. Others like a minimal number of pillows and really look at them as a decorative accessory versus a functional item. Think about how you use your sofa and let that determine the amount the pillows that will work best for your lifestyle. Once that’s done, keep these styling tips in mind:
- Don’t place to many pillows on the sofa and definitely don’t line them up like soldiers. The pillows should accent the sectional and provide additional visual interest, color and/or texture.
- Depending on the size of the sectional or sofa, you might also want to group more pillows in the center verses on the ends which will add visual weight to the center of the sofa and help balance each arm of the sofa.
- For a traditional sofa, it’s often best that you place pillows only at the arms leaving the center of the sofa free and clear. An exception to this might be a single lumbar pillow in the center of the sofa. But again, the number of pillows on your sofa is up to you.
- To create a good balance along the length of the sofa, start by placing pillows at the outer arms and work your way towards the center mixing shapes and sizes until the mix feels balanced. Within pillow groupings, keep larger size pillows to the back and smaller, odd-shaped pillows up front. Here’s a good pictorial from designer Catlin Wilson to follow…
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Now let’s take a look at a few pillow combinations I pulled together for Deziree.
♦ PILLOW COMBINATIONS FOR YOUR SOFA ♦
Shop these pillows: Spring Meadow Embellished Floral Watercolor Pillow / Lindon Lumbar Pillow / Suzani Embroidered Pillow Cover / Cotton Basketweave Pillow Cover
Shop these pillows: Linden Indigo Blue Pillow / Sailor Blue Jute Braid Pillow Cover / Tressa Pillow / Orange Animal Print Chenille Pillow / Blue Striped Chenille Lumbar Pillow / Rust Herringbone Chenille Pillow
sofa image via Libby Landgon
Shop these pillows: Bubble Knit Boucle Pillow Cover / Navy and Ivory Ticking Stripe Pillow / Lafayette Ikat Pillow Cover / Cozy Boucle Pillow Cover
Shop these pillows: Celena Blue Stripe Pillow / Tile Embroidered Pillow Cover / Cream Blue Floral Pillow Cover / Leaf Green Velvet Pillow
Many of these same sofa styling tips can also apply when picking out pillows for your bed. The bottom line to a good pillow combination is the mix!
One final note, I really liked the patterned curtains Deziree tried at one point and think they will work with any of these pillows combinations. The pattern on the drapes just adds to the visual depth and dimension of the room giving it more character and personality.
