Pillow Combinations
and rules to keep in mind when selecting pillows
As holiday decorations come down and the seasons begin to change, sometimes your home calls for a refresh. One of the best ways to do that (without spending too much money) is by changing out your sofa pillows. Today we’re going to share a few pillow combinations for a few different sofa and or style types for anyone looking for some extra help.
While there are no solid set of “rules” for selecting pillows, these are a few things we look for when searching for pillows for our clients.
We typically don’t use more than 4 pillows on a sofa, 5-7 on a sectional (but of course it always depends on the style of the home). Less is more in our eyes.
For size, we don’t usually do anything smaller/larger than 20x20, 22x22, or 24x24 (however this does depend on the size of your sofa and the amount of pillows you’re using).
We almost always use a down fill insert and prefer a more “full” look so we will sometimes buy one inch size bigger insert.
If there is an option and the budget allows, we prefer pillows that have the same fabric on the front and back.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when mixing different pillows—keep the tones of each pillow similar, avoid mixing too many florals with florals, and consider mixing in different textures (boucle, velvet, linen, wool, etc.).
Obviously there are other factors that go into selecting pillows like sofa fabric, your rug, surrounding artwork, etc. but here are 4 different combinations to consider for your sofa.
As mentioned earlier, we tend to lean on the “less is more” side when it comes to pillows on your sofa. One trick we love to do is add two longer lumbars (in the same fabric) to the center of the sofa for a more minimal and clean look. Marianne did this in her own home and we did it in our Cottonwood Lane project as well.
When it comes to lumbar pillows we typically have them custom made to fit the sofa or chair width perfectly. I know on Etsy there are a handful of shops on there that take custom pillow orders, so look around on there if you’re wanting to do this and don’t know anyone who could make them for you locally. This fabric is one of our favorites, this or this would be such a cute lumbar, and I also love this fabric.
For size reference on the two lumbars—obviously will depend on your exact sofa length, height, and depth, however we try to have the lumbar be at least 14” high so it is tall enough visually on your sofa back. The ones on my own sofa are 14x34.
Have more questions about pillows? Comment in here or in our chat - we’d love to help and our community always has great advice too.
I do love these combinations and can’t wait to buy some once I figure out living room furniture !
Such a beautiful room. Perfection.