Decorative Pillows

Filled Pillow or Cover Only

Much of the pillow market sells the cover and leaves the insert to you, which is where most limp cushions come from. A pillow sold with its insert is full the day it arrives, which is why the line about the insert is worth reading before the print. How the insert is held decides the care. A sewn-in insert means the pillow is spot cleaned and plumped by hand rather than machine washed, while a zippered case comes off for the washing machine and leaves the insert for a gentle hand wash.

What Makes a Cushion Suitable for Outdoors

Outdoor rating is about what happens after the rain rather than during it. A water resistant polyester shell sheds a shower, but the insert underneath is what decides whether the cushion dries or stays damp for a week. Water resistant falls short of waterproof, and a cushion left out through a full night of rain will hold water in the fill even when the cover looks dry. Sunlight is the second factor and the slower one: printed colors fade in direct sun over a season, so a covered porch keeps a design sharp far longer than open ground.

Arranging in Odd Numbers Rather than Pairs

A matching pair at either end of a sofa is the arrangement most people default to, and it reads as showroom rather than home. Odd numbers look deliberate and even numbers look symmetrical, which is why an odd count in mixed sizes settles better than an even row of matching ones. Mixing a large plain pillow with smaller printed ones gives the eye a place to settle. On a bed the same rule applies at a larger scale, with the largest at the back and the smallest in front. The 2-2-1 pillow rule is the same idea written as a recipe: a pair of large squares at the back, a smaller pair in front of them and a single lumbar in the middle.

For the doorway, the felt mats with rubber backing sit in Door Mats, and the wider range of furnishings sits in Home & Decor.