There’s nothing worse than walking into a room that doesn’t feel welcoming. Picture a bare room with white walls, white furniture, no decor on the walls or shelves, no textiles to be found. Seems cold, right? Especially in Minnesota, properly decorating and incorporating textiles is key to making your house feel like a home. If you don’t know what you’re doing, though, throw pillows and blankets can seem a bit overwhelming. Knowing how to properly layer colors, patterns, and textures is key. Here are a few of our tried-and-true techniques!

Consider your color scheme

Is the room you’re decorating mostly neutral? Are there already accent colors, or colored walls? If the room is mostly white or neutral, textiles are a great way to incorporate some pops of color. If the room is already colorful, you can use the same or coordinating colors, or use neutral textiles to tone down the colors in the room a bit.

Mix prints and solids

It’s really easy to overdo it with textiles if you go too crazy with colors, patterns and textures. Try to pick a couple complementary prints, and supplement them with solid and neutral pieces.

Play with texture

If you’re keeping a monochromatic color scheme for your pillows and blankets, or just don’t want to use too many different colors and patterns, vary your textiles with texture instead. Use a few different fabrics and textures to give dimension and variety to your space.

Don’t overdo it

Less is more. Make sure your bed, couch, bench, etc. has a good variety of textiles without feeling cramped or drowned out. After all, you want people to see the couch or bed underneath as well!

Layer, layer, layer

Layer your pillows to add dimension, starting with bigger pillows in the back and smaller toward the front. Make sure to mix your colors, patterns and textures so they’re evenly distributed. Blankets can be displayed on blanket ladders, draped over the back of a couch, or tossed at the end of the bed – the key is to make sure everything has a place, but nothing is too “stiff.”

Take some time to pick out the perfect pillows and throw blankets, and you’ll have the perfect welcoming space for entertaining guests this fall and winter.

What’s your strategy for throw blankets and pillows? We’d love to see how you style them in your own home! Come hang out with us on Instagram @AlmaHomes and make sure to tag us, too!

Photography: Laura Rae Photography, Spacecrafting Photography, Sarah Olfelt Photo, Alma Homes