Can you believe that the holidays are behind us? It’s too bad because having something to look forward to like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, etc. Having those things to look forward to makes the cold weather a little more bearable. Now the cold, snow, coats and scarves they just feel like it’s going to trudge along for so long.
The week between Christmas and New Year for me is a very special week because it’s a time when I can spend time planning and visioning. Not only do I take stock of everything that happened before but I also plan for the year ahead.
This time last year I had no idea where we were moving and was moving out of my storefront, and was just in a bad place overall. While we are finally starting to get settled here in Connecticut, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
I hope you are finding a way to reflect and look forward. I hope that you’re excited for the year to come and curious about what happened in the year behind us.
Without further ado, let me get to the questions that are in my mailbag.
This episode, we discuss…
[1:55] 2022 in review
[6:22] My newfound obsession with online auctions
[13:08] Where is the best place to find nice pillow inserts? (Heidi)
Question:
Where might be the best place to find nice throw pillow inserts? I like the feel and fall of feather pillow inserts but rarely see them in stores. Do you have an online resource you would recommend (even an Amazon seller)?
Do you have a favorite place to purchase throw pillow covers? I especially love highly textured fabrics.
Answer:
Heidi, I do not love a feather insert because oftentimes the feathers poke through and while I love the fact that you can easily mold the pillow and get it to stay just where you want because they’re so malleable, the thing I don’t like are those quills poking through. I prefer a down alternative. It’s also better for people with allergies. I go for the down alternative inserts from Pottery Barn.
They also have them at West Elm and I believe they are a bit cheaper. I think Williams Sonoma also has the inserts but they are a little more expensive so I stick with Pottery Barn but certainly toy with West Palm to see if you find the quality to be any different.
The other tip is that I sometimes like to pick a pillow insert that’s two inches bigger than the pillow cover. So if the pillow covers an 18 inch pillow cover, I’ll go for a 20 inch insert to make it that much more full and luckily the down alternative is very malleable as well. The thing I avoid is just the totally fake.
The exciting thing about pillows, which is really different than other things like sofas, dining tables, and arm chairs, is that you can get them at such a wide breadth of stores. I think there are a variety of purveyors of pillows which is why I really don’t enjoy sourcing pillows.
One that I love that seems to offer very special pillows and has a good filtration system if I’m just looking for one color or one size or one type is Burke Decor. If I want something really special that I have never seen on another site I will either head there or Etsy.
There’s so many options when it comes to pillows so instead of staying true to one company, I’ll put in exactly what I want because I save pillows sourcing for the end of my journey.
In fact, I typically even create the mood board right before I source the pillows so I can see what the room needs. Does the room need a touch of warmth? In other words, a yellow orange or red pillow? Does the room need a pattern? In other words, maybe we need to go with a plaid or even a floral. Does the room need texture that I’m going to go with like a channeled velvet or an open weave linen that has a lot of chunky texture?
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