image above: Studio McGee

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If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have heard me say Always start with a plan, not throw pillows. While this may be true, at some point, you should definitely think about throw pillows. Why?! Because they’re undeniably the cute handbags of the interior design world. Small and affordable enough to be able to have some fun with them, but also prominent enough that they can make an impact!

Don’t worry if you’re overwhelmed with where to find unique throw pillows for your rental, or how to pair them together, this post is for you!

Where to start

Throw pillows are a great way to add extra pops of color and more texture and pattern into a room. If you’re wanting to mix multiple patterns and textures for a designer look, the following blog will show you how to do just that.

image above: Studio McGee

 

Step 1:

Firstly, start with a larger lightly patterned or solid pillow to use as a foundation. Find a pattern you love that speaks to you and above all that works with your existing color palette. Use this as the foundation to build from then…

Step 2:

… add other patterns or textured solids and play around with what works.

This may go without saying, but you should of course have your room’s color palette in mind when putting together a pillow scheme. And additionally, pay lots of attention to how the rug plays into the patterns and colors you put in your pillow design. And how do you visualize how the whole room plays together?? You put it in a vision board!

When I’m shopping for pillows (or anything), at first my board looks something like this. (Not perfect.)

 

Step 3:

Finally, put all of your room items in a vision board, and consider pillow size and layering.

In the board below, I can see all of the elements of the room at once: wall color, rug, flooring, and all of the furniture and decor I’m planning to add. This visual snapshot consequently allows me to feel confident in my purchases and therefore avoid time-consuming or costly mistakes.

 

1. Artwork | 2. Floor Lamp | 3. Beige PIllow | 4. Lumbar Pillow | 5. Sofa | 6. Pillow set | 7. Table Lamp | 8. Side Table | 9. Fig Tree | 10. Plant Pot | 11. Coffee Table |  12. Rug | 13. Chair

The pillows floating up above the lamp come in a SET! If you’d like done-for-you pairing by a pillow expert instead of going it alone, check out this Etsy shop. Many shops on Etsy do this sort of pillow pairing, and Etsy is my #1 favorite place to get quality pillow covers that will support my design every time.

A few of my favorite Etsy Shops for pillows are The Pillow Cover Store, Valley House Pillow Co., Bo & An Studio (I’m currently obsessed with all of their block prints!), and Blue Willow Decor (which has lots of shippable pairings!).

I recently bought the pillows below from The Pillow Cover Store on Etsy. The quality was impeccable and I would argue they really add a luxury feel to the entire room!

Shop the pillows from the above photos in this board right here!

1. | 2. | 3.

And friends, let’s not forget that the humble pillow insert is undoubtedly important! If you’re buying for a rental, you may want to consider using a down alternative instead of actual down. Sometimes there are guests with allergies that will ask, and also these synthetic options are washable. Yipee!

I LOVE this brand of pillow inserts from Amazon and can highly recommend it. They felt heavy and shapable like an actual down pillow. I noticed they just recently went up in price, like every other thing has lately, but they’re certainly still one of the more affordable options and it’s worth getting a nice quality insert to go with those new upgraded pillow covers you’re splurging on.

ROUND UP TIME!

Lastly, now for some shopping! Here is a round-up of some of my favorite pillows from shops big and small!

 

 Porterlane Home

1. | 2. | 3. | 4.

 Bo & An Studio

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. 

 Chloe and Olive

1. | 2. | 3. | 4.

 Ruffled Thread

1. | 2. | 3. | 4.

 Linen and James

1. | 2. | 3. | 4.

 Pottery Barn

1. | 2. | 3. | 4.

 Blue Willow Decor

1. | 2. | 3.

 

Happy pillow shopping and happy hosting!