Designer Mixology: The Pillow Edition

Time Several Hours

Budget $ $$$

Skill Level

WORDS BY The Havenly Team

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Published on November 13, 2015

Havenly Design Director Shelby Girard shares her tips for using her latest obsession: Throw pillows!

I am coping with a serious pillow addiction. I have pillows stuffed under my bed, behind my sofa, and in the darkest corners of my closet because I CANNOT stop myself from purchasing these beautiful little monsters. They are a low price for a high impact decorating statement, and are just too dang fun. As I write this I am staring at the TWELVE pillows littering my living room.

I’m telling myself it’s all for research though…so that I can give you guidance on how to mix and match pillows with confidence. Ahem. My three rules of thumb for mixing pillows are all about pattern, color, and texture.

Pattern Mixing

Add pop to your pillow game by mixing patterns! Shop Havenly Design Director Shelby Girard's favorite pillows from around the web.

 

With pattern, it’s all about mixing scales of pattern and using both geometric and organic shapes. The wide stripe and geometric diamond patterns above work well with the small scale chevron in front of them since the scales of the pattern are so different. The black and white solid pillows act as a bit of relief from pattern, and then the boldest, most organic pattern is placed in front.

Color Mixing

Be bold with your color choices & mix it up! Havenly Design Director shares her favorite pillow combinations--Shop them now!

I’ve combined organic and geometric with large and small scale patterns to create a cohesive mix, but the star here is color. When working with a lot of color, it helps to add symmetry, and break up bold colors with solids and a bit of white. These colors work well because the teals and pink alternate, with the middle pillow unifying the colors throughout the scheme.

Texture Mixing

Add depth to your throw pillow collection by mixing texture! Shop Havenly Design Director Shelby Girard's favorite textured pillows to get the look!

My absolute favorite way to mix pillows is to use texture. Texture here acts as a pattern itself, and my rules for mixing in solids and small and larger scale patterns still apply. I’ve alternated the shaggiest pillows so they are relieved with less texture in between them, and unified the scheme by keeping the color palette minimal.

Happy mixing!

Ready to start your own throw-pillow collection? Shop Shelby’s favorite pillows!