HOME page>                  NEW STUFF page> 
          WRITING CONTENT page>       GUEST ARTISTS page>Home_1.htmlNew_Stuff.htmlEssays.htmlGuest_Artists.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3
 

Throw Pillows

Chip Hill

chiphill70@gmail.com


This is about throw pillows. They probably have a proper home furnishings name, but I'm talking about those pillows you put (one or two of them) at either end of a sofa or in the back of a stuffed chair as an accent piece. OK, they look nice. But when it comes time to sitting in said sofa or chair, which, after all, is pretty much their sole function, there is a problem. You see the real estate the sofa/chair was designed with has just shrunk by 1/3 or more. Where you thought you could get four people on the sofa, all of a sudden there isn't enough room. And the occupant of the chair may still be able to sit, but is pushed toward the front or side.


Observe what polite guests do to rectify the problem. They will glance around and quietly pull a pillow up on top of another pillow or the back of the sofa. They will remove the pillow and put it in their lap. Or they will take one or more pillows and place them unobtrusively on the floor beside the sofa. Like Marines, they will “adapt, improvise, overcome.” Function will win out over appearance.


So, is there middle ground here? I think so. Most of the time, the pillows stay where they are, looking pretty and causing no harm. But when the furniture is to be used, here are several suggestions:

1.The host/hostess could remove them before the guests arrive, placing them somewhere else visible for effect.

2.The host/hostess could reduce the overall number of pillows or substitute smaller “guest pillows” targeting the space needed for the number of guests expected.

3.The host/hostess could leave them in place but tell the guests, “if they get in the way, just move them aside.”

4.Other strategies?

     Am I the only one with this thought?

enough