It sounds easy enough, right?
Picking the perfect size pillow for your sofa. I mean, it's a square or rectangle ... two choices.. how hard can it be?
Pictured Pillows: White Boho Tassel, Striped Vintage Indio, Dark Wash Vintage Indigo
Pictured: Vintage Wood Rope Vases
But sometimes it really is tough to get the right scale and balance with pillows.
Unless you know a few tricks.
Rule of thumb: #1 Consider function.
Before you go crazy on a pillow shopping spree, first think about how much use that sofa gets. How many people in your family sit on it on a daily basis? If you have a high-use sofa, meaning one frequented by kids and guests, make sure you leave enough room to sit--without anyone throwing your designer pillows on the ground so they can squeeze on.
Rule of Thumb: #2 Consider length of your sofa.
Measure how long your sofa is. The shorter the sofa the less pillows you'll need. Typically for a 7-ft sofa (standard size) you can do 3-4 pillows, two 20x20's in each corner, or a 26x26 and 16x26 lumbar in one corner and 1 of the 20x20 in the other.
Pictured pillows: B&W Mini-Arrow/Dot, Designer Mustard/White Texture, Black Heart Authentic Mud Cloth,
Rule of Thumb: #3 Consider the height of the arms & back of the sofa.
Now look at the style of your sofa. Does it have a high back and rolled arms? If so, you can use a larger scale pillow, such as a 26x26 coupled with a 20x20 or 16X26 (pictured below). Does it have a sleek, low-back, low-arm profile? Then going with 20x20's would be your best bet. That way the pillows won't overpower your sofa.
Pictured Pillows: Oversize cross mudcloth, striped vintage indigo lumbar.
Rule of Thumb: #4 Consider your room color pallet.
The best way to come pillow shopping is with pictures of your room & sofa. Take pictures of your whole space, including the wall color, floor color, sofa color & any other furnishings in the room, such as rugs or coffee tables.
Then take a few close-up pics of your sofa, so you have a great idea of the true fabric color. If you have fabric swatches those are even better.
When choosing pillows, it's super helpful to refer to these so you can put together a cohesive collection of pillows that compliment your space and bring together all elements of the room.
Pictured Pillows: Cross authentic mudcloth, striped vintage indigo lumbar, oversized arrow authentic mudcloth.
Rule of Thumb: #5 Consider patterns.
Do you want a matchy-matchy look? Or, a complimentary mix-and-match vibe? You decide, and both can look great. Generally, I like to have one repeating pattern on either side of the sofa, and then add two complimentary but different patterns next to them.
Here is an example:
First pic: I have the same textured 26x26 cream pillows on either side, flanked by two different but complimentary 20x20s
Pictured Pillows: Textured cream, Boho Grey Fringe, Bella Designer stripe.
Pictured Pillows: White and Grey Dash Authentic Mud Cloth, Vintage Grey Fringe Stripe.
Rule of Thumb: #6 Ask for help.
We love helping our customers curate a cozy space and we love picking pillows. So if you are in need of some consultation just shoot us an e-mail at [email protected]. Or, type your question in our 24-hr live chat button that pops up on the lower right corner of our site.
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