Kiki Interiors - Decor and Staging: Pillow Talk

Whether you are decorating your home or staging it for sale, pillows are a great way to add some visual interest to your space, a pop of color and/or pattern and some soft texture. Pillows are also a great way to tie up your concept.

We love pillows and they seem like such a small element but do they ever make a difference in a room.

We are often asked for ideas on how to arrange pillows on a sofa. Here are some great tricks and tips to arrange your pillows like a pro.

When it comes to pillow arranging there is no set rule but they are a few standard arrangements that work.

If You Want a Modern Look: Go for an odd number, like three or five, rather than more traditional pairs. A few big pillows look cleaner than a jumble of smaller ones, which can seem like too much punctuation.

If You Want a Modern Look: Go for an odd number, like three or five, rather than more traditional pairs. A few big pillows look cleaner than a jumble of smaller ones, which can seem like too much punctuation.

1. Symmetry. For this arrangement you can have matching pillows on both sides but it isn't necessary but we are big fans of having at least one pair of matching pillows in this arrangement. Here we have 2 matching 20x20 pillows on either end of the sofa, then 2 18x18 pillows layered just in front of the larger ones (in different print but same colour tones) and then in the center a smaller lumbar pillow with similar tones but a darker grey as well. This arrangement is pretty classic, it is balanced and it always looks great! Below is another example of the same arrangement but the 2 'end pillows' are the same size and we have 2 pairs of matching pillows, plus a throw blanket has been added to the center. Here we see a really mix of print colour and pattern, having some matching pillows gives the room balance and consistency.

If 4 pillows is still too much, try 2 pillows instead. One on either side of the sofa. It should be enough visual impact especially if they have pattern and or colour and if you have other elements in the room like art.

3. Multiple. If you love pillows and can't decide to pair down, you can always just fill up the sofa with pillows. Think about playing with colour, pattern and texture in this case. This can work with bold colour and/or pattern but it looks great tone on tone and textured too. Here's a sofa with 6 pillows in the same size. One matching pair on the ends and then a mix of pattern and print. This has an eclectic look but the tones all work together and the patterns too. Some of the patterns are big and bold like the cheetah but then the soft grey trellis is more subtle.