To Drape a Throw or Fold It?

cazadora So far my favorite way is to run the throw down the back of the chair and UNDERNEATH the seat cushion to finish by hanging a bit between the legs of the chair. Looks a little like a loin cloth, which I personally find hilarious. But then I always did have a quirky decorating sense of humor.

Shane Lear I've always hated it when people intentionally drape a throw in hopes that it will look unintentional. That never works. I prefer nice 'n neatly folded.

Artisanaworks Folded is perfect, as you say in the Valerie Pasquiou room. Also like, as the throw repeats the tangerine in the pillows, and creates visual movement in the room.

smoore Add me to the neatly folded group. There's something about unfolding a throw for use that feels so luxurious. Sort of like getting into a made vs. unmade bed.

trasgorshek I'm with the folded people. But, I also think it depends on the fabric and pattern of the throw like the sheepskin. Personally, I'm with Smoore, I love unfolding the ones I have scattered around.

anniefrannie I like folded because it gives the illusion of orderliness and therefore calm - old adage - "if the bed isn't made the room will never look tidy". Wish I could get into unfolded but with a full time job, a child and her pets I need every trick in the book to stop descending into chaos.

olldroo Great article Lisa, this is something I have really struggled with - not helped by the fact that someone else always comes along and rearranges my efforts. Too rumpled definitely gives an 'unmade bed' look, but I feel too neat looks 'don't touch me'. My efforts are usually similar to the first photo - folded but slightly rumpled. Neat but inviting. I'm happy to stick with that now and heaven help anyone who rearranges it!

thegreenbee Much to my annoyance, between my husband and 4 year old, the throw on my sofa is typically left in a ball on the cushions (occasionally on the floor). Within five minutes of me picking it up and arranging it neatly over the arm, it is unceremoniously ripped back off (at which point I am muttering about how "I can't have anything nice around here!").

nassaumary Throws are purposeful - not just a pop of colour. To have it 'throw' or 'draped' is too contrived in my book, and gives the impression that the homeowner thinks they live in the pages of a design magazine. Folded gets my vote - and I USE my throws.

jd1229 I am with the "folded" crowd too. I even have to refold after my husband "folds" it.

remarkable1 Love the purple entry bench above, but the 'throw' you mention looks suspiciously like a coat...
P.S. I'm a folded-throw kinda girl.

Christy Delaney_Galba I like thegreenbee's comments. I feel exactly the same way. Between my husband and my two energetic girls, my throws are never folded, but I definitely like the way it looks when i fold them. Now if i could just get my family to fold them after they tear the house apart! :) I utter that comment all the time, "why cant i have anything nice around here"!!! Funny! I guess most kids are the same....messy!!!!!

smarusz If a throw is folded, I would never consider using it, or even sitting on it, at someone else's house. If it is thrown, I would have no hesitation to use it. I've seen this happen at my own home. I throw them in order to invite people to relax.

janet4784 Not about the folding/draping debate, but I've bought fabric shower curtains and folded them up as throws. Much cheaper than regular throws, and the design options are endless. They're more for looks than warmth though. My current one is an orange and cream chevron stripe shower curtain, and it adds a great little pop.

vegaspat I enjoyed this article on throws. No matter how you choose to display them, they add color and texture. Let me point out, however, in the first photo, the "sink right in" comfort is greatly hampered by the huge pillows. I'm attracted to pillows for accents, but if you have to move them or toss them on the floor to sit on the chair or sofa, there are too many! How attractive does a pile of pillows tossed onto the floor look? I much prefer throws!!!

ecascio I use a gorgeous Anichini throw to cover cat scratches on a leather club chair (ouch)

herbalbohemia I can appreciate both approaches and admit I tend to go for the folded look cos I can't seem to pull of the casually thrown look although I love it. So happy to read that I'm not alone in this dilemma :-)

Jane Fong I have a wonderful soft waffle weave throw on my bed; it looks much better casually draped than neatly folded. I've tried throwing and neatly folding throws on my midcentry sectional and chairs, which never works, so I just end up putting it away eventually.
I have a husband who doesn't care too much about the look of a design and two young toddlers! I guess it just depends on the type of throw and lifestyle you have in the end.

olldroo This is what I love about this website - amazing how much discussion can come from one small item. We could be here for years doing a whole house!!

It seems to me from reading the comments, that there can be no hard and fast rules here, throws need different treatment depending on their placement. Personally, I prefer a neat relaxed look over the back of a chair, but I like a tossed look over the arm of a chair while a neatly folded one suits the end of a bed. The size of the throw also has to be considered and obviously some fabrics drape better than others and patterns can present differently when draped or thrown and whether the pattern is to be a feature or not.

I do sympathise with those of you with young children, I give up when my grandchildren come to stay, they are usually made into tents between 2 chairs. Take heart, your day will come.

lbehun I like to toss my throws and quilts. I use them on the couch and have a quilt stand and I'm so much happier with them tossed. This is ironic considering I like everything structured and neat. I guess this is my touch of casual to my spaces.

coolelk Why not throw it in the garbage where it belongs. What's the matter with all the sheep that follow blindly? Some "inferior desecrater" tells the world they need throws and pillows all over sitting surfaces......and the blind sheep follow. People LISTEN.....those surfaces are for sitting not holding up pillows and throws!!!

olldroo Coolelk - LISTEN, that wasn't very nice.

If it wasn't for designers, innovators and decorators we would all probably still be living in caves. These are suggestions and it is up to individuals to make their own choices. If I see something I like and it is useful and practical for my lifestyle then I will take it up if not I pass it by, as you have the right to pass on this. I am most definitely not a sheep and I consider such a comment not only rude but an insult to my intelligence.

coolelk If groovygranny has her intelligence insulted she has an awfully thin skin. Where the hell can one sit when a couch or chair is full of pillows? Some people get all insulted if you throw their "pretties" on the floor. I'm just saying that pillows and throws are not needed other than show off to others how "sophisticated & high brow" one is by following someone elses ideas. If one wants to be a sheep and follow blindly one has the freedom to do so, but don't cry because everyone else isn't a sheep.

trasgorshek It's the way you are wording your point, Coolelk...it's not very COOL at all. Words speak volume and your choice of words say a lot about you. As for us Sheep, as you call us, some of us actually use these devices...ie pillows and throws. They are wonderful to have laying around when you are cold and watching TV or reading a book. You must be very warm blooded to never get a chill. Good for you! But, that isn't all of us followers...

And as for pillows, they're a fabulous way to add color to a room and unite the design aesthetic, as well as added back support. It really falls within Design 101, but isn't that what this site is all about?...Design ideas. Your words make me wonder why you are even on Houzz to begin with, I'm assuming it's only to ridicule others for enjoying the design world. Seems rather rude to me. But what do I know, I'm just a sheep following the herd.

remarkable1 coolelk clearly has a problem with pillows and throws. OK, we get it - you made your point, now move on. But to come on to a site and repeatedly berate others who have legitimate questions (see coolelk's responses to other queries, not just this one) is immature and unnecessary.

As as wise Disney cartoon character once said "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". We are on this website to get information and give advice, nothing more. If you choose to voice your opinions please use your inside voice!

olldroo Baaaaaaa!!!!!

coolelk You guys just don't get it. It's true I'm not a good wordsmith, but I'm trying to get some of those that read this to break the awful cycle. Designers, architects, engineers and the like often work on commission and add expensive and sometimes worthless products to a project. The pictures that you see in magazines with the pillows and throws are staged. I don't see how living in a museum where things are just there for "looks" and form over function is anything but undesirable.

Can any readers remember as a child visiting a grandmother or aunt and not being allowed to play in the living room or even in the house in general. What a stiff and boring atmosphere! Then can anyone remember visiting with a different grandmother or aunt that allowed toys in the house and even the living room. What a pleasure it was to visit with those relatives and the desire was there to return.

How many of you have visited a very wealthy person's one of several homes that doesn't get lived in but a few weeks per year. Everything inside is perfect and looks like it came right of the pages of some magazine. It's all fantasy and "one up manship" .It's walk through and admire all you see but don't touch and don't sit down. How cold! Then visit the caretaker's place it's warm, welcoming and inviting because it's real.

Be brave and break the cycle. Be warm. Be friendly. Be inviting.
Or... be cold, uninviting, keep up with the Jones, and stiff.

remarkable1 Thank you for clarifying your position a bit.

I really don't think everyone on here are sheep, just because they like the idea of a throw on a couch, or some pillows. I think our desire is always to make our homes exactly that: a home, not just a house. Each of us gets there in different ways, with a myriad of style choices that can be made. Some of us can afford professional help in putting it together, and others are grateful for the internet, online resources for shopping, and sites like these where ideas can be shared.

You take from it what you will and leave behind what doesn't work for you.

olldroo It is a pity you didn't write like that more often Coolelk, yes I do get your point and I agree on a lot of it but you do go from one extreme to the another and ignore the middle road, many middle roads in fact.

Of course all the designers, architects and the like push things to the max, but they are only showing you possibilities, if you want to slavishly follow to the T then that is your option but everything can be scaled down to what suits every individual taste. That is the challenge to you to help you make things work to what suits you and your lifestyle the best - only you know that. Isn't that why you are on this website - to gain insight and help?? Maybe you have difficulty thinking outside the box - many people do. No two rooms are the same and every person, their tastes and lifestyles are different too so everything here is about adjustment and compromise and just because someone copies a photo or part of an idea doesn't make them a sheep.

I like and admire lots of things on this website but that doesn't mean I am going to copy it, some things just won't work in my home, some things I just don't want, some I can't afford, some don't suit my lifestyle, but you are calling me a sheep just because I say I like it.

I really enjoy the challenge of taking something from here and making it fit my home and lifestyle, it is what makes decorating fun - if you read my posts on this article you will see my comment that I feel the wealthy are really missing a lot of fun in life.
The 'keep up with the Jones's types, well, they will always be around and we won't go into them, but again not everyone who aspires to something does it for that reason, as you accuse them of doing. Have you never bought something new on a whim or a fancy or the latest in something because it is practical? The way you write, to do that makes you a keeper-upper too. Do you see what I am getting at?

You do take me back with your comment about grandparents - I spent all my school holidays at my grandparents home as a child, my grandmother was the sweetest woman who let me get away with blue murder - except go into the living room. My grandfather was a stern, strict Victorian man who frowned every time I even spoke and when he was around I had to sit on one chair only and not move.

I'm sure you have some very valid comments to contribute to articles here but may I suggest that perhaps you should write your comment and then read it as if someone is saying it to you and you might understand why they can upset people.