Pillow Talk

Looking for instant gratification to refresh your home decor? New pilos can do the trick. Entire aisles at Home Goods are jammed with pillows of all colors and sizes just waiting for you to take them home and spruce up your sofa. With a discerning eye for pillows that will enhance a room and not look random, I can select pillows at retail outlets keeping costs low, and timing quick. However, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait!

Expanding your pillow purchases to online or custom-made will give your rooms a special touch like the perfect accessory to an outfit. Pillows are an integral part of attractive bedding, sofas, and chairs. Plus, floor pillows can add fun, casual seating to a family room. Pillows are a good place to splurge because they often don't take the same beating as what they sit upon. Solid-color bed coverings, sofas, and chairs can be stylized with the right pillows.

Pillows can play a supporting role and be decided upon late in the design process, or they can play a leading role and be the inspiration for an entire room. I used the latter approach for my living room.

I fell in love with a Schumacher fabric decked in large-scale purple and blue flowers. Due to the fabric's scale, price per yard, and the room's numerous windows, the fabric wasn't appropriate for furniture or window treatments. Therefore, I decided to use it as a feature fabric on pillows for my solid-colored arm chairs and sofa. The three Schumacher pillows became the stars of the room! Every other decision was made to compliment the pillows.

Secondary pillows for the sofa were made in a small-scale, purple geometric fabric.

If you are choosing your pillows last and your room feels disconnected, search for a "hero" fabric. A hero fabric contains all the colors of the room and will make the room design feel intentional.

There are many pillow characteristics to consider: Size, shape, insert material, fabric type, edging and embellishments.

1. Size. 18"-20" square pillows are good for most sofas and chairs.

   If you have an oversized sofa, consider 22" square. Lumbar (rectangular) pillows are good back support (and add variety of shape). Measure the inside width of your chair and deduct about 2 inches for lumbar pillow size. Extra long rectangular pillows give a luxe look when stacked with other bed pillows.

2. Shape. Have fun layering circle, sphere and cylinder shaped pillows!

3. Insert material. Polyester fill is good for outdoor pillows and floor pillows. Otherwise, I suggest a feather-down blend as it feels luxurious, and you can fluff and karate chop the middle of your square pillows for a magazine-worthy presentation. I prefer a feather-down insert that is 2" larger than a square cover for fullness.

4. Fabric. Use outdoor fabric for patio and deck pillows. Consider whether your room needs a pillow fabric to blend softly with or add interest to the existing decor. If the other room elements have a lot of curves, consider a linear fabric and vice versa.

5. Edging. Custom pillows can be sewn with a self welt, knife edge, cording, flange, fringe, or tassels and should have a hidden zipper. Other embellishments include decorative tapes and trims.

I recently found blue velvet, gold-speckled lumbar pillows on clearance at West Elm for a client. Your favorite catalog companies' websites are good resources as is Square Feathers. If finding the perfect pillow is causing a pillow fight, give me a call and I'll find you a winner!