Pillows can give a sofa new life. Here’s how to pick them.
Tired of the two matching pillows anchoring the corners of my flax-colored sofa, I decided I needed a crash course in Pillows 101. I’d seen enough enticing Instagram posts from tastemakers to convince me that it was time to change up my very traditional look.
Deploying a variety of pillow shapes, sizes and textures is the best way to elevate and personalize one of the largest pieces of furniture in your home, according to design professionals, who have no shortage of opinions on pillow choice and placement.
“Pillows show your personality in a funny way, sort of like art and decorative objects and textiles,” said textile designer John Robshaw, known for his indigo, hand-blocked and ikat print pillows. “A sofa with a pillow on each corner is really boring. Get your personality out there and add in some different styles, colors and sizes.”
Beth Diana Smith, a New Jersey designer, agrees. “The worst is a matchy-matchy look, like a green sofa with green pillows,” she said. “It makes it feel lazy and unimaginative and creates a very boring look. The goal is for your pillows to feel curated.”
Your room will look more polished with groupings of decorative pillows (sometimes called “throw” or “toss” pillows to differentiate from bed pillows) in the middle of a sofa or at either end.
“The right and left side of the sofa do not have to match,” said Nicole Fisher of BNR Interiors in New York. “It’s an easy way to introduce a little bit of pattern without a big commitment.” And remember: Designers often say groups of odd numbers are best, so go with three, five or seven pillows, depending on whether you have a petite love seat or an oversize sectional.
If you’re not comfortable mixing and matching on your own, some makers, including Robshaw, offer pillow bundles: an assortment of pieces (often three to five) that a professional has chosen because they work well together.
As for where to find them, pillows are available at many retailers and from Etsy makers. You can also buy fabrics and sew them yourself or have them made by a local professional. Smith likes the selection at Jungalow as well as the vast options from HomeGoods. Fisher likes the off-the-rack pillows from CB2, Crate & Barrel and RH.
We asked Robshaw, Smith and Fisher for ideas on how to strengthen your pillow game. Here are five tips.
Treat your sofa like a canvas
A cream or gray sofa is the perfect neutral for assembling pillows that express your style. If you like a calming natural palette, stick with the tone of your upholstery, adding interest with pillows of various shapes and in different textures, weaves, tweeds and tone-on-tone prints, Robshaw said. If you’re not afraid to go bold, pick a color, then experiment with multiple shades of that color. Or mix several colors that pick up hues of other objects in the room. “The most important thing is to make sure there is one cohesive color throughout all of your pillows,” Fisher said.
Consider the sofa’s function
If the sofa is for relaxing and watching TV, make sure you have comfortable pillows with washable covers in cotton or linen. Keep pets and children in mind, too; a chunky knit or faux fur is not ideal for anyone with cats, for example, and silk or velvet is not a good choice if you have kids who eat on the sofa.
Be mindful of scale
“On sofas, people often err on smaller-size pillows. I like to go bigger,” said Robshaw, who is a fan of 26-inch square pillows. “Scaling up your pillows on a sofa makes it fun and dramatic. It’s more comfortable to have a big cushion behind you,” he said. If you have a long sofa, vary the shapes. A rectangle or kidney-shaped pillow allows you to “have a change of scale and make it visually exciting,” Robshaw said. One statement shape that has been popping up on Instagram recently is a ball. Check out the velvet sphere from CB2 or Athena Calderone’s shearling spherical pillow from Crate & Barrel.
Don’t use the same fabric and color as your upholstery
Smith said a green velvet sofa with green velvet pillows is not a good look; neither is a black leather sofa with black leather pillows. She blames furniture retailers for promoting that matchy-matchy look because many still include two matching pillows in the same fabric and color with the purchase of a sofa. Smith suggests being more thoughtful about your choices and seeking different materials, colors or patterns. For a leather sofa, velvet pillows will soften the look. On velvet sofas, she gravitates toward cottons and woven materials for contrast.
Take your time arranging them
Arranging pillows is sort of like creating a gallery wall, Robshaw said. “You put different sizes together and decide what looks dinky next to what or what color looks good next to the other,” he said. “It’s a process.” You could make the process fun and get other opinions by having a pillow party: Buy a bunch of pillows you like, whether they are related by color or theme, and invite a friend or two over for a showing, trying different combinations on for size. Anything that doesn’t work, return. Smith said it’s important to test the pillow combos you come up with, especially if you are mixing prints, which can be tricky. “Make sure the size of the patterns vary. They can’t all be big prints; you have to mix up small, medium and large ones,” Smith said. “It’s even hard for a designer to visualize how pillows will work together without trying it. You need to see it with the sofa.”