With a few throw pillows, you can completely transform the vibe of any room. Play with textures, colors, and sizes to add more personality into a room or to tone down an already busy atmosphere. Below we list six expert tips to choose throw pillows for your home.
Throw pillows come in a variety of fabrics, some textured and some smooth. Below are some different types of fabrics to look for:
Use this fabric when you want to create a beachy, breezy, summer vibe. Ocean blues, sandy beiges, and white linen throw pillows look fantastic in coastal and nautical environments. Perfect for when you live by the beach or want to feel as if you do.
Faux fur is a popular throw pillow fabric that creates a fun, textured accent. Bright white, light pink, and light teal faux fur pillows complement glam and shabby chic interior décor styles well. Set these furry throw pillows against solid colors to create balance between a smooth backdrop and a textured accent.
Velvet, especially in jewel tones, adds an upscale feel to your environment. This fabric is ideal to use during chilly winter months because of its depth and warmth; however, if you are contributing to an overall glam interior design style, velvet can easily complement your space year-round.
Cotton is a great everyday fabric choice – it’s uber casual, easy to clean, and durable. This fabric type is a fast favorite for busy homes that could use a pragmatic approach to décor. When your home is bustling with children and pets, cotton is the way to go when choosing throw pillow fabric.
You can keep your décor uniform and traditional by using standard shapes or go for a more dynamic feel by varying different shapes and sizes. Below are some of the most popular shapes you can choose from:
This is the most common shape for throw pillows. You can primarily find them in 16”, 18”, and 20” – however, you can find other sizes as well. For a traditional look, choose two larger pillows to nestle into couch corners and a smaller set of pillows to place against the larger ones.
Round pillows are great for softening sharp lines. Pair these with square and rectangular pillows to bring curves into an otherwise straight-lined, rigid environment.
Use this rectangular shape to offset larger square pillows. These fit perfectly as the center couch pillow or when in pairs, sitting against larger square throw pillows in the corners of your couch.
Bolster pillows have a cylindrical shape that serves as a mobile arm rest or as a back rest when you’re sitting up in bed. These are best used in the bedroom, on your bed, paired with your favorite comforter.
Look around the room and pick out a color you’d love to accent. If you have a coastal theme, you may want to pull from a blue color palette to create a cohesive arrangement.
Following the example above, if you choose a blue color for your throw pillows, use sandy oranges and yellows to complement the color scheme. To discover complementary colors for the décor in your home, simply look at a color wheel and pick out colors that sit opposite from each other.
Analogous colors sit next to one another on the color wheel. They offer a delicate pop of color when used together.
There are three primary types of insert materials used for throw pillows. They include:
Foam is the densest of insert material options and is great when you want your throw pillows to hold their shape. This material is ideal for support pillows, like bolster and lumbar varieties.
Polyester is your budget-friendly insert material. Pack it in tightly to ensure your pillows hold their shape but don’t expect it to be very supportive. Use this filler when your throw pillows are primarily being used as decorative accents.
Down is the softest insert material that offers a long life and easily fluffs back into shape. Expect your down throw pillows to be ultra-cozy, so place them where they’ll be used frequently. Also, expect to spend more for this material.
If you’re set on using a specific color to match your décor, try incorporating texture into your selections. For instance, if you enjoy a vintage farmhouse feel and a neutral color palette, you could incorporate a white and gray synthetic twill pillow with a dark grey linen pillow and a white pillow that boasts grey cursive letters (your family name, perhaps?).
Interior design styles like bohemian and Scandinavian incorporate a mix of textures and prints that could make a room feel chaotic if not properly balanced. Use bold, solid-colored throw pillows as a balancing element for rooms that need a little more cohesion.
When you want to incorporate color but don’t want to make a statement that is too loud, choose analogous colors when pairing throw pillows. For a warm, lively, and inviting color palette, choose reds, pinks, and oranges. If you prefer to go with a more relaxing feel, opt for purples and blues.
Start by placing your largest throw pillows in each corner of the couch. Then, add your medium-sized pillows, working your way inward toward the center. Finally, finish off the look with your center accent pillow to connect the colors, sizes, and textures for a balanced final arrangement.
Now that you have a trusted guide, get out there and tackle your throw pillow shopping like a pro!
