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Monday, July 29, 2013

How Big Do You Like Your Pillows?

   


Chance are if you love to decorate you L-O-V-E decorative pillows!

I do love my pillows!

Good Life of Design: PILLOW ADDICTION
Changing out pillows is one of the easiest ways to change out a room and trust me I do.
Today I would like to talk about one style of pillow in particular.

The Lumbar Pillow

I am not talking about the average sized lumbar, Oh no today is go B-I-G, or go home day!!

Today we are going to talk about the extra-long lumbar pillow.

You might be wondering, “Why so large?”
  
Honestly it is something I like to use when I want to keep it simple, yet still make a statement in a room. Using an over-sized lumbar will do that for you.

Cote de Texas  blog Good Life of Design: Long Pillows


I think a nice long lumbar pillow looks great in the mix when using multiple pillows, especially on a bed.

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Just try to imagine this bed without the long lumbar pillow. It would still look nice, but the size of the lumbar gives an importance to the entire bed.

.Extra long lumbar pillow
This ticking lumbar is actually the width of the entire bed. Love the statement it makes in this neutral bedroom. 

In fact I can see myself having bedding like this in one of the bedrooms in my very own home. (note to self, remember this next time I feel like switching things up a bit in my bedroom.)

Good Life of Design: Long Pillows
On a sofa I actually prefer an oversized lumbar to stand alone. 

As much as I love the colors in the above image, I would like the lumbar pillow to stand alone. Notice there is NO room for someone to plop down on the sofa, not very inviting.

Good Life of Design: Long Pillows

On this sofa they chose to use only one lumbar pillow and I like this look the most.  However I think the pillow could be about 2inches higher.

Keeping proportions on an extra long lumbar is important. Always keep in mind that the longer it is, the skinnier it will look so you might have to add a bit more to the height.

There is no formula that I am aware of, so you really have to use your own judgment.

This is How I figure out proportions when I am designing a long lumbar pillow...

I  get a white towel, and fold it the size I think I want,  then place it on the sofa, or bed where it will be used.

I then can play with the proportions before I actually have the pillow made. Not very technical, or complicated, but it works. I am a very visual person and it is also helpful for clients to see how it will look.
 
One More thing to think about........
It is also important to remember you don’t want the entire sofa back covered up so keep it low enough so you can still have a  nice framework of the sofa surrounding your pillow.

Too Small to Stand Alone

Notice in this image the front pillow just looks a bit out of proportion to stand alone. In this configuration I feel there needs to be a square pillow on each end of sofa to balance the look here.

Stay tuned……. you just might be seeing a new pillow in my home very soon!!

If you would like to see a few more long lumbar pillows go  to my lumbar pillow pinboard, HERE.

 
 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy Sue! I like these pillows too but don't have any that size. Now, I have a question for you - how do you make your insert? I guess a lot of polyfoam! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Nancy said...

I looooove long lumbar pillows and have actually been on the lookout for fabric to make one for each of my 3 beds.

Unknown said...

Kathysue...i usually like 20 x 20 on sofas with down...but I do love those long pillows on the beds in your images...very pretty

Stacey said...

I have one of those tucked away waiting for a new cover. They really do make a dramatic impact and look less fussy.

Woodside Park said...

I am crazy about big lumbars!! Had one made for our family room sofa. It's so long my seamstress had to use 2 zippers :) Great post, Kathysue. Look forward to your pillow reveal ~
x Loi

The enchanted home said...

Excellent post. I love an oversized lumbar and in fact just ordered one for my sons bed.....he could care less but it sure matters to me:) I have always loved this look!

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...

Very informative! Very, very helpful!
Looking forward to the reveal!

Merlin said...

I luv me a lumbar! I "switch" mine around...bed, sofa, kiddos use watching tv, etc. franki

debra @ 5th and state said...

i am following your white towel idea next time. being also visually inclined, that makes it fool proof
thanks luv!
debra

vignette design said...

I have a couple of lumbar pillows made out of extra long grain sacks. They really add to the sofa or bed without looking too fussy. Looking forward to your lumbar pillow reveal! ~Delores