Style Your Sofa with Throw Pillows

Feel like your living room needs a little pick-me-up? You can easily give a room a refresh by adding throw pillows to an otherwise naked couch.

Throw pillows, after all, are a practical design accessory: They’re great for dressing up your furniture as well as for propping yourself up while you’re streaming the latest on a Friday night. 

Of course, you’ll want your throw pillow picks to look like you put some thought behind them, as opposed to looking like a mismatched jumble. And while there aren’t any hard and fast throw pillow rules, the following pointers will help you pull together an eye-catching display.    

Start with an anchor color—a color that is already in your space that you want to build on. You might pick up colors from your couch, from a piece of art or from a rug. If your sofa is a solid color, consider pillows that have a touch of that color in them. 

When it comes to pattern, you don’t have to go matchy-matchy (unless you want to!). Try mixing florals, geometrics and stripes with solids to see what appeals to you. The patterns can vary in size; just make sure the colors play off one another. You could also pair solid colored pillows with patterned pillows in the same color. 

If your room already has a lot of patterns in it (or your sofa is patterned), then go a little more conservative with your pillow patterns. 

Using different types of textured materials adds visual interest. Think wool, jute, faux fur, linen, pillows with tassels, flat designs, raised designs…the possibilities are many. Just keep in mind you’ll need to stay in the same color palette for a cohesive look. 

Throw pillows will have a more artful appeal if you vary the sizes. Start with the largest pillows first and place them toward each end, then use medium sizes followed by smaller ones. Try an even number of pillows if your style is more traditional and an odd number if it’s more contemporary.