There are hundreds of ways you can decorate your bed, but the most important part is that you have an arrangement of pillows that look orderly and put together. Whether you have the highest quality bedspread imaginable or a standard bed set that focuses less on being decorative, Pioneer Linens can help guide you to making your bed look as formal as it can be.
Arranging your pillows can include experimenting with sizes, creating symmetrical designs, propping/stacking the pillows, or even piling them in no predetermined way. The number of ways you can arrange them, and the types of pillows you can use very greatly and depend on whether your bed is a queen or a king. Regardless, we are going to help you with a few basic bed layouts in order to get you started.
Pillow Size Chart:
Though pillow sizes can still vary, by following the standard sizes below, you can have a better idea of how much space each pillow should be taking up. These bed pillow sizes are also good to keep in mind for fitting in pillow protectors or styling them next to decorative pillows, which vary much more in size.
· Standard: 20” x 26”
· Queen: 20” x 30”
· King: 20” x 36”
· Euro: 26” x 26”
· Boudoir: 12” x 16”
· Neckroll: 6” x 16”
Queen Bed Pillow Arrangement Styles
Queen beds can have a multitude of different pillow arrangements. Keeping to a basic stack is useful in making sure the bed isn’t too cluttered or empty. Here are a few suggestions for how you can set up your pillows, as well as a few collections we offer that serve as good examples.
1. Adjusting the pillows into a stack is the most straightforward way to arrange them. Here we have the Caselle Bed Linens by SFERRA. The two sleeping pillows on the bottom of the stack are using standard size pillowcases, with two standard shams being used for the two pillows on top. Typically, shams are for decorative purposes so their being on top allows them to give a good presentation while the pillows below are just for supporting the stack and remain for use during sleep.
2x Standard Pillowcases 2x Standard Shams |
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2. Depending on what you have available, you can either use standard shams or boudoir pillows for the front layer. In this example, we have the Giza 45 Stripe Bed Linens by SFERRA. For the standing shams in the front, we recommend using a pillow insert that is firm and won’t crumble or flop down easily. The stack behind them has four pillows with standard pillowcases since they are mostly covered, but you could still substitute the two top pillows with shams as well.
Front (Center)(Optional): 1x Boudoir pillow Front: 2x Standard Shams OR 2x Boudoirs Stack: 4x Standard Pillowcases |
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3. You could prop the stack on the headboard and replace the square decorative pillow in the front with a rectangular boudoir sham. The example shown on the right are the Celeste Percale Bed Linens by SFERRA.
Headboard: 2x Standard Pillows Middle: 2x Standard Shams Front (Center): 1x Boudoir |
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4. Similarly to style #3 you can place two boudoir pillows instead of just one. Rather than centering the two boudoirs relative to the bed, center each boudoir to each pillow. The example used is the Adagio Bed Linens by Yves Delorme.
Headboard: 2x Standard Pillow Middle: 2x Standard Sham Front: 2x Boudoirs |
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5. One of the largest arrangements of pillows in our guide, this style uses a total of 8 pillows. For the layer in the back leaning on the headboard. For the layer 2nd to the back, use regular standard pillowcases. Leaning on that row, a pair of standard shams leaning 2nd from the front. Finally, in the very front, two boudoir pillows. The bed collection in the example is the Ella Bed Linens by Stamattina.
Headboard: 2x Euro Pillows Middle: 2x Standard Pillows Front: 2x Standard Shams Front (Center): 2x Boudoir Pillow |
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6. For this style, lean two Euro pillows on the headboard, then on top of that layer lean two standard pillows with pillowcases. For the front, lean two standard shams on the previous layer, and finally lean a boudoir on top of the sham layer. The collection shown is the Alessia Bed Linens by SFERRA.
Headboard: 2x Euro Pillows Middle: 2x Standard Pillows Front: 2x Standard Shams Front (Center): 1x Boudoir Pillow |
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7. For the first two pillows, use two Euro shams leaning on the headboard. Next, right in front of the Euro shams, use a pair of standard shams. Finally, finish with a pair of boudoir pillows in the front, pulled toward the center of the bed rather than each at the center of the sham layer. The bedding collection in the example is the Granada Bed Linens by Matouk Collection.
Headboard: 2x Euro Pillows Middle: 2x Standard Shams Front (Center): 2x Boudoir |
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8. Just like with style #8, lean two Euro pillows on the headboard, then lean a layer of standard shams on top of those. For the front layer, place a single boudoir pillow instead of two. The bed collection shown is the Ornato Giza 45 by SFERRA.
Headboard: 2x Euro Pillows Middle: 2x Standard Shams Front: 1x Boudoir Sham |
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King Bed Pillow Arrangement Styles
King beds have a lot more space, meaning they will either require more standard pillows, pillowcases and shams, or king variants instead. As we did for the queen bed, here are a few pillow arrangement styles along with examples from our very own collection.
1. Here is a simple style choice to start off with. Rather than using two standard pillowcases for the back row like we did with the queen row, we will instead be using king sized pillows and pillowcases.
For the front row, we have two boudoir pillows centered relative to the bed. In the example shown, we are using the Intarsio Bed Linens by Pioneer Linens Signature Collections.
Headboard: 2x King Pillowcases Back: 2x King Shams Front (Center): 2x Boudoir Pillows |
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2. Filling up the back of the bed a bit more, this style incorporates 3 Euro pillows leaning against the headboard, with a second layer of two king pillows with pillowcases and a single boudoir to finish the look. The example shown is the Luxor Bed Linens by Pioneer Linens Signature Collections.
Headboard: 3x Euro Pillows Middle: 2x King Pillowcases Front: 1x Boudoir Pillows |
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3. Adding more to the existing layers, place 3 Euro pillows leaning on the headboard, then for the second back layer, use two king pillowcases like in style #2. In this style, however, we will be adding two king shams to the front layer, then a decorative pillow on top with a boudoir to finish it off. The bed set shown is the Lineare Sateen Bed Linens by Signoria.
(1st Back row) Headboard: 3x Euro Pillows 2nd From Back: 2x King Pillowcases Middle: 2x King Shams 2nd From Front (Center): 1x Decorative Pillow 1st Front row (Center): 1x Boudoir
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4. For our final pillow arrangement, we have a variation of style #3. Rather than stack or lean the front 2 pillows on each other, you have them centered side-by-side in the front. The example shown here is the Bourdon Bed Linens by Celso de Lemos.
(1st Back row) Headboard: 3x Euro Pillows 2nd From Back: 2x King Pillowcases Middle: 2x King Shams Front: 2x Boudoir Pillows
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What to Expect from Pioneer Linens
We hope that you’ll find this guide helpful in organizing your pillows. At Pioneer Linens, our team is dedicated to providing you with the best service possible. That means helping you find the brands and styles you want, for the product you are looking for. If you have any more questions or need consultation about any of our cotton or polyester sheets, call us at 800-207-5463 or email customerservice@pioneerlinens.com.