Custom Pillow Pizzazz

Custom pillows add so much pizzazz to a bedroom, don’t you think? A magical kind of design chemistry occurs when we mix fabrics and trims, shapes and sizes, colors and patterns to design one-of-a-kind pillow displays for our clients. Does it sound like fun? It is. But it does require a lot of planning, creativity and quality materials from our go-to vendors. Our bespoke pillows are pure luxe, often with multiple trim details fabricated by our custom work room. But we also design via ready-made lines that can complete a room beautifully as well.

 

Where Do We Start?

To begin, we carefully select a grouping of fabrics as options to use within the room. The fabrics for the custom pillows are chosen most often from those and are used to tie together the color palette in the room, as in the bright, cheerful bedroom above. The refreshing blue of the bed and warm gold of the window treatments come together at the head of the bed in a one-of-a-kind display. For this grouping we combined the crisply tailored window frame insets of the Euro pillows with a hint of glam in the beaded trims. We chose an unusual wooden bead trim from www.kravet.com for the accent pillow, with diamond-patterned fabric from www.duralee.com. The blue inset for the Euros is from www.romo.com while the yellow inset and beaded trim are from Kravet. Our vendors can customize trims for us, sometimes with all crystals or beads. They ensure that each piece is triple knotted so they won’t become loose or fall off.

 

Why Are Pillows So Powerful?

Pillows may be one of the smaller elements in a room, but they are powerful sources of color, pattern, texture and personality. They give us an opportunity to introduce just the right punch of color while allowing our clients the option of updating their room easily. You can easily go from tailored and understated to more elaborate and bold without changing any major elements in the room.

 

What Should the Well-Dressed Bed Wear? Custom Layers!

Nothing says elegance like regal burgundy and gleaming silver custom pillows, in rich layers of pattern and texture. Mixing shapes is always important. At front-and-center on the bed above is a large rectangular pillow with gleaming silver fabric from www.margecarson.com and beaded trim from www.samuelandsons.com. Behind that is a generous 70-inch bolster pillow with face fabric from www.sharris.com. The narrow bands of trim are from www.osborneandlittle.com and the large bands of trim are from Samuel and Sons. To anchor the layers we chose a rich, large-scale print fabric for the Euros from www.hollyhunt.com.

 

A Bit of Puzzling History

I must admit, I was surprised to learn that many of the earliest pillows, dating back from 7,000 B.C. to 500 or 600 A.D., were actually made of stone, wood, bamboo, jade, porcelain or bronze. That doesn’t sound very comfortable to me! However, the ancient Greeks and Romans had another idea – they introduced softer pillows stuffed with cotton, reeds or straw. However, only upper-class people typically owned these (somewhat) more cushy pillows.

 

Pillows for a Masculine Mood

For this young man’s room we wanted pillows with energy and a masculine vibe. Say hello to chevron stripes and an accent pillow whose trim resemble metal studs. We limited the number to three because of the smaller, twin bed, and also to simplify the bed-making process for this youthful client. We sourced the chevron fabric from Duralee and the trim for the accent pillow from Samuel & Sons.

 

How Plump Should Pillows Be?

Extra plump! You might have noticed that our custom pillows look irresistibly squeezable. We always choose a filler that is a size larger than the pillow form for that optimum fullness. The inserts are typically a down mix or faux down mix, based on our clients’ preferences and allergies.

 

Ingredients for a Stunning Pillow

We combined six ingredients to create this sophisticated pillow: face fabric, taupe fabric inset, a lace-like inset band, cording and fringe, plus insert. The blend of textures and the warm color – think red velvet cake – yield a delicious result! It is sure to be a treasured accessory for years to come.

 

Going Glam with Pillows

Make no mistake, this is a bedroom with glamorous color, mixed patterns, sparkle, shine and texture. We referenced all of that in the sumptuous display of pillows.

We pulled the lighter shade of plum from the color-block window treatments, as well as the taupe and soft white, and we added hints of grey and gold. To keep it interesting, we mixed three different patterns – a contemporary floral toward the front from www.kravet.com, color block behind that from www.romo.com and squared-off chains anchoring the back from www.thibaultdesign.com The soft white pillow not only adds shiny texture, but we customized it with a www.swarovski.com/en-us crystal brooch instead of a button. Yes, we love the details!

 

Going Casual

With their more casual patterns and understated colors, these pillows from www.easternaccents.com supply the laid-back comfort we were aiming for in this guest bedroom. We chose a similar colorway for all of the pillows but mixed contemporary patterns for bit of zest.

 

These ruby red pillows radiate warmth and elegance paired with a sophisticated grey backdrop and a dramatic headboard. The red accent fabric for the bolsters is from www.robertallendesign.com and the inset is from www.kravet.com. The sparkly trim running across the king shams is from www.pyarandco.com. We couldn’t resist adding a red shade on the crystal, tableside lamp to carry the color scheme one step farther.

 

How Many Pillows for a Bed?

There are no hard-and-fast rules for how many pillows to use on a bed. We have done everything from one to four layers of pillows, depending on the size of the bed and our clients’ preferences. Some people enjoy having a lot of pillows because they create a deep-layered look and an opportunity to incorporate added color, pattern, texture and exquisite trims to their bedroom design. Others prefer one or two layers. Either way works, but we always include a designated spot to store the pillows at night, such as a long bench at the foot of the bed.

Want to add some pillow pizzazz to your bedrooms? Contact us at our new Barrington studio – 847-705-9569.