Cushions or throw pillows as they are often called, can offer a cheap and instant change to a room. They can make such a difference seasonally adding light and shade in the summer and warmth in the winter. A sofa can be transformed with a touch of colour and a chair can make a statement without breaking the bank. Personally, I say go for the best you can afford and ideally, use down inserts for a touch of luxury. Don’t add too many and go for groups of two or four otherwise it can look fussy and you end up throwing them on the floor. Of course, I am going to show you my favourite aqua blue and I love the small and large pattern of the 70’s style cushions!
Which White?
I love ivory tones. It is a softer look than pure white and enhances a darker colour. Try navy and white and my favorite, coffee shades and ivory. You can mix and match the textures to enhance the look or add piping to a plain cushion. Following Feng Shui practices, I recently added embroidery from my mother to on two faux suede ivory cushions and placed them in the relationship corner. In our past French apartment, we had thrown big textured ivory cushions on a beige sofa. It added a sense of style against the main colour palette of the room. If you recall from other posts, use a dominant colour, a secondary colour, add hints of a third and if you are brave, use a touch of a fourth colour. We had walls in a soft coffee colour with ivory and metal as the other colours and then blue just to add a cool colour as an accent.
Shades of Blue
How beautiful is the aqua blue with the coral yin and yang fish? I could imagine this on a beige, brown or white sofa. I would pick up plain orange cushions to highlight the fish. Or as they have done in the photo, add another aqua cushion but in a different texture. For Feng Shui, this would represent relationships and blue represents water. You would ideally put this in the family and communication sector as the relationship corner prefers the element of Earth and colours of white, rose and earth tones.
Tropical Green
This theme has become a new favorite. It sings as summer and sun! These cushions instantly lift rattan furniture and look great against navy, reds and yellows. It is a fresh colour and with the leaves, is a symbol of growth in Feng Shui. Use it in areas such as the Wealth sector to stimulate prosperity. We have gone for a full on tropical look in our dining room in the Wealth area particularly, as this is also where I will be working. It is also a fun look with palms, animals and birds and has a sense of the 1920s and fun!
Mix and Match
Look how these colours mix and match! They chose a main pattern and pulled out the soft brown, ivory and watermelon tones. The candles in the background against the white pop out to pull the whole look together. It is all about using one dominant pattern and allowing that to shine. If you are brave, you could do the same with a large bold pattern and highlight with a smaller or embossed pattern in the same colours.
It Sounds Complicated!
Go and check out bed linen stores, interior design windows and furniture outlets. They are the best at choosing shades and tones, patterns and textures and then throwing contrasting colours together. And no, they don’t need to match the curtains!
