Pillow Talk

First of all I want to thank everyone for the amazing amount of cheering and encouragement after launching my new endeavor this weekend. I am truly thrilled and overwhelmed by the kind words, phone calls and heartfelt notes.  I hope you’ll keep reading and enjoying my little nook in the interior decorating world.

And so … it’s on to a new post about something that makes me swoon … pillows! Yes, I have a thing for pillows.  What a great pair of shoes does for an outfit, pillows can do for a room.

Imagine the following rooms, without the pillows …

I fell in love with this bird fabric from French General and knew I had to do something with it. I bought a yard of it for $35 and asked my dear mother-in-law if she could make me two pillows. (I love her!)  I also bought a little of this peacock blue fabric for less than $10/yard at my local fabric store to use on the back … they make me swoon!  (And the pair cost less than $60!)

Found this floral on Etsy and the French linen one at an antiques fair (well before similar ones started showing up at Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn!)

For the settee in my living room I just wanted to give it a funky mix of modern pillows … kind of an unexpected juxtaposition of old and new. The large ones are Thomas Paul … the solids are from Pottery Barn and the leopard one was one I found online by just googling leopard pillow.  (Although I can’t remember the source.) 

I must admit, however, that the before-mentioned pillow addiction has me eye-ing up a new mix …

What do you think?

I just tried to go back and find the shop where I purchased them with no luck, but I still remember when they came in the mail it was such a delightful surprise. It was a carefully wrapped package with a handwritten Uzbekastian return address, sealed the old fashioned way with a colorful spot of hardened wax that was stamped with an ornate design. They are beautifully sewn and the silk fabric feels wonderfully luxurious.

Which brings me to my favorite source for great pillows in designer fabrics … Etsy.  Have you been to Etsy.com?  For me it is decorating heaven! … I promise, there will be many posts dedicated to my favorite Etsy shops … but for now let’s just take a look at some if it’s great sources for pillows.

Purple Pajamas has a beautiful yellow ikat pillow, as well as many others. Here are some of my favorites.

I bought these next two for my son’s bed … I am loving a bold chevron pattern lately.

Keep in mind … these are usually just the pillow covers.  Some of the shops do sell the inserts, but you can also get your own for cheap at Ikea, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann fabrics or your local fabric store.  I like to buy a pillow insert that’s one size larger than the cover to make it extra fluffy.  So I put a 20 x 20 in an 18 x 18 cover, etc. It takes a little work to get it in there, but it really fills out the covers nicely.

So, what do you think?  Could your sofa use some new pillows? A little ikat, or chevron stripes?  Don’t be afraid to mix and match!

That’s it for today … getting ready to watch the Superbowl with my three boys … homemade pizzas are on the menu (we love to buy Trader Joe’s refrigerated pizza dough …)  I must admit … I’m more interested in the ads this year… still an advertising girl at heart!