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Fall Pillows + How I Store My Seasonal Pillows

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Cozy fall pillows can transform a room from summer to fall in no time at all. But trying to find storage for a lot of off-season pillows? That can be a challenge. Especially in a small house! This summer I was determined to solve my pillow woes once and for all because the storage situation was really getting out of hand. My husband was giving me the stink eye every time I brought a few more pillows home and yet, I couldn’t help it :).

Hi, I’m Melissa and I really like pillows.

Now, if you are more of a minimalist and like to keep your house pretty streamlined, you probably can’t relate to the joy that is found in seasonal pillows. Bless. But for many of us, cozy cable knit pillows in the fall, velvet pillows in the winter and pretty patterned pillows in a cheerful palette in the spring can “spark a lot of joy”. Maybe too much joy, but still.

Fall Pillows + How I Store My Seasonal Pillows

Summer pillows on the daybed. I’ll show you my fall daybed pillows in an upcoming post.

For years I really wanted to do a pillow pare down, but just kept putting it off. And every season the numbers of pillows seemed to increase, rather than decrease. Since we have such limited space to store extras in this house, I realized it was finally time to get serious about paring down.

I started the pillow decluttering process by assessing the quality of my pillows. I like heavier firm but squishable down-like pillows, not flat or floppy or foamy ones. For being a generally indecisive person, I am a pretty picky pillow person!

A NOTE ON PILLOW FORMS: For those of you who asked which forms I like the best, many of them I already had, but I recently bought a couple I really like. They are heavy and squishable feather and down. You can find the ones I have here in the 22 x 22 size as well as other sizes. Also note to buy them a size or two BIGGER than your covers so they’ll be extra fluffy :).

I pared down the pillows that didn’t meet the quality standard and only kept the quality of pillow inserts I really liked. If I liked the cover and it had a zipper, I donated the flat insert that was inside and just hung onto the cover. Next I matched up inserts to pillow covers to make sure I had the right sized inserts for a set of seasonal covers. I also hung onto pillows I liked that could be used in many seasons.

Fall Pillows + How I Store My Seasonal Pillows

Love Is Patient Art Source

I’ve always kept a big basket in my bedroom or another room (like the one above pictured in my old bedroom) to toss in extra pillows. A basket can work great as a way hold those accent pillows from the bed when you sleep or as a place to put your sleeping pillows when you make the bed.

But for seasonal pillows, I was excited for the day I would be organized enough to just switch the covers on the same set of quality pillow inserts at the end of the season. I love that one set of pillows can just stay on the furniture or beds and only the seasonal covers need to be stored (which obviously takes up a lot less room). It isn’t always easy to find new covers without inserts, but at least it helps to look for pillows that have zippers on the covers so you can more easily pare down and they’ll take up less space.

Do you have seasonal pillow issues or solutions? 

Fall Pillows + How I Store My Seasonal Pillows

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27 Comments

  1. Cathy

    I like your method for editing the pillows. I also gets moans and groans from my better half about pillows, especially moving them off the bed! My system is a mix of storing zip-off covers and a couple of extra cushions for winter in a spare closet.

  2. Cyndi

    What kind of ‘firm but squishable’ pillow forms do you prefer?

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Ha :) Good question. Well, some of them I’ve had for years but I did order a couple new ones recently that were great, heavy and very squishy and plump. I really like them! I’ll add a link to the post for the 22 x 22 size I ordered but they come in all sizes. You can find the exact ones here >http://bit.ly/2ccMkOW

      • Cyndi

        Thanks Melissa! I have purchased those mixed feather inserts and they are my fav! Love all of your inspirations!!

  3. renee

    I have alot of pillow covers made, and even make a few myself. So, like you, I have way more covers than inserts. Covers are stored in drawers in our guest bedroom closet (small dresser in closet). I will only use down or down alternative inserts and use a size larger than my cover for a nice, plump pillow.

  4. Denise Davis

    What a lovely touch you have with your interiors-that serene guest room is absolutely inviting! Where does the 1Co poster come from? I’d love to hang one in my guest room too!

  5. Jo Jo

    Pretty picky pillow person. Say that 5 times fast! Haha. I can relate BIGTIME Melissa. I, too, love (and kept adding to my collection) throw pillows! My solution is the same ( I’ve recently come to learn) is the same as yours. Though my new throw pillows might be a bit more expensive initially because I prefer a down pillow with zippered cover, it is cost effective because I have found some great buys on pretty seasonal COVERS that I can switch out, which is less expensive than purchasing a new pillow. Also, I like large pillows 18 X 18 or 20×20. Just store the covers flat in my large ottoman/ coffee table seasonally and use the same inserts on our sectional. Win/ win!

  6. Gail

    In addition to your decorating taste, and information, I love your writing style ! You come across as so charming ! :)

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thank you Gail, I so enjoy sharing. I feel like we are friends here, just chatting over our morning coffee. :)

  7. Anne

    I’m a bit of a pillow addict, too! For those pillows I love but whose covers don’t zip off, I use the ziploc bags where you can vacuum out the air and store them flat under piece of furniture. It’s not a perfect solution, but it works!

    Best,
    Anne

  8. Kelsey

    Your timing on this topic is perfection! I was just thinking yesterday about my pillows! I mostly decorate in fall colors year round, but this summer I did add a few lighter color slip covers over current pillows. I was thinking, “I would like to change my pillows for more of the seasons, but how would I do that reasonably?” And then….your post! Thanks for the tips!

  9. Adrienne

    I use pretty much the same system–I have about 8 throw pillows, and a few large pillows and I have various covers for them based on the season. I keep the covers in a basket in the linen closet and just plump up and switch out every season (or every time i’m bored, let’s face it, pillows are an addiction). This isn’t as easy with odd sizes, like lumbar pillows, so I do have a few of those hanging around too, but you’d be surprised how many different styles you can find in just a cover online, and there is always DIY! Also, it’s a lot cheaper this way!

  10. Sandy @ Shady Meadow Cottage

    Great idea! I don’t have a lot of pillows, but have resisted adding more because we live in a small house without a lot of storage space. This is a great solution.

  11. Sara Syrett

    I am a big fan of throw pillows. I have recently begun going through mine as well to get rid if the inserts that I don’t really love. I too am a lover of the feathery down pillow inserts, they lay so much better on a bed or couch in my opinion. Thanks for a great post!

  12. Pamela

    I store my pillows in extra large space bags. I use a vacuum to remove the air and store the compressed bag on its side behind a dresser. I use the same technique for extra throws, rolling them to use all the available space before removing the air.

  13. Aubrey

    Hi Melissa! I am Aubrey and I also have a pillow problem.
    I am really trying to buy better quality down pillows and avoid the pillow section at HomeSense. Don’t put an addict in front of their addiction! Must.have.all.the.throw.pillows.

  14. Nancy P.

    My name is Nancy and I have a pillow addiction….
    A good way to store the covers is hang them on the vertical pants hangers with clips.

    Whenever I think of throw pillows, it reminds me of the scene from Along Came Polly with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMVWECam8EA

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      THAT IS BRILLIANT, Nancy! I love that idea! Thank you for sharing, fellow pillow addict :).

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Oh, and that scene is so hilarious! I laughed so hard. Thank you for sharing it! So appropriate for our topic :).

  15. Linda

    That’s exactly what I started doing a few years ago! Now I only buy pillows with zip covers. I store the covers in my linen cabinet, grouped by season, and keep the inserts in an old trunk. Changing out the covers each season really does give a room a new look and feel.

  16. Tamela

    Great read Melissa! And I love your assortment of pillows. I only use three decorative pillows on the beds in my home and highly suggest using a trio of decorative pillows for the bed for all my clients. This prevents from having to take 10 minutes at removing and storing pillows before climbing into bed…LOL! I learned this valuable lesson when I came to realize I had over 30 decorative pillows in my home…which about 5 of them were on my bed alone…LOL! Now when it comes to sofas, the more the merrier, but I still try to set a limit to no more than 7.

  17. Karen on Bainbridge Island

    Hi. I’m Melissa. And I have a pillow problem……
    I’m with you. Buy similar sizes so you can just have a limited number of pillow inserts and swap out the covers when the mood strikes you.

  18. Valerie

    I would love this for our backyard. It would be a beautiful addition to our patio.

  19. Diana R

    I decided to do the same thing this past year I love changing out the pillows on the Family room sofa, and on my bed. Easy peasy and a new “Look” to the rooms.

 

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