Decorate with Pillows – the Master Mix
They are the “lipstick” of a room: pillows. When it comes to furnishing a living room, they are essential components. Cushions have a great influence on the effect of a room because only they complete the look. So that you don’t get lost in the colorful forest of pillows, we will tell you what to consider when you beautify your home with textile accessories and show you how you can become a master at mixing pillows using very specific examples. This article discusses 10 tips on how to decorate your home with a pillow.
Basic Rules of How to Decorate Home with Pillows
- Pick up the colors of the room in the pillows
- Stay in one color family and choose this as a basic
- Use different pillow sizes to create a cool layered look
- Dare to mix different colors, patterns, and textures (note points 1 and 2)
- Be willing to experiment!
The Effect of Pillows
Decorating with pillows is a wonderful way to give your living room a little update with new color and material trends. Thanks to colored pillows you can easily breathe more contrast and thus life into any room.
If you combine your pillows with each other in such a way that they pick up the colors of the room, you will quickly notice that your living room looks much more harmonious.
Read More: How to Wash Bamboo Pillows in Easy Steps With Video
How to Decorate Home with Pillows
1. Pillow Decorations: What Number, Size, and Shape?
Basically, everyone can of course arrange as many pillows as they want on the sofa. The only styling rule: choose an even number if you want to create a traditional look and an odd number if you have a modern style. When it comes to size, the variance is the magic word: if you just choose standard 50 x 50 cm pillows, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to add depth to your arrangement. Rather choose pillows in different sizes and shapes to create a layered look – it looks more homely and inviting.
2. All of My Pillows: Playing with Materials
Don’t be afraid to combine different textures like velvet, linen, and fur! Combining lighter textures with heavier textures creates a look that is cozy and modern at the same time.
Cushions made of velvet and glitter refine your sofa, pillows made of wool or fur make it cozy, pillows with colorful linen prints create an exotic touch.
The material mix doesn’t have to be limited to your sofa cushions. A fur rug, jute basket, or a glass lamp can also pick up on the cushion materials – so your sofa area becomes a lively eye-catcher.
3. Decorate Pillows With Colors – the Magic Number 3
Basic rule number one: your cushion colors match the other colors in the room and contrast with your sofa.
Set yourself a limit of 3 (dominant) colors – too many different colors can quickly become chaotic and restless.
Opt for complementary colors. With different bright, contrasting tones, the warmer color dominates and your selection appears unbalanced.
If you are undecided about the color decision, follow the ” 60/30/10 rule”: If your pillows are of different sizes, choose the largest in the most neutral and the smallest in the most intense color. You can choose the medium-sized ones in medium tones.
4. Focus on a Color Family
Take a look around your living room and identify 2-3 colors that meet criteria 1 and 3. When you go on a pillow shopping tour, you simply take your color palette with you and always have your colors at hand for comparison.
5. Cushions for Gray Sofas – a Stage for the Exotic
Just see your gray sofa as the stage for the greatest pillows! No other color (although gray is actually a so-called non-color) can handle more color and experimentation.
In the example above, the most diverse patterns, materials (velvet and woven fabric), sizes, and textures are gathered. Nevertheless, there is no unrest, as the color palette is clearly defined: the green of the plant complements the red pillow as a complementary color. This playfully loosens up the furnishings in the room!
Gray sofa with a red cushion as an eye-catcher and a table next to it and green plants
6. Cushions for Gray Sofas – the Monochrome Look
Do you prefer an elegant monochrome look? Then stick to your black and white palette and provide variety on your sofa with pillows in exciting textures! Creped and corrugated pillow structures create a movement for the eye.
Black sofa and light-colored cushions lying on it with a diamond pattern for the black and white look
The same principle for a dark sofa: pillows with white patterns have a refreshing effect – the mix of leather and fabric pillows is exciting despite the black and white setting!
7. Is Your Home Furnished Rather Cautiously?
Contrasts are the magic word! Then be brave and opt for cushions in strong colors that give your living room more depth and comfort. Because basically, the more neutral a room, the more intense the colors of your pillows can be. While pastel sofas harmonize best with other intense pastel colors and strong tones with intense complementary colors, a beige sofa can handle cushions in both versions.
8. Combine Cushions According to Style
Sample joy in perfection, Don’t be afraid to combine different patterns. As long as you orientate yourself on a color palette with a maximum of 3 dominant colors that all your pillows have in common, a coherent overall picture is created. In our leather sofa example, these are black, white, and olive green.
Botany meets graphics, velvet meets leather, green meets black – mixing is possible!
Try to come up with a theme when choosing your pillow patterns. The patterns of the decorative pillows are most likely based on your personal furnishing style. A pastel-colored sofa goes best with decorative pillows in stronger pastel nuances.
Flower patterns go well with shabby chic, stripes with the Scandinavian look, botanical motifs with the boho or industrial style.
If all of this is too wild for you, it can never be a shame to buy a few basics in simple colors such as gray, beige, or white. You can update this basic equipment at any time with patterned, seasonal throw pillows.
If you want to make a statement with your pillows, choose large patterns that are eye-catching. Large, eye-catching patterns have a dominant effect and can significantly change the style of your living room.
For those of you who don’t really dare to use patterned pillows, we advise you to start with very small, repetitive patterns. From a distance, these look like single-colored, structured pillows.
9. Arrange Pillows Correctly
Layered look for more comfort. The elements that overlap one another should ideally differ quite clearly in length, color, and shape. In this way, you provide an extra portion of coziness and casually emphasize your variety of styles. A neutral basic pillow helps you not to lose track of the layered look.
The largest pillows go diagonally on the armrests of your sofa. From now on, pillows of different sizes are overlapped up to the middle – symmetry creates aesthetics!
For example, you could combine two different sized pillows in the same pattern with several solid-colored pillows in different shapes. Or you can choose – if you feel very confident about your color palette – 4-5 pillows of varying shape and size with similar but not identical patterns. That’s the premier class in pillow mixing.
Tip: Make sure that pillows that contain several colors from your color palette are framed by one or two colors. So everything fits together and doesn’t look too wild.
If earthy tones predominate in your four walls, you can add cushions in a metallic look (for example in gold or shimmering copper): With them, you are totally on-trend and they give the room texture and a less good look.
10. Intentionally Chaotic
Gone are the days when cushions could be stiff and tidy on the sofa! Today you can give them a karate blow because the fold loosens up the same shapes and unites pillows of different sizes and shapes.
Pillows give a seasonal update quickly and inexpensively In spring and summer, choose bright, friendly colors such as yellow, orange, and light green, floral prints, and materials such as linen and cotton for your pillow decorations. In autumn and winter, dark, earthy tones such as maroon, navy blue, or dark green and textiles such as fur and velvet are used.
The practical thing: if the seasons change, you simply change the pillowcases.
There are almost endless possibilities to decorate with pillows. The only important thing is that you enjoy selecting and arranging and that your composition works harmoniously – according to the motto, home is what you like!
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