The How-to's of Throw Pillows {for and from a beginner}

Call me a perfectionist or just one with too much time on my hands, but I really do think throw pillows can make or break a room.

I thought it would be easy to make pillow covers, I knew my colors, all I had to do was find some fabrics I liked and make them.... I was SO wrong!

We have a sort of mild nautical/beach theme going on in our living room. Which pretty much means I love navy blue and red and with those two colors the theme would either come out nautical or 4th of July, so we opted for nautical :) We definitely don't have a perfectly themed room, we are decorating with what we have, which makes the pillow fabrics even more important in pulling the room together, instead of apart!

Here is what I am working with:

5 pillows for the sofa and 2 for the arm chair

I'm going to recover all of the pillows, except the one with the red ticking

eventually we will slipcover the arm chair
{but haven't decided if I will try to make or just buy one}

Here are some tips I found so your sofa will be your own, and not look like it just popped out of a cheesy furniture store!

1. Depending on the look, shape, and size you will want 3-5 throw pillows for a sofa. Traditional looks should be more organized, usually using an even number of pillows. For a more modern or eclectic look, try going odd.

2. Try to refer to other pieces in the room, do you have splashy drapes with a muted sofa? Add some coordinating splashy pillows. A print on a chair or ottoman? Consider adding a pillow with that fabric to the sofa to tie the room together.

3. Make sure the throw pillow pattern pulls out at least one color already in your room. You can mix and match, as long as there is a common thread tying everything together

4. Make sure you have at least a pair of matching pillows. When mixing colors and textures it is important not to completely eliminate order, and using the same fabric in two places is a good way to maintain that.

5. Try to mix and match textures and patterns with styles and looks, the idea is to creatively coordinate, and almost tell a story, not to end up with a bland cookie cutter room.

Real Simple has some great simple guidelines here
For more intermediate info visit here

Had to add just one more because I LOVE Serena and Lily! :)

I hope that was helpful,
I know I will definitely be using some of these rules of thumb and photo inspiration to pull things together :)