Throw Pillows Built to Survive a Real Living Room

Throw pillows are the quickest way to change a sofa, and the first thing in the room to look tired. They get leaned on, sat on, slept on by the dog, and occasionally used in a fight, so a pillow chosen only for its color tends to look sad by spring.

Two things keep a pillow looking good. One is the cover, and whether it can be washed or has to go to the cleaner. The other is the insert, since a full insert is what makes any cover look expensive. Here you’ll find covers, inserts, and a couple of complete pillows, so you can fix whichever is letting your sofa down.

Color and pattern still matter, of course. A good arrangement mixes a plain, a texture, and a pattern.

Hackner Home Oyster Indoor/Outdoor Pillow Cover

Oyster is the color that makes every other pillow on the sofa look good, a soft greige with a weave you can see. Hackner Home makes this cover in Sunbrella, the fabric used on boat cushions and garden furniture, which takes some of the fear out of choosing a pale pillow for a family room. Use a pair as the calm base of an arrangement and layer a pattern or a darker velvet in front.

Phantoscope Outdoor Waterproof Pillow Covers, 2-Pack

These covers are made for the sofa where the dog sleeps and the children eat. The fabric has a water-resistant coating, and when that isn’t enough the covers go in the washing machine. White piping around the navy is a neat, nautical detail that gives them a tailored look. Sold as a pair, they would also be at home on a garden bench in summer.

MIULEE Velvet Throw Pillow Covers, Pack of 2, Dark Blue

Deep blue velvet catches the light along every fold, and a pair of these gives a plain grey or cream sofa some richness. Velvet usually means dry cleaning, but the MIULEE covers go in the washing machine, which is why they suit a living room that gets used. Put one at each end of the sofa with a patterned pillow in front.

Hackner Home Noir Velveteen Pillow Cover

Black is underused on sofas. One black velveteen pillow sharpens a pale room the way a black picture frame does, and this one has a heavy, matte finish with a soft sheen where it creases. Think of it as the dress-up pillow, dry clean only, for a sitting room more than a playroom. Ivory linen and one small pattern are all the company it needs.

Demetex Lumbar Pillow Covers, 2-Pack

A row of square pillows looks better with one long, low rectangle in front, and that is what a lumbar is for. The Demetex pair has the look of natural linen in a warm greige, plain enough to go with anything. Use one in the middle of a sofa, or one on each armchair, and wash them when they need it.

Bella Maison Milan Striped Throw Pillow

The Milan is the pattern pillow of an arrangement, with broken black stripes on ivory like brushstrokes or an old typewritten page. Black and white goes with every color, so it can sit between a navy velvet and a plain linen and tie the two together. It comes filled and ready to use, and the cover zips off for the wash.

EDOW Down Alternative Pillow Inserts, 2-Pack

What is inside a pillow decides whether it looks plump or sad. The EDOW inserts are filled with a polyester down alternative and can go in the washing machine, which suits a sofa in daily use. Buy them for the covers you already own that have gone flat, and choose a size up from the cover so the pillow fills its corners.

Hackner Home Classic Down Feather Pillow Inserts

For the soft, sinking, slightly rumpled look of a pillow in a decorating magazine, the insert has to be feather and down. Hackner Home’s are filled with both, and a pillow stuffed with one can be plumped and given the crease down the middle that stylists like. Size up from the cover for a full look. These are for the pillows that are admired more than they are leaned on.

LOOMY Home Paloma Stripe Lumbar Pillow

Hand weaving gives the Paloma its slightly irregular charm. Fine stripes in sand and cream are crossed by a few lines of raised stitching, and the cotton has the look of a textile brought home from a trip. As a long lumbar it belongs in the middle of a sofa or at the front of a bed, where it adds quiet pattern to a room of solids. Turn it over for a second version of the stripe.

What to Look For in a Durable Throw Pillow

Cover fabric matters as much as fill. An outdoor fabric resists stains and fading, though it usually needs dry cleaning. A coated or washable polyester gives up some richness and can go in the machine. Natural fibers like linen and cotton sit in between. Check the zipper and the insert size as well, since a hidden zipper keeps the seam from showing and an insert one size up from the cover gives a fuller pillow.