SaveA Reading by ÉlodieCustom Throw Pillows
Custom throw pillows, one at a time: a navy leaf jacquard and the teak chair it changed
Before: a teak lounger dressed in plain oatmeal. After: the same chair with one navy pillow and a point of view. I read how a single custom throw pillow remakes a terrace without buying anything else.
One bold navy pillow against plain oatmeal cushions is enough to give this sea-view chair character.
The quick answer
One patterned throw pillow is enough to remake a chair whose seat and back cushions are plain. Here a navy and cream leaf jacquard with self piping gives an oatmeal teak lounger a single focal point, while pink bougainvillea brings the extra color. The rule to take home: one pattern, one plain, and let a plant carry the third color.
Before: a handsome chair with nothing to say
The smallest makeover I know is a single pillow, chosen well.
Picture this terrace a day earlier. A teak lounge chair with oatmeal seat and back cushions, a whitewashed wall, bougainvillea spilling over the top and the sea beyond. Every piece agreeable. Nothing to hold the eye. The eye sits down first, and here it had nowhere to sit.
That is the moment most people reach for a new chair, a rug, a set of four matching pillows. I would reach for one pillow and stop.
Pinned by Élodie
Five pins, from the leaf jacquard at the heart of the chair to the little vase of wildflowers at its elbow.
- Leaf jacquard pillow
One patterned pillow gives the plain chair a single clear focal point.
- Self-piped edge
Piping in the same fabric keeps the edge soft and lets the leaves run to the seam.
- Teak arm
Warm teak balances the cool navy.
- Bougainvillea
Pink flowers add color without competing with the navy.
- Wildflower vase
A small stoneware vase echoes the cream ground of the pillow.
- Leaf jacquard pillowOne patterned pillow gives the plain chair a single clear focal point.
- Self-piped edgePiping in the same fabric keeps the edge soft and lets the leaves run to the seam.
- Teak armWarm teak balances the cool navy.
- BougainvilleaPink flowers add color without competing with the navy.
- Wildflower vaseA small stoneware vase echoes the cream ground of the pillow.
After: why ink navy, and why only one
The pillow is a navy and cream leaf jacquard, the leaves woven into the cloth rather than printed on top, so they hold their edges in the low gold light of late afternoon. The navy is deep and inky, close to the sea at the horizon, and it sits against honey-brown teak the way a cool note sits against a warm chord. Each makes the other look richer.
The piping is cut from the same jacquard. Self piping keeps the edge soft and lets the leaves run right to the seam, where a contrast cord would draw a hard line around them. See how it behaves across the jacquard and damask family and among our throw pillows.
Why only one? The oatmeal cushions do their job by being quiet. Add a second pattern and the chair argues with itself; a second pillow should be plain, its color pulled from the first.
Then look up. Pink bougainvillea brings color with no pattern at all, so it never competes with the leaves, and a small stoneware vase of white wildflowers echoes the cream ground at arm's reach. One pattern, one plain, a living thing for the third color: it works on a Gulf Coast porch as well as on a Mediterranean terrace. More ideas live among our patio and porch cushions.
A word of care, my friends: a jacquard is an upholstery weave, not an outdoor one. Out for the afternoon, in for the night, and read indoor cushions on a covered porch before it lives outside for good.
What is the one plain chair in your home that has been waiting for its pillow?
A twin XL mattress that wanted to be a daybed
Makeovers are not always pillows. A buyer in the US wrote to the workshop wanting a thick linen cover with a hidden zipper for a twin XL mattress of 38 x 80 x 10 in (97 x 203 x 25 cm). They meant to use it as a daybed, and a plain mattress does not look like a sofa until it is dressed.
The workshop confirmed it could make the full 10 in (25 cm) depth at no extra charge, ordered through the zippered cover listing. One cover, and a bed became a seat. The lesson I keep: a deep cover for a mattress is ordered like a cushion cover, and you must give the full depth.
- Sizes
- 38 x 80 x 10 in (97 x 203 x 25 cm)
The lesson: Deep covers for mattresses are ordered like cushion covers; give the full depth.
Buyer questions: new covers, a true cream and a vintage sofa
- A common question
Can I buy extra covers in another color to change the look of my sofa?
The workshop's answerYes. You can order a single large replacement cover or a full set. For a corner sofa you order two cover sets, and the workshop makes them L-shaped.
- A common question
Is that cream fabric truly a warm cream, or does it read yellow?
The workshop's answerThe workshop checked the swatch: it is a warm cream, with no yellow tint in it.
- A common question
My vintage teddy-style sofa has its own measurements. Can you make covers to fit it?
The workshop's answerYes, covers are made to custom sizes. The workshop first asks how the seat is built, one tall mattress or two stacked. Its seat covers run 6.5 to 7 in (16.5 to 18 cm) thick each, which fit one buyer's two 7 in (18 cm) mattresses.
On the cutting table
| Piece | Custom throw pillow |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Navy and cream leaf jacquard |
| Piping | Self piping in the same jacquard |
| Edge | Knife edge |
| Paired with | Plain oatmeal seat and back cushions on a teak lounger |
| Palette | Ink navy, cream, honey teak, bougainvillea pink |
| Outdoors | Under a roof by day, brought in at night |
| Best for | One-pillow makeovers on patios, porches and sunrooms |
Have it made
Have this made — ask Élodie’s workshop
Color is easier to settle in a conversation than on a screen. Tell the workshop about the room and the light it gets, and the fabric choice follows. — Élodie
Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.
One patterned pillow on a plain oatmeal chair is a makeover; three patterned pillows on the same chair is an argument.
Élodie
Questions buyers ask next
Can a jacquard throw pillow stay outside on a patio?
Treat it as a guest rather than a resident. Jacquard is an upholstery weave, so keep it under a roof, out of rain, and bring it in at night. For cushions that live outdoors all season, choose an outdoor or water-repellent fabric instead.
How many throw pillows does a lounge chair need?
Often just one. When the seat and back cushions are plain, a single patterned pillow gives the eye a clear place to land. Add a second only if it is plain and takes its color from the first.
What is self piping on a throw pillow?
Piping covered in the same fabric as the pillow. On a busy pattern such as a leaf jacquard it keeps the edge quiet and lets the motif run right to the seam, instead of drawing a contrast line around it.
Which navy looks best against teak wood?
A deep, inky navy. Teak is warm and leans orange, and a cool dark blue sits opposite it, so each makes the other look richer. Judge the swatch in daylight beside the wood, not on a screen.
With color and care — Élodie
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