Throw Pillows

Jennifer McNamara
Dec 13, 2019
5 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2020

Your guide to the soft, plushy secret sauce that makes just about any room look better

When none other than The Meredith BlakeTM says that she's done with throw pillows, it gives you pause. In spite of this devastating blow, I am going to dedicate this entire post to throw pillows because I had already decided to write this before I saw this tweet.

How many throw pillows do I need to be considered a real adult?

So you've been on Pinterest for about 2 hours now trying to figure out how to achieve that perfect "I am a grown up and you can tell because my house looks like I have my shit together" look. And after feverishly wondering what all these chic rooms have in common you've realized, it's money. Money and lots of unnecessary pieces of decoration like throw pillows and gold orbs that really just sort of sit there. But then again, this is your living room, you are also just sort of sitting there. So let's figure out how to sit there and be beautiful together, and also not go broke.

In my amateur opinion, Elaine is wrong, and it is personal. I love throw pillows.

Finding the one(s)?

Do you actually need 100 throw pillows to make your home feel complete? No....unless...

The amount of pillows that feels right to you will depend on the setting for the pillow, your personal style, and your use of the space. Here are my rules of thumb for each setting:

Love seat: 2-3
3 seater: 2-5
Sectional: 3-6
Chair: 1
Bench/window seat: 2-whatever fills the space entirely (totally depends on use of space because sometimes benches and window seats are purely decorative)
Bed: 1-3

Now, factor in your personal style. What number of pillows best conveys what your overall style is? For example, if you are more preppy, you might want fewer pillows to keep your room looking very clean and classic. Minimalists will obviously want as few pillows as they can get away with (but I will maintain that minimalists still need pillows). If you love a more bohemian or even rustic/industrial/farmhouse style (whatever that look is you know the one), you might go for more pillows. At the end of the day, if it looks cluttered to you, or you are constantly wanting to take all the pillows off, it's too many. If you feel like your room looks like a helpless 20-something straight dude's apartment, get more pillows.

The best things take time

This applies to throw pillows. In my opinion, the only way to achieve the look you want is to let your pillows accumulate over time. The most obvious reason is that it saves money. But even if saving is not your biggest goal, first of all who are you and can you pay off my loans? Second, there are other reasons why you shouldn't buy all your pillows at once.

One of those reasons is that you really won't find all your dream pillows at the same time. New things come out all the time and you will fall in love with a new pillow and want to break up with your old pillows. When going on a big "all at once" shopping spree you can also get too stuck on a certain color or pattern and when you put it all together you might find that it looks way too matchy matchy or simply falls flat because it is missing that natural variation. The key to building over time is finding the right blend between buying a new pillow when you weren't necessarily looking for one, moving things around your house, and strategically updating spaces with pillows when they didn’t used to have one.

So when do you actually buy a pillow?

In all cases, don't buy the pillow if you can't afford it. Here are my requirements for buying a new pillow:

You have had a crush on that pillow (or a similar one) for some time and you aren't going to get over it. Even if you know you are developing a long-term pillow crush, I would wait until the 4th or 5th encounter before I would seriously consider buying it.
This pillow is totally unique and you have good cause to believe that there will never be another.
It is something you will still like in a couple years. Remember, you are accumulating over time which means you typically won't get rid of a throw pillow for A WHILE.
You can picture exactly where you will put it/what other pillows it will go with. This brings me to my next big point.

Do I need to worry about my new pillow playing nice with my other pillows?

Yes.

Alright, so if you have a pretty coordinated style, you are thinking about the collective space anyway so this is a no brainer for you. But for all you bohemian, eclectic people who think your style is effortless, you're wrong. Even when you "aren't trying", you're trying because you still make sure that nothing matches anything else too closely, or introduces a completely different style. For example, if you had an extremely eclectic style, you probably wouldn't go for one of those bright colored pink chevron patterned pillows because it's not going to match your overall vibe.

Here is how I make a bunch of pillows, accumulated over time, work. I do generally stick to a color theme. For me, it's warm tones. That's not to say that I don't own blue and green patterned pillows, because I do. But I am much more selective about where I use them and sometimes, they don't make the cut and I end up storing them away. Where color matters less, style matters more. Find something that generally connects all your pillows whether its a color scheme, or overall style. Regardless of your personal style, you should vary the sizes and fabrics of your pillows. It gives the room more depth and personality because not everything is the same. So consider that as well when bringing a new pillow home.

Best affordability tricks

#1: Buy outdoor pillows

Pros:

They are cheaper, probably because they are a little less plump and the fabric is more durable.
They make good couch pillows because they don't have any pokey down feathers that stick into you.

Cons:

They tend to be kind of nautical, jungle, or preppy themed because these are popular outdoor themes.
More durable can often mean less soft.
They are hard to find in the off season.

#2: Buy pillow covers instead of new pillows