Pillow Mixology 101: Combining Colors and Patterns

The mixing and matching of throw pillows is a useful topic that we can all put to use - after all, we all have a couch or a bed somewhere that could use a little pillow coordination.  After reading through the flagship issue of HGTV magazine and viewing Monday's episode of The Nate Berkus Show, I was inspired to do some pillow research of my own.  Nate Berkus had shared that the perfect equation for pillow combinations is one solid pillow to set the color scheme, one larger print pillow, and another smaller print pillow with a pattern 1/2 the scale of the second pillow. Seemed easy enough, so following that equation, I set out to find some pillow combos from popular (and affordable) home decor stores.  All of these pillows can be purchased online, as well.  Click on the pictures to enlarge for better detail!

The first store where I applied the pillow equation was Cost Plus World Market:

Next, I headed over to Pier 1 Imports:

Third stop was Crate and Barrel:

Finally, just in case you're not craving pillow shopping yet, a little pillow math from West Elm:

 (note: these West Elm prices are for pillow covers only, the pillow inserts are an additional $10 per pillow)

A few throw pillow tips:
- While a grouping of 3 is a popular design principle, you can always add a fourth pillow in order to balance things out - just purchase 2 of the solid pillows to add to your mix.
- If you purchase rectangular (or lumbar) pillows for your couch, always do a max of 2.  Make sure to add at least 1 square pillow to the mix.
- Decorating with pillows is a great way to totally change up your home decor.  You can rotate your pillows regularly or change them with the seasons (see the Christmas pillows from Crate and Barrel above).
- I don't think I've ever spent more than $40 on a pillow.  Take these pillow principles with you to some other discount home decor stores: Target, Homegoods, Hobby Lobby, Marshall's, Ross, etc. - you could score some similar (but thriftier) finds.
- When combining pillows, they don't have to come from the same store.  If you have some patience, find an inspiration pillow then look around a while to find the other pillows for your grouping.

Here is the pillow combination I have at home on our living room sofa:

(I was happy to see that I had innately followed the equation before I even knew it existed)

Who knew math could be so fun?  Let me know if you have any questions and I'd be happy to help you out with pillow coordinating.  By the way, there is not an exam at the end of this lesson so enjoy and have some fun with it!  -Kristen