Pillow Talk

Rooms that were once warm and cozy can look as bare as winter trees after the holiday decorations have come down. Pillows--mounded on beds and sofas, tucked into chairs and even stacked on the floor--can be a quick, easy and often inexpensive way to beat the blahs.

Forget mere function; they’ve gone beyond offering the basic bodily comforts of cushioning heads and easing lower backs. Fringed, ruffled, shirred and tasseled, with as many shapes and sizes as coverings, pillows can be a visual and tactile feast.

“Pillows make you feel like you really want to go in and sink into a room,” explains designer RoxAnn Johnson of Spatial Expressions in Orange.

Johnson says she likes to use greens, golds and reds to add warmth, and recommends using pillows to carry color themes and fabrics around a room.

Different fabrics reflect the spirit of the seasons: chintz and silks for spring and summer; velvet, tapestry and brocades for winter.

By echoing shades found in rugs, curtains or furniture coverings pillows create a unifying effect.

“I can take an off-white sofa and give it a whole different style and feel, from contemporary to traditional, just by adding pillows,” says Johnson, who often has pillows custom-made out of woven Navajo blankets and kilim rugs for clients.

Any rug can be used, as long as it is woven and without a lot of pile. If the rugs are damaged or worn, she uses only the best area for the pillow’s facing and backs it with fabric.

Another trick: Take three large pillows and tie them together to create a footrest.

“So many times people think only in terms of square pillows, but varying the sizes and shapes--small pillows placed in front of larger ones, mixing triangles and rounds or balls with squares--is what really adds interest.”

Garry Sandlin, who owns Garry’s Gifts and Garry’s Gifts Too in Laguna Beach, says the design of the pillow should complement the sofa, not overpower it.

He also suggests using down feather pillows rather than polyester because “they’re softer and cushier and when you sit down on them they not only give support but hug the body,” he says.

Crease down pillows in the center rather than leave them square, he says.

With the variety of pillows available, from fashion statement--think animal prints or retro ‘50s and ‘60s patterns--to traditional solid squares, luxurious faux furs and cashmere covers, accessorizing the home has never been easier.

At Decor Delux in Costa Mesa’s Lab, owner Holli Thomas creates hip, one-of-a-kind pillows from elegant vintage fabrics and trims. Most have down fillings. Some are custom orders. They range in price from $16 for a small tufted silk round to $95 for a large black velvet and red silk square edged with an unusual fringe of jet beads. Two stacked rectangular pillows with pale blue brocade edges--portable seating that Thomas calls a Turkish ottoman--sell for $165.

Animal prints abound at St. John Home in South Coast Plaza, where $175 buys a velvet-and-faux-fur square; small rectangular and heart-shaped boudoir pillows range from $30 to $75.

And for those chilly winter nights: Pottery Barn has classic chenille squares in solid olive green, grape and cranberry ($29) or indulge in St. John Home’s ribbed cashmere squares in ivory and taupe ($90 to $190).