While working on the barn room I've been thinking a lot about pillows, or cushions- a term you often encounter when looking at "antique" pillows, so I thought I would share some of the pillows and cushions I have around the house all together in one post.
I feel pillows send the message: please relax and be comfortable in this room!
Since I love antiques I often use vintage and antique fabrics in making pillows/cushions.
Our living room sofa is covered with down-filled pillows and cushions. The 18th and 19th century antique Flemish tapestries that I had made into cushions are my very best antiquing find and buy...ever! They share the sofa with light cocoa-colored swirl-patterned pillows and two gray velvet pillows.
I love re-purposing vintage fur "muffs" into pillows. This one in the living room is mink.
This small pillow, the same velvet on the sofa, was sized to perfectly fit the French chair in the living room.
An antique tapestry piece with pea-green ticking is a cushion on the chair in the master closet.
A rectangular chocolate velvet pillow shares the linen chaise in the master bedroom with an antique tapestry cushion. The delicate trim on the edge of the tapestry is also antique.
This pillow was made using the reverse side of the fabric which was softer in color and worked better in the master bedroom.
A large antique Flemish verdure tapestry made into a cushion shares the bed with two raw silk pillows in one of the guest bedrooms.
The beautiful piece of antique red velvet and hand-stitched gold scroll-work was originally a bell pull. The large linen pillow expands the width of the full-sized bed in the other guest room.
Another vintage muff turned pillow- this one in leopard sits in a chair in the reading room.
Antique tapestry cushions at the kitchen dining room table.
Master bedroom bed pillows. The large cushion is made from an antique kilim rug.
And, finally- another mink muff made into a pillow in the master bath.
To find gorgeous 16th/17th and 18th century antique decorative cushions contact Debra at
Oreillers .
Making pillows from vintage fur muffs is BRILLIANT! I'm definitely going to check out the stock at our Salvation Army. They frequently have gigantic, unstylish coats that would make perfect pillows. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYour selection of cushions is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt may be a thing attributed to my nationality (born in England, raised in Australia), but to me, a pillow is something you sleep on at night on your bed. A cushion is a decorative accent piece on furniture :)
Morning Joan, I love your cushions. Cusions must be a girl thing. I've found men just don't appreciate the charm a few good cushions can bring to a room. Especially the 'antique' cushions. You're photos are lovely yet again. Regards Adriana
ReplyDeleteLove your pillow collection! You have some very unique ones. I've never heard of antique muffs being turned into pillows. They're gorgeous. I also like the one made from a bell pull.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful post! Your pillows are so interesting, and add a touch of romantic elegance to every room. Just fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI love all the textures, the velvets the colors. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLee
A girl can never have too many cushions. Yours are beautiful x
ReplyDeleteLove these, especially the antique Flemish tapestry ones with their deep blue-green color. That's my accent color in my living room, and these would look perfect on my neutral sofa, too!
ReplyDeleteYour pillows are all fabulous. I love the different fabrics and textures. Great collection. Hugs, marty
ReplyDeleteYour collection is beautiful. You mentioned once that when you had shown each room you would not know what to post about. You could take one room and post about each single item in it....I would totally enjoy it. Everything is just so goregeous. I looked at the site for antique pillows...oh my, beyond my ability. Do you make your own? I love antiques, but never see anything as beautiful as the ones you have. I asked once about the antique grapes and they showed me rubber ones....not what I had in mind. Do you know of a good antique shop in Salt Lake City, Utah? Also, I am visting Savannah, Georgia next month..is there a good place to look there that you might know? I am so in love with your home and your blog. Best Regards, Wenda Scott, maggieandme52@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteLove all your beautiful pillows. I also love old tapestries and textiles turned into pillows...no two are alike and thats the beauty! The one on your bed and the leopard are extra fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWenda- you are too sweet! No, I did not make my any of my antique pillows. It is a very articulate form of creating - part curator, part seamstress, and I do not have the talent, nor patience! Sadly I don't know of any anitque shops in Salt Lake City, nor in Savannah. We've shopped both, but it has been many years now. Someone recently did a post on anitquing in Savannah and if I can find it I will email it to you. Thank you so much for your always kind words!
ReplyDeleteYour pillows are all fabulous!Fabulous fabulous fabulous like everything in your home.
ReplyDeleteI live in the SAvannah area and cant think of any place that I would say has outstanding pillows. By far the best place in Georgia to get pillows is in Atlanta at monthly Scotts antique show.
Beautiful pillows, I especially love the fur muff ones!
ReplyDelete~Donna
I adore your fur "muff" pillows. What a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteJoan,
ReplyDeleteHow timely, I'm trying to find vintage fabrics I can use to trim a black velvet kidney pillow. This has inspired me to look for something antique. I love the idea of the mink muff made into a pillow.
Karen
Hi Joan,
ReplyDeleteThey are all so beautiful! Pillows make such a difference in look and comfort - you've inspired me to get some more pillows!
xoTrina
What a beautiful pillow collection you have Joan, and I LOVE them all!!
ReplyDeleteI have often admired your beautiful pillows from your posts. I adore the idea of using an antique tapestry, or vintage fur. Now the hunt is on =) I just did a post on my Ikea pillows...this puts my post to shame lol! Oh well, there's a place for even Ikea, I suppose )
ReplyDeleteI'm going shopping - for muffs, for bell pulls and for antique tapestries. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how impactful the perfect pillow can enhance a room or piece of furniture. Velvet, mink, all the tapestry - gorgeous. I like the idea of recycling or re-using - very nice!
ReplyDeleteAndrea- no shame at all! The gray velvet pillows on the living room sofa are from... Ikea (I loved the color;) and I then had them resized for the sofa and the chair! The brown pillow on the master chaise... Ikea!
ReplyDeleteJoan, the pillows are so unique and lovely!!! Can't wait to go hit the antique stores in my town. Yeah---road trip! Darlene
ReplyDeleteGenius using vintage furs to make pillows. Just wondering if you have dogs? I don't know if my puppy will try to "mark" his territory...
ReplyDeleteNot only are all of the pillows beautiful but it seems that you have enough for a really good Pillow fight sometime :)
ReplyDeleteHow is winter going ? we were just talking about you .. the house .. moving up north :)
Summer here is too hot.
besos, C
Joan, have you gotten much snow this year ?
ReplyDeleteYou have such a wonderful collection of cushions, Joan! I am really liking the subdued colors and pretty patterns and textures. They are lovely accents to your beautiful home!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Joan, you have the best pillows. I hope that I can find a piece of a beautiful tapestry someday to make into a pillow. You are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAnon- welcome! if you don't know about "Ella" (pics on the sidebar) I'm going to assume you are new here! Ella sleeps on the pillows, but since she's a girl, doesn't feel the need to mark them!:)
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love your blog. You have an exquisite eye. I am curious about how you fill your unique pillows. Do you make your own down filled forms? Thank you. Deb
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pillows! I think having pillows made out of the muffs is a wonderful idea, I purchased a full length mink coat 10 years ago at an estate sale for $25, with what I could salvage it soon became a gorgeous pillow for our master bed! Michelle
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the grey velvet cushions are Ikea! They're exactly what I'm looking for! Gorgeous, as are all your cushions, especially the muff ones.
ReplyDeleteSharon
Deb- Thank you! I buy all my down forms- I can only imagine how messy down would be to make;) Ikea has some nice down forms for great prices if you need a source!
ReplyDeleteCandice- NO!! We've not had much snow at all this year!
ReplyDeleteLove all of your beautiful pillows...the leopard is wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteNo matter where the pillow is being placed or what the fabric is, I know it must be able to stand up to the 'squished-by-a-man' test. And there is nothing finer than catching a man napping on the sofa with a 'fancy' pillow tucked under his head.
ReplyDeleteIt warms my heart and makes me snicker.
LOVE your collection of fabrics and prettiness.
Loving the mink muff pillows!
ReplyDelete♥ sécia
www.petiteinsanities.blogspot.com
Your pillow collection is divine! I have two pillows that were muffs in a previous life-one is a beautiful, soft, black fur that I believe is beaver (or that's what the shop owner called it) and the other is ocelot. Some years ago I spent what, at the time, I felt was a shamefully exorbitant amount on about 15 to 18 antique tapestry pillows from a sweet little lady who dealt in antiques. She invited me to her home instead of the shop where we had tea and visited for a while. I really think she gave me a quite a price break even considering what I paid for the pillows, because she was known to have fine things. And like you, I have never regretted this purchase. I have one-of-a-kind pillows that I still enjoy to this day.
ReplyDeletehi joan, your pillows are beautiful. they fit your home perfectly. pillows drive me insane in my own home. i have some sort of pillow fear that needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteThey are all beautiful, whether called pillows or cushions. The tapestry cushions and fur muff cushions are especially cosy looking!
ReplyDeleteEach and every one of those cushions is sublime. I will keep a look out for suitable vintage offcuts from now on, they transform a room.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I am not a pillow person, but these combine quality, cleverness and a dollop of humor. Do the fur pillows frighten anyone? I imagine that touching one if you don't realize what it is at first could be quite startling, as though an animal were nestling in the chair.
ReplyDelete--Road to Parnassus
Hey Joan thanks for the heads up that was sweet of you. You’re smart to call your pillows cushions. Cushion is a decorative pillow used about your home, pillows are what you use on your bed for sleeping on at night. Unfortunately cushions hasn’t stuck in the USA like in Europe so all us pillow makers use the word pillow. Love yours and don’t ever dryclean your pillows the chemicals will destroy them just spot clean.
ReplyDeleteXX
Debra~
I like the word "Cushions", going to try to use it...as always, I have been inspired by your cushions. I have bought a fur muff for a chair in the livingroom, and also love the down filled pillows...need to check out your source to see if cheaper, been buying mine at the pottery barn outlets at a good discount. I think that cushions (pillows) are the icing on the cake, a room is not complete without them. And I have lots of them. As always, thanks for the beautiful inspiration!! donna :)
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, nice pillows! I have an old fur coat a client gave me that is in disrepair and I plan to make it into pillows. Seeing the muffs are quite inspiring.
ReplyDeleteJoan, Dan, and Ella: "You learn something new every day". Today, I learned that pillows are cushions. Thank you for always giving us a lesson with your entries. I now know what to do with the fur wrap that my in laws gave me years ago! Cindy
ReplyDeleteMink in the Master bath...you DO know how to lve the high life....Dahlink!
ReplyDeletebeautiful pillows. How do you clean and garuntee they are clean before you use antiuqe rugs and tapestries. I can image all the years of feet and dirt going all over them.
ReplyDeletelove them all by my favorite is the
ReplyDeleteone in the master from the rug! It is
so beautiful with the pale velvet.
The fur muffs turned cushions are
wonderful as well.
Erin- I'm working on a post to show how we clean our antique rugs around the house! The rug pillows had been cleaned and made into pillows when I purchased them at the Scott Antique Show in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, Holy cow! I've always admired the cushions in your posts so it was great to see a separate post on them. As usual, you are inspring me to branch out and try different things. I'm looking for pillows for the master bed and the little loveseat in my living room. I think I will keep an eye out for vintage fabric. Thanks for opening my eyes to new things!
ReplyDelete~Amy
You have so many beautiful and all unique pillows or cushions...they really do add that extra layer of comfort and coziness to a room.
ReplyDeletejust picked up a new novel at the library and see myself tucked into one of your wonderfully cushioned chairs sipping tea... thank you for the ongoing inspiration!
ReplyDeleteenjoy your day!
-xok.
Hi Joan, I have an antique fur box filled with vintage fur hats, muffs, collars, and stoles. I'm going to go rummage through them right now to see what could be transformed into a lovely cushion. Would you recommend that a furrier do this kind of work? Thanks for the inspiration, Ruth
ReplyDeleteParnassus- I hope they don't frighten anyone!! I think instead they just look really soft and you want to sit with them! I must say though, that I have to additional mink pillows in the barn room and they are dark and I keep thinking they are Ella everytime I see them out of the corner of my eye!
ReplyDeleteRuth- I've only hand stitched up the two ends on one of the mink muffs, so I've never cut and sewed a full pillow. A furrier might be a good way to go, or maybe an upholsterer who is familiar with working with fur. Good luck!
So glad for this post. You gave me an idea that a pillow on one of my chairs ought to be a little smaller. The little pillow on the French chair looks so just right. As I've just inherited a sewing machine and 3 large down pillows, I may go a little crazy.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you took on advertising....you deserve to be compensated for your brilliance.
Tactile heaven! Whenever I shop I have to touch everything, probably why I don't buy much online. However, I think I would buy just about anything in your house, the pictures are so lovely, I can almost feel those cushions through this iPod!
ReplyDeleteNow, I know what can do with the 2 vintage mink fur muffs stored safely away at home... too gorgeous but really not my style in winter : ) Thank you so much for the super idea...
ReplyDeleteanother gorgeous post, thank you for sharing!
lovely pillows....smiles
ReplyDeleteYou have so many gorgeous pillows. They look beautiful in your home. Love Debra's pillows.
ReplyDeleteAll of your pillows are gorgeous, Joan! My question is regarding something else I love in your living room and that is the table topper and skirt over the round table. I've been wanting to do this to a table in my LR and can't locate any this pretty. Any suggestions? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE seeing the details on all of these pillows and what they were made from. My favorite is either that first mink one or the antique kilim rug one on your bed!
ReplyDeleteJill- I woke up in the middle of the night remembering that I never replied to you... so sorry. For the skirt over the round table look at Ballard Designs. They have some beautiful fabics to choose from, and some different skirting options- I'm especially fond of the pleated skirt. As far as the topper a small piece of any beautiful fabric/velvet would work. If looking for antique fabric I would check out ebay. My topper piece is not a square, but more of a rectangle, but I think that gives it an interesting/casual (not perfect) effect on the table.
ReplyDeleteOh, you are so sweet! Thank you for your reply. I will definitely check Ballard's, and the antique fabric is a great idea! I would have never thought of that. Thank you for sharing your lovely home with all of us.
ReplyDelete