Sharing my tips for the perfect pillow pattern & textile combinations! These tips will work for most patterns around your home – not just pillows!
Pillows and textiles are some of the easiest and more affordable ways to change the look in your rooms. If you’ve read my blog for more than a day, you know I have a serious throw pillow addiction! Today I’m going to be sharing how to choose pillow pattern combinations mix and match patterns like a pro!
One of the most common questions I get on the blog or social media is where I got my pillows. This also includes answers to how to mix patterns, where do I find fabric, what are my favorite pillow inserts…the list goes on. Needless to say, this post has been a long time coming!
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How To Mix & Match Pillow Patterns Like a Pro
Following are my favorite tips for creating perfect pillow pattern combinations:
- Pick a floral or botanical pattern (or similar vibe) with at least three colors in the pattern. This should be your foundation for the rest of your choices.
- Choose a large-scale geometric pattern (or stripe!). If my floral has a dark background, I try to go with a light background on this one, and vice versa. Should contain at least one of the colors in the floral/botanical.
- Pick a small-scale geometric pattern or solid. If solid, try and get a fabric with some texture (linen, velvet, etc.). Should contain at least one of the colors in the floral/botanical.
Real Life Pillow Pattern Pairing Examples
Below are some of my looks in action in our home so you can see how it works live in an actual space. Note: I make almost all of my own pillows, but I’ve affiliate linked to Etsy shops and stores that sell pillows in the same fabric as my own, in case you’re not a seamstress 🙂
The following from our master bedroom a few years back is still one of my favorite combinations ever!
Pretty simple, right?
A Few Other Throw Pillow Rules I Try to Follow
- I never buy square pillows smaller than 18″x18″ and I really try to stay no smaller than 20″x20″.
- In the past on our couch, I’ve always gone with a floral in 24″ squares, and then the other patterns in 18″, 20″ or 22″ sizes. This fall, I had four patterns, so I went with all 20″ squares. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
- On beds, I love to use Euro shams in back (26″ squares). I usually go with two on smaller beds and three on kings or California kings. Depending upon your headboard, a queen will need two or three. Just play it by ear based upon the bed you have.
- I love a full-looking pillow with only a little slouch. I always cut my fabric exactly the size I want the pillow to be, so with the seam allowance, the cover ends up being 1.5″-2″ smaller than the insert. But they still fit, and look great!
- It’s always fun to add in some colored piping if you know how (I don’t) or some ribbon trim to your solid pillows for a little more visual interest.
- Mixing textures helps to perfect the look even further!
How Do I Make A Throw Pillow Cover?
For those that are interested in making your own throw pillow covers, be sure to check out my throw pillow tutorial. It is such a money saver especially if you love designer fabrics like I do. I outline step-by-step the sequence to follow, so that even the newest sewer can be successful!
Where Do You Buy Throw Pillow Inserts
If you do give my throw pillow tutorial a try, or even if you typically only buy covers, I love the pillow inserts from Robey’s (I get the 90/10 blend) and Crate and Barrel. I’ve also had luck recently with these sets from Amazon when I need something quickly. Then If you need a down alternative (for those that are allergic or prefer not to use down), this line from Crate and Barrel works well. Also, HomeGoods carries a lot of clearance pillows with down inserts. If they seem full (even if you hate the cover) buy them! You can usually get them on clearance for under $10 which is a great deal! Just make sure they aren’t too slouchy.
For store-bought pillow covers, I always buy a 2″ larger insert. So if I buy a 20″x20″ pillow cover, I always buy a 22″x22″ pillow insert. For my homemade pillows found in the tutorial above, I always buy the same size of insert for the pillow I cut (since I don’t take out the seam allowance). So, if I cut a 24″x24″ pillow, I still buy a 24″ insert, since the seam allowance makes the pillow cover closer to 22″ square.
Any other throw pillow questions you’re dying to know?
Do you have any other tried and true tricks for mixing patterns, whether on throw pillows, in fashion or other areas? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
The older version of my fabric pairings is shown below for even more ideas. I know it can be a bit hard on your eyes because there are so many patterns together, but, I put together a few looks below that demonstrate these tips. You will find that if the fabrics come in multiple colors ways, you can even mix the large-scale geometric from one with the floral in another and vice versa! I tried to include a variety of color schemes to show you how it works. It doesn’t take a ton of effort if you follow the tips! Each row demonstrates a grouping of pillow I think would look great together! All sources are listed under the graphic, as still available.
FABRIC SOURCES: Blue and Green Floral Print | Interlocking Squares | Betwixt Water
Deep Gray Floral | Brown Riad Trellis Print | Teal Linen
Blue Floral | Navy and White Buffalo Check |Â Blue & White Strands Pattern
Cheerful Floral | Graphic Mist Pattern | Betwixt Spark
Colorful Floral | Pink Trellis | Red Hatch
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Did you ever decide what kitchen countertop and backsplash you were going to use?
No. We actually decided to put the kitchen project on hold again to work on the backyard project. Part of the reason I put it on hold though was because I couldn’t settle on a countertop I really loved!
What about non-feather pillows? Do you have a favorite pillow insert? We are allergic. Thanks!
Great question! Crate & Barrel also has a down-alternative line that I think works really well! Here’s the link but I’ll plan to update the post as well with it: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/down-alternative-square-pillow-inserts/f53242
Where do you put the pillows you actually sleep on?
They are actually always on our bed. I just lay them flat and pull the comforter over them. They then help to boost that back throw pillows a little above the front row of pillows 🙂
I love this post! You do such a beautiful job of mixing prints and patterns and colors. Thank you for the inspiration!
I love pillows! These are all stunning!
Awesome post- I haven’t taught myself piping yet either… My favourite forms are from IKEA – they are such a great deal and really have a good amount of fill. Your pillows always look perfectly stunning, Sarah!
Thanks so much for sharing!! I have used your pillow cover tutorial to make a few pillows for our family room and I was wondering where you go the pillow forms!
I feel like you are my pillow guru – whenever I’m on the hunt for pillows I hear you speaking at Haven in my head! Thanks for this post – it’s full of great information! Pinning so I can come back again and again!
Thanks for the tips! I just started making my own throw pillows and wasn’t sure what to pair with a beautiful floral fabric I found. Because I’m new to sewing and making pillows I buy the fluffy filling this way I don’t have to worry about measurements and sewing to fit the exact size of an insert!
Hi! Do you recommend a particular order in arranging the different patterns of pillows on a bed? Should the floral pillows be the largest pillows on the bed, i.e. the euro pillows on the back row…And then the large scale geometric be a couple pillow sizes smaller than the euro, with the small scale geometric being even smaller than that on the front row? Or vice versa?? Or should the floral pillows actually separate the geometric patterns and be placed in the row in-between them? I have picked out 3 patterns that I like and will be making my pillows, but I don’t know which pattern to use for my euros and which to use for the smaller sizes! Any “formula” you go by when figuring out how to arrange them on a bed? Thanks in advance!
Hi – Sorry for the delay. We were out of the country for the past week. Anyways, I think you can go either way (I have several times). I ‘think’ I prefer the large geometric in back, then the floral, and then the smaller geometric. Visually that always seems to work well. I hope that helps!
I’ve been on the hunt for new spring pillows and I think you’ve picked my fabrics for me! Love these!!
Where and how do you store your seasonal pillows?
Hi Kim! I only have one full set of pillow inserts, so I try to mostly by pillow covers. That way I can just hang the seasonal covers in our guest bedroom closet when I’m not using them (and not trying to store big bulky pillows). I hope that helps!
This was a very helpful guide to pillow purchasing! It can be so overwhelming when looking at fun throw pillows, but now I have a plan! One hint that I read on one of Martha Stewart’s decorating sites was to use inexpensive queen or standard bed pillows as inserts! You can usually find bed pillows for around $6 each. They can easily be smooshed into a throw pillow cover and fluffed to smoothly fill out the corners. I have been doing this for a few years after seeing how expensive throw pillow inserts were.