Whether you love to regularly entertain guests in your home or you need a solitary retreat now and again, the outdoor areas in your home needs to be comfortable, stylish and inviting. It may be a porch, terrace, or veranda you need to put some love and thought in the décor. If you have the budget and the time to really spruce up your outdoor spaces with matching furniture, themes, and decorations, then great! However, most people are looking for cheap but effective ways to jazz up this outdoor area.

A simple and affordable solution? Use contemporary outdoor pillows!

Here are some reasons why even the humble pillow can be a great way to add some character to your outdoor space, even in a limited budget:

Pillows Give an “Anchor” Color

You can use outdoor pillows as the “anchor” by which you streamline the rest of the colors around it. You can either compliment the main color or add some striking contrasts. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you can even do a little bit of both! For example, most outdoor furniture pieces are painted in dark colors such as blue, black, or bronze. You can add throw pillows that can complement this by choosing lighter shades such as cornflower, gray, or dusty gold. If you want to add some contrast, put in some surrounding décor that’s warmer such as rose gold or raspberry. The contrast of warm and cool colors will make your whole décor stand out.

Colors Really do Affect the Psyche

When it comes to choosing throw pillow colors, you will generally find that you’re leaning towards a certain type of color. You either want bright colors such as yellow and orange, or more muted ones such as gray or brown. This is because colors are known to affect the psyche! Colors have been found to have a direct effect on mood and emotions.

If you want to decorate an area that’s mainly for entertaining guests or throwing parties, you want a color that will liven up the mood and bring some energy to your event. On the other hand, if you want to decorate an area that’s used to relax and recharge, cool and quiet colors will help bring a sense of peace and tranquility to the space.

Textures and Sizes are Great Ways to Mix and Match

Outdoor pillows come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and textures, so they are a great way to experiment with style or theme you find most pleasing without having to burn a hole in your wallet. You can choose smooth or rough pillows to give your outdoor area texture, depth, and dimension. You can choose large, square pillows, or smaller asymmetrical pillows to play with proportion.

The one thing that you should keep in mind is that your décor will basically represent your personality and aesthetic choices. This means that guests should immediately see how your personality is based on the décor you have in your home. Are you someone who leans more towards classic and traditional style? Or someone who wants to inject their quirky and unique personality into their home? Choosing the right outdoor pillows can do that for you even without a single word!

Degrees of Colors can Work in Your Favor

Another way that you can customize your outdoor space is by playing with color degrees. Even with basic colors, you will find that pillows come in a varying degree of these colors. Gray, for example, can come in a variety of shades, from dark gray (almost leaning towards black) to a light gray (leaning towards white).

Using outdoor pillows in varying shades can add a sense of dimension and depth to your space without making the color contrasts too jarring. Another reason why you can use cascading colors is to get that ombré effect.

Pillows make things “Pop”

Here is the most basic reason why people use pillows: they add a splash of color to any space. Painting an outdoor space with a dark and cool color might be trendy right now, but it can also lead to a feeling of the space being “heavy”. When you add in lighter-colored throw pillows, that restrictive feeling tends to feel lighter.

Less is More

If there is one downside to using outdoor pillows, it’s that since pillows are so cheap, abundant, and easy to mix and match, it’s really easy to go overboard. When this happens, you create the opposite effect: too many pillows in one space isn’t inviting and fun anymore! It just feels cluttered, messy, and overwhelming. As a great rule of thumb, two or three pillows on a regular-sized couch is a good number.