5 easy ways to arrange cushions flawlessly
Give your sofa a new lease of life with these stylish ideas
One of the quickest and budget-savvy ways to transform the look of your living-room sofa is with a good mix of decorative cushions. Whether you love a plain, velvet cover or colourful painterly design, we know you’ll be inspired by these five ideas.
Follow a trend
Image: Good Homes/Dan Duchars
Make the most of this look by sticking to one base theme, such as florals, geometrics or stripes, then use different-shaped cushions with varying prints and shades of the same colour to create interest.
Go for comfort & style
Image: Good Homes/Andrew Boyd
Consider the shape, size and colour of your sofa before choosing cushions – a neutral-coloured one works well with most patterns and tints. Place oversized, square cushions at regular intervals to create depth and mix plain with patterned. Remember, your aim is to create a place to relax and rest your head, as well as an admiring display.
Create a strong base
Image: Good Homes/Andrew Boyd
Start off with two matching cushions in a solid colour; position these at the two outer edges of your sofa to create symmetry. Then arrange two smaller ones, in complementary shades and shapes in front towards the centre of the sofa.
Layer your selection
Image: Good Homes/Mark Scott
If you want your sofa to look styled and sophisticated, rather than relaxed and comfy, the trick is to layer up around five to seven cushions in different prints of similar shades. Display cushions along the full length of your sofa and complete the look with a smaller rectangular one at the front, in the middle.
Go bold with pattern
Image: Good Homes/Joanna Henderson
The secret to mixing strong prints together is stick to a cohesive theme, such as the painterly designs on this cushion arrangement. You can also introduce ‘cushion chopping’, the stylist’s trick to shaping your cushions so they look more inviting – simply plump up and literally karate chop, choose a subtle V or a softer one – choice is yours!
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