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My husband loves all my throw pillows

    I saw a funny meme the other day:

    “Throw pillows are the stuffed animals of grown women.”

    How true is that? I can’t quite understand it, but men just don’t seem to value pillows like us women do :)

    I recently added a whole stack to our couch.

    Ryan, of course, was super pleased.

    This family room is our most used room in the house. We bought the sectional first thing when we moved in because we knew we wanted a big, cozy couch for all of us to pile on for reading, gathering, watching movies, football games, Survivor marathons and lately, anything and everything Olympics (see details about the couch and why we chose this particular one here).

    I painted the walls and trim this past summer to clean it up a bit (read about that chore here).

    Someday we’ll change out the floors to a warm hardwood and add beams and woodwork to the vaulted ceiling. We’ve thrown the idea of a wall of built-ins around and I’m on the hunt for a great piece of artwork to hang above the couch.

    Those changes all sound great and I feel slightly impatient about making this room into what we know it can be, but this house is an act of patience. We’re not quite ready for those more time-intensive/cost-intensive decisions and so for now, it’s all about the little things I can do to make the room look cozy, welcoming and pretty.

    The last time you saw this room, it looked like this:

    You know I have a thing for neutrals with lots of black and white, but this room was feeling a little blah. Maybe even cold. I am so afraid of committing to a color because I know I’m such a seasonal color person (warm colors in the fall, green at Christmastime, peaches and pinks in the spring). But this room – the whole house, actually – is craving some color. Until we have the warmth that wood floors will bring, I need to put it in the house with color.

    There was a design show on years ago where the host decorated the room based on favorite items from the owner’s closet. I always loved the premise and the rooms felt more personal to the owner than other design shows on at the time.

    When I looked at the family room – with all its black, white and beige, it dawned on me that I should take a cue from our closets.

    Everyone in our family looks best in blue. Ryan passed down his bright blue eyes to each of the kids any shade of blue makes their eyes stand out.

    As for me, I basically wear jeans everyday so if I am to take inspiration from what I wear, blue is definitely the color of choice.

    Since blue is a go-to for both me and the rest of the family, and is a color that feels neutral, one that looks great in our house (like in our bedroom and up in the studio last summer) and is well represented in all of our closets, I decided I can commit to it for the family room. At least for now :)

    I saw this denim blue throw blanket on sale at Anthropologie a few weeks ago and that is what started things. (The blanket is unfortunately no longer available. The key, though, at least for me was finding something in the perfect shade to be the jumping off point).

    Then I popped into a few stores (HomeGoods, Pier One and Target) to grab a few new pillows to pull together my new blue + neutral color scheme.

    I ended up bringing home a couple of blue pillows, a few white, one taupy brown and a woven stripe with a hint of blue. I wasn’t planning on keeping all of them, but once I put them on the couch and mixed in a few pillows that I already had, I actually liked the combination.

    I mean, yes, the amount of pillows on the couch might be slightly excessive. But it’s a huge couch that is super deep and can handle loads of them. You actually do need a pillow or two behind you if you want to sit up straight (at least that’s how I justify it).

    As I look at all these pictures, what I’m realizing is that I have a thing for texture. Every single pillow has some sort of interesting texture – stripe, woven, chunky, pom poms, faux fur, geometric.

    We also switched out the tufted ottomans for our old wood coffee table and I think it helps add depth to the room.

    And of course, no room of mine would be complete without fresh greenery :)

    This iteration of the family room feels good. Fresh, light, happy.

    And while Ryan and the boys have yet to come on board with my pillow-affection, Audrey seems to appreciate them :)

    SOURCES

    couch | rug | coffee table (similar) | floor lamp | curtains

    pillows on couch from left to right:

    woven stripe | stripe pom (no longer available) | woven chevron | white pom | blue geometric | faux fur | basketweave pom | mohair stripe | leather (hidden but wonderful!)

    20 thoughts on “My husband loves all my throw pillows”

    1. I love the woven pillow from pier 1, but it’s a bit pricey.
      Does anyone know of a source for great fabric like that?
      Maybe I could sew one.
      Love the whole room! So beautiful & cozy!

    2. OBSESSED with our Lounge sectional! Where did you get the black and white triangle/arrow pillow (worst description lol)? I’ve been dying for pillows like that!

    3. Where did you buy the black and white triangle/arrow (not the best description lol) pillow? I have been DYING for throw pillows like that!

    4. Do you mind sharing details on that trunk? Did you paint/do anything to make it that great distressed charcoal? I have an old trunk and seeing a new use for it now! Love everything you do :)

      1. The trunk is old (thrift store find) and Ryan has had it as long as I’ve known him. We didn’t paint it – but if you wanted to replicate, go with a flat latex in a dark army green and it would be a good match!

    5. Beautiful room! Are you using your previous ottomans elsewhere? Did they hold up well? I’m thinking of getting one (or two!) from Target. :)

    6. This is so helpful bc I’ve been wanting to add denim blue to my living area. One ? The woven pillow…the picture says Pier One but the link is to Magnolia.

    7. What do you do with all your pillows when you change them out. Every time I change out a pillow I get pillow guilt and think “I need to keep this and maybe use it somewhere else.” I have an entire pile of pillows from years and years of pillow hoarding. Do you have some basic pillow rules on how to know when to throw them out, and when they are good enough to hold on to for another room another day.

      1. I prefer pillows with zippers and down inserts – that way I can remove the cover and store it in the linen closet when not in use. For pillows that don’t come with zippers (like all of the ones from target!), I often cut open the bottom seam to replace the insert with down and then just hand stitch it back up. When it’s time to change it out, I cut the seam to remove insert. It’s a little bit of pain, but makes it easier to store.

      1. The chair is from Ethan Allen – called the Mercer. It does not recline, but is very comfortable! We have had this pair for over 10 years and they are still holding up perfectly.

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