STYLING

How to Mix Block Print Pillows on One Sofa

Three patterns, three scales, one shared color.

One patterned pillow on a plain sofa is easy. Three or four is where people lose their nerve and fall back on a matching set. Mixing prints is less risky than it looks, because it comes down to three decisions: scale, color, and size.

Vary the Scale First

Patterns fight when they are the same size. Pick one print with a large motif, one with a medium repeat, and one with a small, dense pattern such as a lattice. From across the room the large print reads as the feature, the medium one supports it, and the small one reads almost as a texture.

Let One Color Run Through

The prints do not need to match, but they need something in common. Two-color block prints make this simple, since many of them share white or cream as the second color. Choose covers whose main colors sit comfortably together, such as a red with a pink, or a sage green with a black and white, and let the shared pale ground tie them into one group.

Step the Sizes Down

Put the largest squares at the back and outer ends of the sofa and step down toward the middle: 22 inch at the back, 20 inch in front of it, 18 inch in front of that. The layering gives each pattern its own visible area, and the group looks arranged.

Count in Odd Numbers, Then Add a Rest

Three pillows on a loveseat and five on a full sofa tend to look settled, while even numbers can look like a store display. If the arrangement starts to feel busy, swap one print for a plain cover in a color pulled from the patterns. The eye needs somewhere to rest.

Linen and Cotton Together

Mixing base cloths adds depth without adding another pattern. A thick linen cover next to a smooth cotton one catches the light differently even when the colors are close. We wrote a little about how the two cloths take a print on our About Us page.

Thank you for shopping with us, and for giving a good sofa something new to wear.