When it comes to home textiles, cushions are by far my favourite to source, faff with and look at once in situ. There’s so much more to cushions on beds than just what they aesthetically bring to the room.
You need to consider what the cushions do for you. Do they make you feel good? Do they provide comfort, and support you after a long day?
The right cushions can do absolute wonders to completely revive an otherwise completely plain bed. They can bring a room back from the brink of boredom, they can inject life into a room, and add interest, freshness and warmth.
It’s easy to know and say what type of cushions we like, but knowing how to choose the correct ones for your interior and how best to arrange them, is a bit trickier. It’s definitely more of an art, than a science. It’s time to delve into cushions on bed ideas, the best types of cushions, the fillers you should use and the best arrangements.
Cushion Colours
The first step to choosing the right cushions for your bed is by considering the colour. Shades are so important when picking cushions, and don’t expect to always get it right the first time. You might love the cushion but it might look completely wrong in the room.
Look around the room at what other colours are already featured and think about what colours you might introduce, it may be just one, or it might be several colours.
Tonally they should all work together though, you wouldn’t have a set of neutrals and then introduce a red cushion to the mix.
I personally like to select earthy warm tones and pair with neutrals, generally the brighter in colour you go, the more likely you are to create a clash with fellow cushions or other objects around the room.
Think tone, mix textures especially when using solid colours. Use a combination of fabrics such as velvet, boucle, woven fabrics, linen, leather and fringe.
What Size Cushions For A Bed?
The general rule of thumb when arranging cushions on a bed is to always put the bigger cushions at the back. These cushions set the structure , whilst smaller cushions and bolsters should always be at the front.
Mix And Match Cushions For A Bed
You don’t have to play it safe with simple colours on a bed, in fact mixing and matching cushions is what will create the visual interest.
Combine patterns by varying the sizes of the patterns with large and small scale designs to create balance for the eye to avoid disorder.
A large floral print isn’t going to go with a large geometric print, what will happen is that the two patterns will just end up fighting for attention.
However, a large floral would go with a tiny geometric pattern. In this case, when choosing your cushions it’s best to stick to just 1 eye catching cushion in the pack, then let a single block colour cushion do the rest of the talking.
Keeping the patterns small makes it much easier to work with, there’s always a place for a timeless stripe on a bed which is the perfect complement for other cushions. They have a lovely way of adding a simple dash of interest and help ground a scheme.
Cushion Trims
Cushions comes with a wide variety of trims, you should try to select different trims for your cushions on your bed for visual interest. Here are some of the most popular cushion trims to look out for, who knew there were so many?! The decisions are endless when it comes to choosing cushions.
The Most Effective Bed Styling Arrangements
As I touched on earlier on, you should always layer different sizes and shapes starting with the largest at the back, this is to allow all cushions to be on show at once.
The most effective bed styling arrangement is by starting with 3 large square cushions to the back, later 2 small cushions in front and then add one rectangular/bolster cushion to the front.
For smaller beds, ditch the centre back cushion and add 2 large, then 2 small and then 1 rectangular to finish off the front.
If you like to mix and match cushions, just always ensure that at least the 2 back cushions always match, this helps to ground the scheme.
Bolsters are a really charming way to spread a pop of colour across your bed, just remember to keep them muted and tonal with the rest of the cushion pack.
However, there are SO many different bed cushion combinations, here are some of the most popular.
What Cushion Fillers Do I Need?
You might think the cushion cover is the most important part, but I’m here to tell you it isn’t. The filler is the vital ingredient to ensure you get just the right amount of squish. If you don’t stuff your cushions with the right filler, then you will be left with cushions that look flat and lifeless, or even over plumped.
When you buy a cushion cover, it may or may not come with a filler. Sometimes you have to purchase this as an extra.
So, before you spend those extra pennies on a filler, you need to know what filler you actually need to maximise the cushions potential.
Foam and synthetic fillers are the obvious choice if you have allergies or are vegan. They are generally more firm and can help cushions hold their shape. However, they can look and feel rigid and where they might look alright at first, they tend to go lump. No one wants a lumpy cushion.
If you don’t have an allergy or aren’t averse to this, natural fillers such as feather and down offer a much more plush and squishy cushion that allows the body to nestle on them better. They take a bit of work and require a good plump after each sitting to retain their comfort and shape.
So, what size filler do you buy for what size cushion cover?
To achieve a nice plump cushion, you should try to always go one size up. It might not look like it will fit, but it will. The result is a plump, squishy and well formed cushion. A good quality synthetic or duck and feather filler can sometimes be more expensive than the actual cushion cover.
For example;
A 16″ cushion case should have an 18″ filler, an 18″ cushion case should have a 20″ filler and so on. There are lots of great places for cushion fillers, Dunelm is one of the best for affordable, good quality cushion fillers.
How Can I Make My Cushions More Plump?
Adding a filler which is the next size up will result in a more plump cushion. Chopping the middle of a cushion with your hand will create an indent in the centre top of the cushion, whilst giving the appearance of a plumper cushion,
This only tends to work well on cushions with a feather filling as they tend to be easier to manipulate then the rigid synthetic fillers.
In Summary
Cushions on beds is one of my favourite ways to finish the interior styling in my home. They can bring colour, warmth, depth and character to the space.
Don’t forget to be playful with pattern, and always opt for cushion fillers the next size up to avoid them feeling limp within just a few weeks of use. Which cushion bed styling arrangement is your favourite?
