Dear Alice | How to Create a Pillow Story

This week we’re chatting all things pillows! How do we put together a good pillow story, what sizes should they be, what fabric to look for, and how many should go on a sofa versus a sectional! You can listen to this podcast episode on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Google Podcast.

A pillow story is a collection of pillows on your sofa and chairs that bring together and complete the story of a room. A naked sofa is so sad and we’ve saved many bad sofas just by updating the pillows. New pillows really can make your entire room feel like it got a makeover. If you’re still building your space, wait till you have all your big pieces, then put together your pillow story because most of the time your pillow story color will reveal itself. Make sure you like all your key pieces; don’t compromise and try to fix a room with one cute pillow.

One secret to a great pillow story is having down-filled pillows! If you’ve had a polyfill pillow, you know how stiff and lifeless it can feel. If you’re vegan, look for a down alternative but never use poly because they feel like tough outdoor pillows. Another secret to keeping your pillows looking nice and new is to look for ones with a zipper. This way you can take them to be dry cleaned when needed and they’ll last years. It might feel overly indulgent but it’s totally fine to spend money on a pillow if it’ll last years and nice pillows will absolutely make your room look more luxurious. Count on your fingers how many pillows you cheapened out on and haven’t kept around; you could’ve invested your money on a couple nicer ones that you would be obsessed with instead.

If your sofa came with pillows, donate them now! No pillows with the exact same fabric as the sofa are to be allowed in your home! If the sofa manufacturer has down pillows you can see if they can use a different fabric or specifically order your sofa to have no pillows. Try putting two or three pillows for a sofa on each of the corners. Sectionals in the deep corner will need three pillows and two on the ends for a grand total of seven pillows (or you could do one pillow and a throw on a corner so six pillows and a throw). With sofa chaises - treat them like a sofa and put a throw on the chaise. Make sure that your bigger pillows are anywhere from 24”-26” and be sure to put the smaller 22”-24” pillows in the front. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you don’t have any pillows under 22”! You’ll always be graduating heights so start keeping a little tape measure in your purse when out scouting for the perfect ones! Here are a few of our favorite large scale pillows

For tying down the colors and fabrics, start in the corners - you usually should use neutrals so nothing is too distracting. A good double-sized pillow is nice so you can change the feel of a room really easily. Off whites, neutrals and rusts are always a safe bet while trying to avoid any that are too shiny, shaggy, or plastic-y. Remember this if anything- make sure your pillows go with your rug!

Lastly, for styling, we like a barely chopped top and a little brought into on the sides! We hope you’ve enjoyed listening to our ramblings about pillows- they’re a small but powerful detail in your home!

Any questions or podcast ideas? Email us at dearalice@alicelanehome.com