PILLOW TALK

October 18th, 2011

A box from Turkey showed up on my doorstep stuffed full of what appeared to be about a gazillion kilim pillow covers.

Mystery box.

Somehow I completely blanked on ordering these. Have you ever done that? Been totally blindsided by a mystery box filled with mystery things? It was like a terrifying surprise christmas. Thankfully, with this newfangled thing called email, a quick search revealed that I’d ordered a bunch of pillow covers off the eBay very, very late one night…over a month ago.

Pillow sale + combined shipping discount + ease of paypal + shipping delay + poor memory  =  kilim pillow cover stockpile.

Mystery solved.

Oh what’s this? Color in the den?

I do declare!

Cheapskate Tip : Save money by scavenging pillow inserts at the thrift store.

Yup, simple stuff. Instead of buying a bunch of new down inserts – just go buy a bunch of fugly pillows that have great inserts (or even good stuffing for odd sizes) and for about a buck or less each, say hello to your new cheaply stuffed pillows.

Love this neutral desert toned spare pair. They may be living in the living room.

Oh no I didn’t just throw a baby striped pillow into that sofa corner.

Gettin’ crazy up in here.

Recklessly mixing scale and pattern?! Say what!

Oh yeah, all over this sofa.

This one might be my favorite pillow of the bunch. What a sassy little minx.

Well, with a giant pile of pillows still needing to be distributed around the house, here’s to hoping that the vintage kilim pillow thang isn’t totally “over”. Actually…no wait, I really hope it is.

Then I can buy them all up at low low prices and cover myself in a scratchy, hand woven, vegetable-dyed pile of kilim delight.

Mmmm. Itchy.
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    52 Comments

    1. bianca of terri planty on 10/18/2011:

      i want like all of these! i want to buy one off you. preferably with hot pink involved somewhere. please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. Denny on 10/19/2011:

      Linkage?! I wants these!

    3. THE BRICK HOUSE on 10/19/2011:

      EBAY IT UP

    4. Brismod on 10/19/2011:

      They’re all good. All!

    5. Claire on 10/19/2011:

      They’re gorgeous. I’ve done that before. The remiss ebaying, paying too much etc. But I was drunk.

    6. Ana@Rearranged Design on 10/19/2011:

      I have a few if these and yeah they’re itching but oh-so-sassy.

      Love the hot pink business.

    7. Nini Tjäder on 10/19/2011:

      They are beautiful! Here (Sweden) they are presently really expensive, even at Ikea. Love them though.

    8. Florian on 10/19/2011:

      They look absolutely smashing! I’m so jealous. I have exactly zero pieces of furniture on which these kilim pillows (or for that matter any throw pillows) would look good. Ugh! You again, rubbing your Californian decorating skill in my Teutonic face. Damn you, I say, damn you!

      Keep posting, though. Love your blog.

    9. Tonia on 10/19/2011:

      I love those kilim pillows! I agree about buying old pillows via the thrift. I do it all the time.

    10. Nick Klaus on 10/19/2011:

      They work so well on that sofa, and that’s a combination I never would have considered. I think I know just the chair that could use a little kilim attention.

    11. ModFruGal on 10/19/2011:

      The CC banned the itchys a decade back…along with my carpet saddlebags for camels I used as floor pillows. They sure are/were pretty though. I hope they miss me.

    12. Bandita on 10/19/2011:

      these are great! i have an intense 60′s floral couch and can’t really do this crazy print thing. looks great!!!!!!!

    13. Lawny on 10/19/2011:

      Fantastic!!!! The size/scale/pattern mashup looks soooooooo good. They make the furniture come to life! So yummy who cares about the itchy haha.

    14. eliza on 10/19/2011:

      gorgeous. absolutely gorgeous. when you get over them, feel free to send some this way!

    15. erin@designcrisis on 10/19/2011:

      Would you believe that I did the exact same thing? Well, I didn’t buy 85673 of them like you. But I am the proud owner of several ebay kilim pillows that I totally forgot I bought.

    16. THE BRICK HOUSE on 10/19/2011:

      They were so cheap on sale that I think I lost my mind a bit.

    17. Grumble Girl on 10/19/2011:

      Ohyesshedid… that’s awesome, lady! Looking totally gorgeous ovah there. I love mystery packages. Even the scratchy kind.

    18. Beckie@Cubicle57 on 10/19/2011:

      This is similar to when I go on an blackout etsy binge. Buying lots of small things seperately and then for weeks I have random bits showing up at the office. Its equal parts great & embarrasing when the receptionist has to keep paging me to come sign for my mail.

    19. Ed on 10/19/2011:

      Wow, those are gorgeous!

    20. Adrienne on 10/19/2011:

      I have about 7 of those kilim pillow covers, (not as nice and sassy as yours, mine are more sedate and serious pottery barn ones), and after many years of complaints from the boys in our home…”Mom, can you get some comfortable pillows? These are so scratchy and itchy”…I mean, really …pillows are supposed to be comfortable, and not just look good and transform your home into an Anthropology Professor meets World Traveller’s den?
      Well I almost did get rid of them at a garage sale, but no one wanted them….HA!
      So now the boys are off to college and I will throw those bad boys back onto the couch and lean into their itchy intellectualness.

    21. Jen on 10/19/2011:

      AMAZING pillows!! What a score.

    22. julia wheeler on 10/19/2011:

      i’ve had super good luck getting these from breeze_of_anatolia on ebay… and stealing them from my grandma. old people have the best shit. you scored some good ones!

    23. Ahsan on 10/19/2011:

      Hardcore pillow-porn goin’ on in there… And no, the litle ones aren’t supposed to be there…

    24. amy on 10/19/2011:

      Best mistake! They are amaze.

    25. Martha on 10/19/2011:

      Oooo – Love those. You always put things together that I never would have thought of. The pillows on the chesterfield are excellent.

    26. Trude on 10/19/2011:

      You is gettin’ cray-cray, girl! Love these, perfect pop of color without being all “hey I’m a patterned pillow!” :)

    27. Keep Smiling Katherine on 10/19/2011:

      Crap on a crap shingle. Those are some hot pillow covers. And that last one? DO WANT.

    28. Jill on 10/19/2011:

      Etsy blackouts, forgotten eBay buying sprees. What’s next, “Club O” shopping in your sleep??

      But we’re in luck. Apparently, you can get help for these problems. ;) http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2219745078

    29. Blythe on 10/20/2011:

      woah. those are awesome. love the earthy colors.

    30. abby on 10/21/2011:

      yay! now I know i’m cool if you have them.

      yeah, they can be kinda itchy but that’s what the reverse side is for!

      xxooa

    31. Anna on 10/21/2011:

      Love it! However, for the thirft store insert scavenging…doesn’t anyone find that they smell? Bed bugs issue? Terror of what slept on them before? Have I become a wuss…

    32. Tamoto on 10/21/2011:

      The kilim thing is kinda played out, but can something so neat really be played out??? The colors and designs are just SO COOL. Kilim forever!

    33. Lunaluna on 10/24/2011:

      Just what that sofa needed, it looks so much warmer and cosier as a chesterfield should :)

    34. Elisha Davidson on 10/24/2011:

      Ah! These pillows are amazing!! That must have been a great surprise!

    35. Erik on 10/25/2011:

      Once I got a package of weed in the mail that was late a couple of months but that’s got nothing on this. Fab.

    36. Tami on 10/26/2011:

      NOW you’re talkin.

    37. sarfinaz44@hotmail.com on 10/29/2011:

      wonderful perfect amazing pillows

    38. brandeye on 10/31/2011:

      oh wow, they look great.

    39. Kathryn on 11/01/2011:

      I have an ottoman covered in a kilim – I might need to get some pillows to keep it company…

    40. Kathryn on 11/01/2011:

      I have an ottoman covered in a kilim – I might need to get some pillows to keep it company…

    41. AC on 11/04/2011:

      Ugh, glad you finally got rid of those Marimekko pillows. I told you a while back to get kilims instead. Now the pillows look hot.

    42. Teresa on 11/23/2011:

      LOVE the kilim. They work lovely-ly in your house… which I also love. As a fellow desert dweller, I SO appreciate your brick house oasis. Cheers to you!

    43. Natalie Jagers on 11/26/2011:

      Divine

    44. Jessica Metz on 12/09/2011:

      is there a certain vendor you bought all of your pillows from on ebay? i love these and i’d love to add to my pillow collection. just curious if you bought from different people and paid multiple shipping or bought most of them from one seller and only paid one shipping fee… thanks!!!!!

    45. nicky on 12/28/2011:

      Loooove.

    46. Bernadette @b3hd on 01/08/2012:

      Pinned your post because I NEED (clearly) to fight everyone on Ebay for these. So, in love.

      Bernadette @www.b3hd.blogspot.com

    47. jmc on 01/10/2012:

      Awesome! I have a Chesterfield style couch that I’m going to lift this idea for…

    48. dianne on 01/22/2012:

      Didn’t read all the comments so maybe somebody already said this. my bad. You can get brand new feather and down inserts from IKEA for only $6.00 each.

    49. Michelle on 01/28/2012:

      The two dessert tone/yellow… I desperately want them. I couldn’t seem to find anything similar on ebay. Did you buy yours in a lot? I’d love to know if it was a specific seller or anything that might help me track down something similar.

    50. Paula on 01/30/2012:

      you can try http://www.istek-kilims.com. they have more rugs but also a few really nice kilim pillows in their catalogue.

    51. Kevin on 02/15/2012:

      There is a nice site which they offer very low prices. http://www.kilimpillowcover.com

    52. Meg on 01/22/2013:

      Hi! I saw this post a couple of days ago and since then I’ve been looking for that one with the Greek key pattern! Is there any way you could let me know what seller you bought it from on eBay? I know I sound crazy but I just fell in love with it!
      Not really sure if kilim pillows are like snowflakes, no two are are exactly alike, but thought I would take a chance and ask! Thanks so much!
      -Meg

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