My couch came with two small throw pillows. Sometimes I have one on each side of the couch, but I prefer when the two pillows are on one side of the couch. Asymmetry for the win!

Is there a shortage of design stories today?

Not sure which was the before or after shot but i would move the couch out from against the window/wall.

The carpet looks nice.

i like an assymetrical arrangement. 2 on one corner, 1 on the other. then my mother comes and puts on pillow at the center of each sofa cushion. arrrrrrgh.

i mean, puts ONE pillow at the center of each sofa cushion.

Ok, it is officially time for me to take a hiatus from AT.

What am I at a horse school? 'Cause all I hear is naysayers!

My throw pillows ad a lot to my living room, I think. And, I definitely have a preferred arrangement. I'm with selenakyle, I can't stand it when someone messes with them ;)

Maybe I should be more open to switching it up.

"add"

I usually have one way that I use, but perhaps I should mix it up a bit and see how I feel about it.

Also, to the naysayers, perhaps if you feel that every post needs to be directed at you then you should start your own blog. Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?

All the negativity this month ("WHINE THIS ISN'T A HACK!" "WHATEVER I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!" "ONLY IDIOTS COULDN'T DO THAT!"), maybe AT should institute a comment rating system or a delete system, so you can hide the ones that are negative and, well, mean-spirited. And it's gotten meaner this month, hasn't it? It really upsets me - sorry everyone who this isn't directed towards....

Regarding this post, are there any systems anyone follows? I've never felt my pillows are quite right. And to make matters more complicated, I recently bought a lot more throw pillows because I'd really like to pull off the Moroccan tons-of-pillows look!

I like pillows!

I also like jokes about 'horse school.' Bravo to everyone who is leading by example and asking the 'negative nellies' to behave and be constructive with their comments.

Design is supposed to be fun, folks. Quit taking yourself so seriously!

I live by the credo that simple is always better and less is usually more. I like to have a single larger macthing pillow in each corner and then maybe mix it up with two or three different pillows total of different sizes. Also, don't place them diagonally so they look like they are standing on a single pillow corner...looks really awkward. And stop pillow abuse, no pillow karate chops!

I think throw pillows, & HOW they are arranged, can have a huge impact on a room's appearance.

Amen criv227. I swear, you'd think the commentors pay a high subscription fee to read AT they way they are outraged at posts they deem unacceptable. These (probably underpaid) bloggers are doing the best they can. ighten up, y'all.

If this is a hack, then I'm a neigh-sayer. And if Maxwell is paying by the post, he's not getting his money's worth.

Can't stand pillows lined up in a row like little soldiers or a store display...
...much prefer them in clumps like trees - a few in the corner of the sectional, a few more over there - some space in between.

And can't stand the matching pillows that come with a sofa - they immediately get removed and the fillers used for more interesting covers.

I think that constructive criticism from readers should be welcomed - it is important for AT to take comments into consideration in order to increase readership (and advertising dollars), so please stop attacking people who express disappointment with certain posts/themes. This kind of input is crucial.

I agree that this is a pretty lame entry. Could be improved with more photos/examples/new ideas (if there are any). How about suggestions as to sizes and shapes of pillows best suited for various sofa styles? Best way to clean pillows without removable covers? How to customize existing pillows on the cheap? A POLL on how many is too many?

As it is, we have two close-up photos of a fairly bland couch with pretty run of the mill pillows arranged in expected configurations. Far from inspiring.

I'm sorry, calling that couch bland may have been out of line. It looks pretty nice. Bet it could be dressed up with a creative use of...throw pillows ;)

I'm with tmoore. Criticizing a post is not the same as criticizing the author. We don't like a post; why should we be required to report that undercover instead of saying it in the comments? Arranging throw pillows? Come on! Go ahead and delete my comment.

I think that pointing out that a particular post or post topic is bland is constructive criticism. It means that we care enough to tell you what our opinion is instead of just leaving and going to read design stuff elsewhere.

I think that often the most negative comments are the ones *directed at* the people expressing constructive criticism.

I have always been kind of mystified by pillow arrangements actually, and would love to see examples of different ones, and learn if there are any good principlas to follow when arranging them.

"I think that often the most negative comments are the ones *directed at* the people expressing constructive criticism."

As the frequent subject of negative comments for giving what I feel is constructive criticism, I applaud your point.

BTW - I'm curious:
Which of the photos above is the before and which is the after?

apparently there are many definitions of the term "design hack".

Civility in commenting--always good, but part of what makes AT a pleasure is the opportunity to respond honestly to posts. In this case, the post does seem less fully or uniquely explored than it might be. Admittedly, it takes some doing to make throw pillows an exciting subject, but it can be done.

Here's a more thorough/creative example from a past AT post on arranging accent pillows on a bed:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/bedroom/what-your-pillow-arrangement-says-about-your-style-070805

a 30-second Google search yielded these two articles (among many more):

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/decorating-with-throw-pillows-416140/

http://activerain.com/blogsview/755906/pillow-talk-the-artful-placement-of-pillows-vol-ii-piling-practicum
(scroll down for sofa/couch placement)

Talk about Bohemian, we just let pillows lay where ever they fall! Sometimes along the sides of the sofa, sometimes one or two in the middle, always cozy.

Here's a thought...if you don't like the post move on to another. It's really not that important in the scheme of things. We're not curing cancer here! Relax! It's decorating!

Does anyone else have throw pillow battles with their co-habitants? I know exactly how I like the four on our couch to be arranged (a large and a small in each corner), and someone who shall go unnamed frequently pulls them all off and puts them back haphazardly. Also, I think pillows look nice in the middle, but are impractical -- I smoosh mine in the corner so I have something to relax against.

I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling that a lot of thought went into this post. And I don't mean rocket-science concentration, either.

When I'm on AT, I look for three things:
1. A new product or design
2. A creative solution to a decorating/storage dilemma presented in elegant ways
3. Pretty house pictures

This post, I think, doesn't fall into any of those categories. Throw pillows are not really a problem, nor is this creative.

I agree w/ tmoore & RQinGeorgia, the quality of pics, how-to's seems to be completely lacking in this posting. I thought this article could be helpful but was disappointed :(