My rule for pillows and seating is: if the pillows occupy half of the available surface space, then there are too many. Also, a very cushy chair or couch doesn't need a lot of extra pillows.

Beds? I think if you're putting pillows on the floor in order to sleep at night, then you have too many.

ouch, my eyes are on fire from that first photo...
i think one of my pet peeves is out of control pillow usage. or pillows are that purely decorative and have sharp pieces of tree bark, sequins or other materials on them that aren't meant to be touched. use what you need, or could conceivable use with a few guests, that's it. a few here and there for some pops of color, sure. but piles and piles everywhere doesn't equate greater luxury or extra coziness, but clutter and over consumption. at least that goes for my home, but to each their own. why'd i write so much, it's just pillows...

I am pillow-crazed, and get some grief for it. I've managed to pare my couch throw cushions down to 4 or 5 in differing sizes and patterns. They get chucked around, leaned on, sat on, used as dinner tables, etc.

My bed has a ton of big, floppy, non-fancy decorative pillows. I toss them haphazardly on the floor when it's time to sleep, and I actually like the way it looks to have cushions strewn on the floor in front of the fireplace in my bedroom. I think it's cozy-looking.

cushions have taken over the surfaces of beds, sofas and chairs in the last couple of years. I agree with slowdown especially about too many on the bed.

I just have a few for color and to break a solid long sofa.

I love that first bedroom. To me that looks like a cuddly amount of pillows rather than a strangling one.

But I basically agree with slowdown's rule: anytime you have to move pillows to fit people, you've got too many pillows.

As many as you want but only if you use them. Occasional pillows should add comfort, not be in the way. I'm with lab director... they shouldn't hurt you.

Having said that, I love the first picture. Hooray for color!

pillows are necessary on a deep couch or daybed to sit comfortably.

My husband and I are at odds on this issue. He moves any pillow on any sitting surface no matter what!

My pillow rules:

Pillows on chairs & sofas: Only as many pillows as people can comfortably sit on the piece...
3 seater = 3 pillows
Loveseat = 2 pillows
Chair = 1

Sectionals, chaises and daybeds can do a few more since there's room to "spread the wealth"

Beds: 2 pillows per person...
Twin = 2 pillows
Double & Queen = 4 pillows
King = 4 to 6 (Again, since there's room to spare)

Like someone else said - if you have to put pillows on the floor to comfortably sit or sleep, you have too many.

We have a couple pillows on the couch, but too many is a pain. Our dogs, and the husband, seem to knock them right onto the floor as soon as I put them back onto the couch!

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

Pillow moderation--one decorative accent pillow per couch, bed, or chair is just about right for me for me. Nothing I could live with, but I like the cheerful explosion of pillows in the first pic.

I'm generally not a pillow fan, unless the pillows are serving a purpose. On futons (where the arms aren't padded) pillows are great. Having one pillow on the couch (so it can be used to sleep occasionally) is nice. I'm annoyed when I *can't* curl up on a piece of furniture because it is smothered in pillows.

Scale is a consideration, too. I keep seeing magazine layouts styled with enormous throw pillows on small- or medium-sized chairs. They're multiplying like Tribbles.

I used to use too many pillows. Then my boyfriend moved in, and didn't understand why I had so many pillows. We pared it down a lot and now I like it better with fewer pillows! I basically got rid of every decorative pillow -- I only kept the pillows I need for comfort. It looks a lot cleaner now.

There's that scene in "Along Came Polly" where Ben Stiller actually does the math on how much of his life is wated on removing and replacing the 15 pillows on his bed. I am a fan of fewer pillow. I have 2 on my 78" sofa and 5 on my bed-2 sleeping, 2 with shams and one decorative. Since I'm sleeping alone these days, it's easy enough to shove the pillows to the wall side. Should I ever meet a nice boy, I'm willing to pare down the pillows.

Actually, I think the pillow-craze is an American trend. Here in France, we have a no-pillow policy in the bedroom (saw Along came Polly too, and was amazed). I don't think overstuffing a bed with pillow is actually pretty, I think it's organized and aesthetically accepted mess.

As for the sofas, it's ununsual here to have even two pillows, except when you are a 70 years old (no offense). However, I love a few pillow with lovely patterns ! I hope that trend crosses the ocean soon ! I agree with Betsf about pillows on couches and sofas.

But two pillows per person on a bed... why not get a bigger pillow ? My favorite bed is: 1 excellent pillow per person, but I can offer various heights for guests. I also offer my own great "pregnancy pillow" for those in need (heaven made pillow, honestly, can't sleep without that one).

This post makes me think of the Cushion rant from Coupling:

"You bring these things into our homes. They sit on our chairs. They watch our televisions. Now, I just need to know, on behalf of all men everywhere, I just need to ask, please... What are they for? I mean, look at them! Look at the chubby little bastards! Just sitting around everywhere! What are they, pets for chairs!?"

I'm lazy and need at least one big cushion to prop me up on the couch, but really, unless it's your little collection or something, pillow proliferation needs to slow down.

Rules are made to be broken. If you love pillows, go wild. I'll still be your friend.

I have three sons, and from day one, any pillow on any surface hit the floor as soon as they sat down. It forced me to really cut back on them. The ones I really want stay and the others are packed away til they all go to college ;)

The first picture is really fun.

where is the first pic from??? love that room's style (but too many pillows, hah!)

thank you,rosenatti!

i have 4 functional and 7 decorative pillows on my bed.

after reading this, i will practice maximum restraint when it comes to any more decorative pillows for the bed!

:-)

i LOVE that first photo - can you tell us where the pic is from? whose house it is etc? i am a color-crazed geek so it is right up my alley.

The first photo is of Wary Meyers in his fab Portland (Maine) home.

http://www.warymeyers.com/warymeyers.p.html

It depends on the surface and what one is comfortable with. I don't like to keep around a million pillows myself since it's wasteful to me.

The couch has it's two back cushions (do they count?) and four pillows that came with it - only two get used since the four crowd it. One of the spare pillows resides in a chair and the other sits in my desk chair when I'm not in it.

The futon/guest bed has the actual pillows you would use to sleep under it and about four small throw pillows on it. It does crowd it but it is black and I needed the pop of color. An ottoman in the room (since it's sitting in a corner) has a pillow sitting with it so you can lean against the pillow instead of the wall.

The bed in the master has five pillows - only one is a throw pillow and I don't find taking it and sitting it by the bed at night that big of a harm.

My bf and I love cushions and we love orange. We covered an entire platform about 14' x 10' with square cushions in brocade, velvet,leather and embroidery fabric. It's a fab sleeping/lounging area and we have more work to do on the space (what color should the walls be???) and more pillows to add!
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

I'll give you all my pillows for that bed in picture 4! It is gorgeous!

I recently had guests over to my home that had never visited. Two of them sat in two of my identical chairs with one throw pillow on each. I noticed that one person took the pillow off the chair and politely leaned it against the side of the chair, while the other used the pillow in her chair to cushion her back. So I guess it really depends on the person whether a pillow is useless or not in any locaton. I personally like to have them around for both comfort and aesthetics. I agree though that there can be too many as in all but the last photo above.

Lots and Lots of interesting, bright pillows! And if you find you have too many, throw them on the floor! Yay!

whatever helps you get your freak on

I like pillows, but I rotate them out when I want a change. I don't like to display them all at once....maybe two or three at the most.

You can never have too many pillows, unless there is no place to put them. The SecretSill solves that problem and looks great too. Check it out at www.SecretSill.com