Pillow Talk: The Complete Guide to Throw Pillows
25 places to find throw pillows, and pillow advice from an interior designer
Are you having a hard time finding pillows for your home and are you feeling crazy that it is so hard? You would think it would be the easiest part of the design process, like the sprinkles on top of the sundae. Pillows can make a room feel complete, and tie everything together. There are infinite options when it comes to pillows, and plenty of ugly pillows out there, so it can be overwhelming finding the right ones. I’m writing this post because my friend who just graduated from Harvard Business School asked me to write a post helping his wife and him find pillows. So if you find yourself spiraling while trying to find cute throw pillows, don’t worry, even Harvard grads need help with pillows.
Despite interning for Celerie Kemble and holding a degree in architecture, after college I started my career in consulting at Accenture instead of going straight into interior design. I did this because I thought that interior design was more of a hobby or a silly job where people just bought and fluffed pillows. I continued to do furniture plans on the side for an interior designer during my time at Accenture, and after 3 years I decided I needed to pursue something I cared about, despite a dramatic pay cut. Through a series of jobs; first in hospitality for 2 weeks before covid shut down the industry, then at an amazing interior design company in DC, Sanabria and Co, I landed where I now have been for 4 years, Chango.
Anyway, finding pillows is still tough. It has taken me weeks to even write this post because there are so many pillows out there. They are sort of like art where they don’t have an extreme function, like a place to sleep, sit or eat, they need to be a particular size, they can be framed in different ways, the options feel endless, and there are so many ugly ones. Below are some of my favorite places to find pillows, some of my favorite pillows, and lots of tips on choosing the best ones for your space.
Here is a list of great sources for pillows:
Dear Keaton (block prints)
Intiearth (colorful and neutrals)
House of Cindy (mudcloth and dyed pillows)
Collyer’s Mansion (block print patterns)
Clic (colorful)
Sien + Co (neutrals)
Carolina Irving & Daughters (colorful, block print)
Artemist (can get expensive, I’ve seen a $3k pillow on here, but also some gems)
The Post Supply (block prints)
William Sonoma Home (love the Josh Young collection)
Christina Lundsteen (colorful)
Leif (mostly block print)
Schumacher (everything)
Claud Home (neutrals)
Homies LA (colorful kilin)
Smallable (everything)
Virginia Kraft (block print)
Slow Roads (all kinds)
Quail Store (all kinds)
House of Quintana (colorful)
Ma Kilim Pillows on Etsy (kilim)
Maison Flaneur (colorful)
Anchal Home (colorful)
One Affirmation (all types)
Liberty London (colorful patterns)
Pillow Tips
If the pillow doesn’t come with an insert, always buy an insert that is 2 inches larger than the pillow. You want that pillow looking stuffed!
If you know a fabric you like, someone on Etsy makes or will be able to make a pillow in that fabric. Similarly, if you find a pillow that is too expensive or the wrong size, you can find someone on Etsy to make it for you for less.
Down vs. down alt inserts depends on your priorities - down is usually more luxurious and weightier feeling, but causes some people allergies and if they cover is thinner, the feathers can poke you. Down alt/foam is perfectly fine for throw pillows and allergy and poke free, albeit a little less weighty and plush.
Colors: typically go for complete contrast, or complete matching. I said this earlier, but one of the crucial roles pillows can play besides back support is making a room look complete by pulling in colors from other parts of the room. For example: you have a beige sofa, blue chair, and a pale peach patterned rug with a hint of deep maroon. Put pillows of the sofa that are maroon with hints of blue, and maybe a beige pillow on the blue chair.
Pattern, stripes or solid: also go for complete contrast here. If your furniture is small scale patterned - do solid, striped or large scale patterned pillows and visa versa.
Throw Pillow Shapes
Square: most common throw pillow shape, these typically come in: 18”x18”, 20”x20”, 22”x22”, 24”x24”
Lumbar: scientifically it means a pillow to support your lumbar, or your lower back. Practically, this just means a smallish rectangular pillow. These typically come in 12”x20”, 12”x24” or 14”x36”. These can also be really long used for the front of a bed pillow stack
Bolster: cylinder shaped pillows. Originally used to hug while sleeping, these are typically used on beds, but there are very cute sofa use cases like below.
Round: cute disk shaped pillows. These are great to break up a series of too many rectangles.
Sphere: trendy pillow balls. I love adding a ball pillow to traditional furniture to give it a cool edge. Like your grandma wearing cargo pants.
Other shapes: these could be geometric, like a triangle, or motif like a shell. Not just for kids, but very cute for kids.
Size and Styling Pillows
Use pillows to bring a bold punch and complete your color story:
Lets say you want a pop of color, but you’re scared to commit to a colorful sofa or wall paint, try some colorful pillows
Does your space feel incoherent? use pillows to tie everything together. Let’s say you have a green chair, a blue rug, and a beige sofa. Put pillows that have some of the same blue and green on the sofa, and some beige on the chair
Does your space feel too serious? Add funky pillows. Does your space feel too relaxed? elevate it with pillows of nicer materials.
Use google sheets to visualize how pillows will look in your room: use the remove background tool on google sheets, or go to remove.bg to remove the background of a pillow photo, then place the pillow on a photo of your sofa/bed/chair etc. Use a tape measure to check the scale is correct. For example, if your sofa back is 16” high and the pillow is 18” high, make the pillow photo a little taller than the sofa back, as shown below:
Vary the size of your pillows, but not by too much:
On a side of a sofa, you could do one 22” x 22” next to one 20” x 20”. I wouldn’t typically do a 24” x 24” next to an 18” x 18”, the size difference is too much
lumbar (rectangular) pillows look cute next to square if they don’t have too much of a height difference
Play with seam style:
See below types of seam styles
All matching pillows can also be incredibly chic
You don’t need to “chop” pillows to get that folded in the middle look, but I encourage some fluffing and make a space look tidy. Squished pillows make a space feel like someone sat there for way too long, it’s uninviting for someone else to sit.
Play with different pillow shapes.
Pillow Seam Types
Knife Edge: the most common type of throw pillow, it just is a plain seam bonding the two sides of a pillow without anything beyond the seam
Welting or Piping: is the rounded fabric on the edge of the pillow, it’s fun to do in a contrasting color
Self Welting: is when there is rounded piping that is the same fabric as the pillow fabric
Wide Flange: this just means there is more fabric beyond the seam
Tassels: cute dangles, like earrings on your pillows
Fringe: (I think you know what this is, it’s a funny thing to define) bits of loose thread on the border
Turkish Corner: shows a little tucking in the corners, sort of like wrapping paper
Box Edge: is typical for seat bench cushions, edges make the pillow into a box shape
I wish you well on your pillow quest!
Other Oddities
This joker hat table lamp for only $180! I want to purchase it, but don’t have a place for it in our apartment, so someone else please do.
This World’s Fair Parasol Lamp - only slightly pricier at $2,565. A one of a kind lamp made by the artist Christopher Tennant.
Amy’s Corn Dip - the best summer app, its a few more steps than a cheese plate
My friend Amy brought this dip she made up to a party in DC in 2019, and I have made it and shared the recipe so many times every summer since then. It perfectly highlights late summer ingredients, and is a major crowd pleaser. It is also really easy to whip up, and pretty healthy. Here is the recipe:
Amy’s Corn Dip
Ingredients (makes one large bowl)
1-2 bags frozen corn or ~4-5ish corn stalks off the cob
1 large tomato or a few smaller
1/3 red onion
Large bunch of basil
½-1 package of good feta
Around 3-4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Recipe:
Microwave frozen corn or shuck corn
Chop up red onion, tomato, basil very small
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl
Serve with tortilla chips!
It lasts for a few days in the fridge, and tastes just as great the next day. Enjoy!
This orange punch buggie with tiger print seats at the gas station in Fishers!