Throw Pillow

What Makes a Throw Pillow

The name describes the job. A throw pillow is meant to be tossed into place, moved, stacked and swapped, which sets it apart from a bed pillow made for sleeping and a seat cushion made to be sat on. That freedom is the whole appeal. It is the one piece of upholstery you can change in ten seconds without lifting anything heavier than itself, so it carries the color and the personality of a room while the sofa stays exactly where it is.

• Tossed, not slept on. It dresses a seat or a bed by day and steps aside at night.
• Squares do the heavy lifting. The 14x14 and 18x18 shapes hold chair backs and sofa corners upright.
• The lumbar draws a long line. A 20x12 rectangle rests low on the back and breaks up a row of squares.
• Arriving full saves a step. Nothing to stuff, and no separate insert to size against the case.

Keeping a Throw Pillow Full

A pillow goes flat from being leaned on, not from age. Polyester fill packs down where a back presses and drifts toward whichever corners get squeezed, so a cushion can look tired long before it is worn out. The fix costs nothing but a weekly minute. Take the pillow by opposite sides, push the ends toward the middle a few times and give it a brisk shake, then turn it so the face that spent the week against the sofa now faces the room.

• Pressure flattens, time does not. Fill packs down where someone leans and lifts again when it is worked back.
• Squeeze from the sides. Pushing the ends toward the center moves the fill back into the middle.
• Turn it every week. Rotation shares the leaning between both faces.
• Keep the iron away. A hot plate leaves a permanent shine on polyester, so let creases relax on their own.

Throw Pillows for a Busy Household

A family room asks more of a pillow than a show sofa does. Juice gets spilled, a dog claims the corner seat, and a toddler uses the cushions as stepping stones. The water resistant squares handle that life best, because a spill beads on the face long enough to be dabbed away and dog hair slides off the smooth surface with a hand or a lint roller. The linen look abstracts belong a little higher up the calm scale, on a bed or a reading chair, where their slubbed texture is admired more than it is tested, and their case unzips for the wash when it needs one.

• Spills bead up first. A water resistant face buys you the seconds to grab a cloth.
• Dog hair lets go. A smooth printed face sheds fur with one sweep of the hand.
• Texture for quieter rooms. The linen look weave shines on beds and reading chairs.
• Keep a spare in rotation. A second pillow in the closet covers the day one is drying.

A Subject That Feels Like Yours

The best throw pillow says something about the people who live with it. Bird watchers find their backyard regulars on the bird decor shelf, from a bright red cardinal to a goldfinch, a dove and a standing mallard. Dog people find a yellow Labrador and a whippet among sunflowers, and anyone counting the days to the beach has starfish, seahorses and a gentle manatee to choose from. If the room needs color more than a story, an abstract pillow does the job without a subject at all. Start with the one design that makes you smile, and let the next pillow repeat one of its colors.

• Birds for the backyard watcher. Cardinal, goldfinch, dove and peacock studies read as a real interest.
• Dogs for the dog lovers. A Labrador or a whippet from the dog decor range feels personal on sight.
• The coast for the beach crowd. Starfish and seahorse prints from coastal decor bring the shoreline home.
• Pick the smile first. The pillow you love sets the colors for every one that follows.