The Great Debate: To Chop or Not To Chop

To chop or not to chop your pillows

We recently introduced the Linden White Bedding Collection, a line of simple yet incredibly luxurious and exceptionally soft bedding inspired by the bedding found in the finest hotels around the world. Paired with our new designer patterned throw pillows as the final finishing touch, it makes for the look of a timeless and beautiful bed. We then asked our followers how they like to style their bed pillows: with a chop or without. It struck up a healthy conversation and people on both sides of the debate seemed equally passionate about their styling methods. We thought we’d give a few reasons why one would and would not go for the pillow chop.

Throw pillow with a chop

REASONS TO STYLE YOUR PILLOWS WITH A CHOP:

  1. It adds variety: Chopping a few pillows and not chopping others adds interest to the room without feeling too manicured.
  2. The space feels lived-in: A soft pillow chop gives the look of a loved and lived-in space. The room will look neat and approachable.
  3. It means you need good inserts: We’ve all had those pillows where the inserts are so full that the pillow stands a little too erect. A pillow will only chop if its insides are soft and squishy, meaning filled with down feathers. This effect cannot be achieved with cheap cotton blends or polyester inserts.
Throw pillow without a chop

REASONS TO STYLE YOUR PILLOWS WITHOUT A CHOP:

  1. It looks consistent and uniform: Pillows that have been perfectly fluffed with no chop make any room fee instantly neater. Plump, full pillows will not distract from the room’s main focal point.
  2. If you're mixing patterns and textures: If the space is decorated with a mixture of patterns and texture, a pillow chop could potentially take the room from interesting to a little crazed feeling. If there is already a lot of interest in the room, keep your pillow styling clean and simple.
  3. The pillows have more of a presence: We often purchase throw pillows to add accent colors to a room. Visually, an un-chopped pillow will take up more space, allowing the eye to recognize more of the accent color or pattern.

HERE IS OUR TAKE ON THE MATTER:

First, there is such thing as too many throw pillows. If you over accessorize a piece of furniture no matter if they are all chopped or not chopped, it will always appear too chaotic and messy. We use the rule of odds. When there is an odd number or pillows, let’s say, on a bed, it breaks up the symmetry and creates interest to the eye.

Once you have the perfect number of pillows for your space, we are big advocates of the light and subtle chop. Too deep of a chop looks entirely too staged. After all, throw pillows are meant to be thrown around and in our opinion, nothing really beats a well-styled, welcoming space whether it is a bedroom, living room or breakfast nook.

So, go on and give those pillows a sweet, subtle chop!

We hope these tips have helped you learn how to decorate with pillows. Sweet dreams!