How to Put Together Perfect Pillow Combinations

I have a pillow problem, well that's what my husband calls it. But, they're are such a great way to add and little color and pattern to a space. You just can't have too many, right?  

Pillows are a great way to break free of the matchy matchy sets of furniture and decorating of the past.  But, with so many choices out there, it can be hard to put a perfect pillow combination together. I recently discovered that Tiny Prints has AMAZING pillows that can be personalized with monograms, initials, names, dates and even photographs. The Happy Home pillow needed to be on my couch.  My pillow choices can sometimes look random, but here's how I usually put them together. I'm basing this on groups of 3, because odd numbers in design are so much better. So, here's what you need to look for when grouping pillows. 

1. A solid (or something very close to that).

2. A large scaled pattern.

3. A small scaled pattern.

And as far as color goes, pick one accent color.  That color should show up in each of the three pillows (unless the other pillows are completely neutrals - black, grey, white, tan, or brown).  So, if you look at my examples, in the first combo, green is the accent and the other two are neutrals.  In the second combo, gold/yellow is the accent color. And in the third combo, coral is the accent.  Other colors can appear in the pillows, but there needs to be one color that ties them together.  

I'm sure there are a lot of formulas that designers have put together before, but this usually works for me and seems like a plan others could try as well.  

1 + 2 + 3

1 + 2 + 3

1 + 2 + 3

I hope this makes sense. To clarify a little further (not because you're not smart), but because I might be stretching my own rules a bit, here's what I consider a solid, small pattern and large pattern in the combos above.

Solid + Large Pattern + Small Pattern

Small Pattern + Large Pattern + Solid

Large Pattern + Solid + Small Pattern

The beauty of this formula is you can take any pillow away and it still works.  Try it, take one of the pillows away from one of the combos and the pair remaining still look fabulous together. You can add more to the mix as well and you should be golden.