Pillow Talk: The artful placement of pillows vol II. piling practicum

Pillow talk: The artful placement of pillows...

don't go overboard or over the Head board when piling pillows on the bed

Arranging pillows on a sofa or bed is a fairly mundane activity that in itself does not necessarily require instruction. However, if your home is on the market and your looking to give your property it's best face possible, here are some simple pointers to give your pillowed furniture practical pizazz.  

Less is more, more or less: regardless of how passionate you are for pillows, the old adage that less is more applies when it comes to staging the bedroom. The best approach to pillow placement is not to cover more than a quarter of the bed with pillows and to layer them no more than four deep and five across. Ideally, you should keep the pillow count under ten for King and Queen beds and less than six pillows on full and twin sized beds including sleeping pillows. Now day beds and pune'e (Hawaiian day beds) naturally require more pillows in order to supply adequate back support when seated so you have a little more leeway here in the pillow count but remember less is more.  

"...What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?" -William Blake: Of course, Blake was talking about a tiger when he wrote this poem but it applies to pillow placement too. Be fearful of over doing symmetrical patterning when it comes to the context of the room. Too much of 'two of everthing' can make a room predictable and boring. Most designers will tell you to use an odd number of pillows on beds and sofas and for the most part I agree but if you are using asymmetrical patterning else where in the room than it's OK and sometimes advisable to pair pillows up. 

 

 

 

Size matters and variety is good thing: avoid using just small pillows on a big bed and vice versa. Proportionality is important and using different sizes, shapes, colors and textures helps to make the bed a focal point in the room.

Seven & Three

When it comes to sofas you want to be able to sit comfortably without having to move pillows around to do so. Keeping pillows closer to the arm rests makes this a little easier. On a standard size sofa try to keep the pillow count under 7 and with love seats 3 or less.

Bold & Bright

When you want to give a little more contemporary feel to transitional furniture use bright colors and bold patterns. Floral patterns are usually a traditional standard but there are many modern floral prints available today that can give a modern flare to your transitional decor.

Balance & Weight

A little color goes a long way. Adding a touch of color can give balance to a sofa. In the example below the detail of the face pillow pulls the eye to the right while the blue draws the eye to the opposite end giving equal visual weight to both sides of the sofa.

Variations on a Theme

Pillow themes can really pile on the charm factor when staging but beware of being too kitsch. Below is a ocean theme using bright red contrast, textured fabrics intimating coral, and a blue crab to define the theme. Of course this looks great in a beach house not so great in a log cabin in the mountains.

 

Mirth & Whimsy

Everyone can use a little laugh these days. Using whimsy to entertain potential buyers can lighten the mood of a space and create a sense of fun and interest. Unusual pillow shapes like the penguins and felt "stones" can instantly transport your imagination to another place, which is not really the purpose of staging so temper your sense of humor and keep the avant garde for your new home.

The penguins and felt stones are a couple examples of my favorite pillows. Although, I wouldn't necessarily stage with them I would definitely use them as an interior decorator. I invite you to post your favorite pillows and share how they make you feel. So lets continue the pillow talk...

 Pillow Talk: the artful placement of pillows vol I. beyond the fringe

 

 

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Designs and pillow arrangement by Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008