Pillow Placement Guide: Bed Edition.
So you want to add some pillows to your bed, but you’re lost on which size, color, pattern, style, or shape to pick. This isn’t unusual, so don’t feel discouraged. Pairing pillows is a large task that can easily become overwhelming when you see all the options out there. I want to break down some sizing options so you can gain some confidence for the next time you pick our pillows for the bed.
The size of your bed and the size of the pillows picked is the most important thing to consider. Always start by knowing what size your bed is: twin, full, queen, king. This will help determine how many pillows you could use and what size those back anchor pillows should be. The goal is to have pillows that make a statement and are substantial enough in size that they fit well. All too often, pillows are too small for specific bed sizes. It’s really easy to quickly grab a small inexpensive 18x18” pillow at the store, but odds are they are too small for your bed size. You always want those back row pillows to be the largest. Behind those decorative pillows are usually your actual sleeping pillow(s) or the sham pillow. There are two ways you can place these pillows. The first option would be propping them up so they are sitting on their bottom edge. The second option would be laying them one on top of one another.
If you’re buying already stuffed pillows from a store they will most likely come in 18x18”, 20x20”, 22x22”, 24x24”, 26x26” sizes for standard square-shaped pillows. If you plan to buy a pillow cover and need to put a pillow insert in it, I would recommend buying a size-up insert. This will ensure that your pillow looks luxurious and plumped full instead of cheap and depleted. For instance, if you purchased a pillow cover that is 20x20” size, I would purchase a 22x22” pillow insert to put into it.
I’m going to walk through some of my favorite pillow placements for beds next, I want to make it clear that I am only showing three different options for each bed size. There are endless amounts of pillow pairings out there that you can experiment with. So if you don’t have your pillows laid out the way I show in this post, don’t feel like yours are wrong. I am just showcasing some go-to foolproof options that will never let you down. As for patterns and colors that pair together, I feel like that could be another post on its own. Just like size, there are endless options out there and I don’t want to make this post too confusing by discussing pattern pairing as well.
Twin Bed
For a twin-sized bed, you want to make sure you don’t overdo it. The bed is already small, so you shouldn’t fill it with too many pillows. Start with your 1-2 sleeping pillows in the back, then add either a 20” or 22” pillow in front of it. If you don’t want that another option would be putting an odd-shaped pillow like a circle in front of the sleeping pillows. One more option could be putting a 20” or 22” pillow down first and then following it with a small lumbar pillow.
Full or Queen Bed
Since a full bed and a queen bed are very similar in size, you can follow the same pillow placement for both. If you’re looking for a simple, minimal pillow layout for your bed you could have your 4 sleeping pillows in the back and then just add a long lumbar pillow (one that almost goes the span of the bed). That would be an option that only involves one decorative pillow and can add a pop character to the bed. If you’re thinking just adding a long lumbar isn’t enough for you, you could try having two 24x24” pillows in front of your sleeping pillows and then finish it off with a lumbar pillow in front of them. I wouldn’t use as long of a lumbar then. You don’t want it to stick too far past where your 24” pillows end. If you’re looking at these two options and you’re still thinking you want more character on your bed, I would suggest the last option I have for you. For this one, you want to start with either two 24” or two 26” pillows in the back row. In front of those, you can then add two 20” or two 22” pillows depending on what size you picked above. A great finisher for this combo would be adding a medium-sized lumbar pillow right in the center.
King Bed
The king-sized bed…this is usually where the pillow mistakes happen. Since this bed is the largest, it is easy to get inspiration from a queen bed pillow placement and want to recreate it for your king bed. However, the biggest mistake that happens is not sizing up those back pillows. The best size you could grab for the back row of decorative pillows on the bed would be 26x26”, but if you either already have 24x24” or don’t want to buy the larger size that’s fine. I would just suggest adding a third pillow of that same size to the mix. If you can’t find the exact same one that’s also okay, having the outer two pillows in the back row one style and the middle one in the back row different also looks cool! This leads me to the first pillow arrangement, three pillows either 24” or 26” in the back and then a long lumbar in front of those. This gives a clean look. The second option would be having two large pillows in the back row 24” or 26”, a medium lumbar pillow after, and then finishing with a 20x20” or 22x22” pillow in front of that. You could also flip-flop the lumbar and the small square one. My last pillow arrangement option is perfect for folks that love symmetry. This isn’t always my favorite one out there, but sometimes it looks fantastic if done well. For this option, you want to start with two 26” or 24” pillows in the back row with some space in between them. Try placing them right in the middle of each sleeping pillow on both sides. Then right in front of those, you can do the same with a size down like a 22” or 20”. This really gives the “his and hers” vibe.
I hope you found this post helpful when considering what pillows you’d like to decorate your bed with, if so please leave me a comment below. It’s helpful for me to hear if my posts are informative to the level you’d like. This can be a really fun experiment to do. I know something I often do is buy a lot of different options and test out how I like them together in the space. Whichever ones I don’t think jive with the others goes back to the store. Sometimes it’s just best to bring it home and see it where it will ultimately live.
If you enjoyed this post and would like more posts like this or one that walks through pattern mixing, pillows on couches/chairs, or even styling a bed let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.
