Pillow Talk: 6 Ways to Style Decorative Bed Pillows

The way you make your bed up can say a lot about your decor style. Like to keep it simple and no-fuss? Neatly stack the pillows you sleep on, smooth out your linens and turn down your top sheet and bedspread. You’re done. However, if you prefer something with a little more decoration, we’ve created six simple set ups you can copy at home in your own bedroom. Check them out!

A quick note on the bed size. The bed used for these examples is a queen, so if you have a king, remember to add more to your base (Euro and standard shams, specifically).

This set up is as simple as it gets, but still looks super polished. Here’s what to do:

• 2 Euro Shams (these are large square shams, traditionally 26″ x 26″)
• 2 Regular Shams
• 1 Extra-Long Decorative Lumbar (the one pictured here is 40″)

Very similar to option one, except with two shorter lumbar pillows. These can be hefty like the ones used above, or smaller (whatever you prefer!). This look is nice and symmetrical.

• 2 Euro Shams
• 2 Regular Shams
• 2 Decorative Lumbar Pillows

Like option one and two? Mix them together! Playing around with the decorative pillows on your bed is about finding what pleases your eye (and the effort you want to put into making it up). Here, we ditched the standard shams to prevent the look from getting too bulky.

• 2 Euro Shams
• 2 Decorative Lumbar Pillows
• 1 Extra-Long Decorative Lumbar (that’s not as tall as the other lumbar pillows)

Okay, this is where a little more fuss comes in. Sure, there may be seven pillows on this bed, but by keeping most of the pillows in matching pairs, it still looks tailored and not that fussy.

• 2 Euro Shams
• 2 Standard Shams
• 2 Matching 18″x18″ (or 20″x20″) Decorative Pillows
• 1 Decorative Lumbar Pillow

Just want to throw a handful of pillows onto a made bed and move on with your life? The key is to find two to three coordinating prints and/or colors in varying sizes and textures. Give this formula a try:

• 2 Euro or Standard Shams
• 1 Decorative Lumbar Pillow
• 2 Decorative Pillows (try one 18″ x 18″ or smaller and one 20 ” x 20″ or larger)

And finally, for someone who likes the full pillow look:

• 2 Euro Shams
• 2 Standard Shams
• 3 Decorative Pillows (18″ x 18″ or 20″ x 20″)
• 1 Extra-Long Decorative Lumbar Pillow

These six arrangements are a great place to start, though many, many more combinations exist! Don’t be afraid to play around with what you’ve got in order to achieve just the decorative touch you’re looking for. Sweet dreams!

Blue-and-white Lumbar Pillows: (Similar) Homies

Orange Tassel Pillow: West Elm (no longer available)

Embroidered Cream Pillow: (Similar) Homies

White Linen Euro Shams: Parachute Home

Extra-long Lumbar Pillow: Anthropologie

*Styling by Stephanie L. Yeh in collaboration with Arlyn Hernandez; special thanks to Nicole Sauma for sharing your beautiful home with us for this shoot.