Kathmandu:

Every little detail matters in your home décor; each piece of furniture and accessory needs to compliment each other and the theme of your interiors. There is one such accessory that not only adds decorative embellishment to the room, but also provides comfort to your seating arrangements.

Popularly known as cushions, throw pillows are the accessory which gives a special touch to your beds, sofas and couches. The decorative virtues of cushions have been recognised from ancient times itself. Elaborate cushions with tapestry work, velvet panel and ornamented trimmings such as gold threaded braids and heavy cornered tassels were considered symbol of wealth and status in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Throw pillows give you the creative liberty to change the look of your room by just changing the covers. Not only this, if chosen with care, a beautiful cushion cover can bring a refreshing look to your old couch.

“Throw pillows are accessories for sofas which makes sitting more comfortable,” says Tejita Amatya Vaidya, Director of Conception Interior Pvt Ltd. She says this particular accessory is also used in beds to provide backrest and in “certain sofas, particularly the huge ones where you won’t be able to sit comfortably without cushions”.

Array of choices

There is a huge range in the variety of cushion covers in material or design. One can choose the covers as per the theme of the room - from luxurious bold to pastel colours, from stripes to classy patterns. And you can put on new covers so that your décor doesn’t get boring or repetitive.

In terms of material, the variety includes pure cotton, khadi, velvet, satin and jacquard among others. According to Vaidya, the selection of the material often depends on where you are using the cushions. For instance, if it is for the living room, which has a Colonial theme, then one should go for jacquard ones or ones with embroidery. For cafes with a causal look, cotton covers work best. Those with self print or embossed ones are more elegant.

If simple and minimal is not your style, then you can opt for the elaborate ones. Covers with a panel of lace on the sides or even mounted on the material or double welted seams and fringes on the corners further accentuates the décor.

There is one other aspect that adds to the variety - the shape of cushions itself. From rectangle to the most popular squares to oval and even heart shaped, you have wide range to choose from.

Complimenting each other

Since throw pillows are basically a sofa accessory, it is important that these two compliment each other. You can choose your pillow covers to create the desired effect. “Using contrast colours can bring about a lively effect, while for the soothing effect, you can use different shades of same colour,” advises Vaidya.

You can also use printed covers of contrast colours for plain sofa. However, if you have printed sofa, the safest bet is to use plain covers. To give a contemporary look, one can use

covers with square prints on striped sofas.

Variety with numbers

One cushion per person - this is the general rule for deciding the number of cushions for your sofa. However, Vaidya says this is no hard and fast rule and one can take creative liberties. You can use a number of cushions, each with different covers; this will further enhance the decorative value. But one should be careful that all the covers are in harmony with each other. If you have plain colours for one cover, the other cover can have prints of the same colour.

While using multiple cushions, try to make it of different sizes as this will add dimension. You can place them in which ever way you feel like - keep them in symmetry for that prim and proper look or just place them haphazardly for a comfortable touch.

In terms of bed Vaidya says, “Normally for a double bed, we keep four to six cushions in addition to normal pillows.”

Just like sofa, the cushions used here should be in accordance with the bed cover. As for the sizes, you can use a pair of cushions bigger than the pillows or you can have numbers of cushions which can be arranged in ascending order of size.