With sofas, comfort comes first. But a couch typically “occupies prime real estate” in a room, says the decorator Alexandra Pappas, 47, of Pappas Miron Design — meaning it’s worth thinking about its visual appeal, too. Of course, there’s the standard two-pillows-and-a-throw treatment but, for a truly original look, the more colors, shapes and textiles you can incorporate, the better. Take the former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland’s famous Manhattan living room, designed in 1957, where the same red floral fabric covered the walls, curtains and sofa, which was filled with contrasting cushions, including ones that she’d needlepointed herself; or the eclectic Milanese library of the writer and botanist Umberto Pasti, whose couch is strewn with Moroccan carpets and an antique cheetah skin. For practical advice on creating a similarly inviting layered effect, we spoke to a handful of interior designers who have perfected the art.

Try mismatched, patterned pillows.ImageFor a client’s living room, the decorator Alexandra Pappas sourced Fortuny fabric for the sofa pillows.Credit...Tim Lenz/Otto

The experts agree that a mix of different pillows is more visually interesting than a uniform set. Gabrielle Soyer, 67, the owner of the Paris home goods store Lindell & Co. — which sells hand-embroidered pillows and tapestries from Kashmir, India — says that contrasting shades and styles add depth to a room. In her own apartment, she has lilac, green and brown cushions, “all colors that are present elsewhere in the room, in art and other textiles,” she says, “which helps unify the space.” She recommends using an odd number of pillows, for example two on one side of the sofa and three on the other, because the asymmetry makes the styling look more natural. But “don’t over-pillow,” warns Robin Standefer, 60, a co-founder of the New York design studio Roman and Williams, “and keep them at a reasonable scale.” Generally speaking, that means choosing ones that are not taller than the backrest or wider than the seat cushions of your sofa.

Creating your own pillowcases is another way to add personality to your setup. Pappas’s team “scours antique shops and markets for scraps of vintage tapestries, needlepoints, mud cloths” and other fabrics, she says, then has them sewn into cases for her clients, something that’s easy enough to do with your own finds and a sewing machine — or the help of an upholsterer. The New York-based curator Alex Tieghi-Walker, 37, has likewise brought simple rectangular gray and white cases from Muji to his tailor to fit them to his square cushions. He arranges them among jewel-toned velvet pillows from Etsy on the daybed in his apartment-cum-gallery, Tiwa Select.

Go big with throws and other textiles.

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