I buy ugly pillows! Sometimes I take my son with me and pile the cart high with ugly pillows on top of him. Well, it is one way to make home shopping fun for my boy :)
HomeGoods is my favorite source for feather pillow inserts. I frequently check the clearance section for those ugly pillows that no one bought. The ones with a zipper closure tend to have a feather pillow insert inside. On the recent trip above with my son, I scored 9 feather pillow inserts for $10 each.
They looked like this when I brought them home:
After removing the pillow covers, I was left with a bunch of perfectly good feather inserts.
The pillow covers were donated to the thrift store. I might think they are ugly, but they might be perfect for someone else’s style.
I have used this trick many times for pillow inserts, but never have I bought so many in one go. The built in bench I have planned for the game room, is going to require a bunch of decorative pillows, hence all the fun fabrics on the mood board. This was the most affordable way to get the inserts I need for all the fabulous fabrics I picked out!
Check out my tips on buying fabrics for pillow covers and the video tutorial for my easy envelope pillow cover method.
My go to source for feather inserts is IKEA:). $6.99 for a 20″ x 20″ insert: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60066743/
or $6.99 for a 16″ x 24″ insert: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50160072/
Of course, if you need other sizes, then ugly pillows at Home Goods are the way to go:)!!
Beth, Great tip. I just wish Ikea was a little more friendly for running in to buy one item. I feel I have to save up and do a big trip to make it worth battling the maze and the crowds.
The more you go, the better you get (is my tip with Ikea, I’m a pro, can get in and out in 15 mins! Though I have no kids).
I make pillow inserts from old pillows people freecyle – even cheaper cause it’s FREE!
Sarah,
You are right. I made it in and out in under an hour today. I think that is a record for me!
You could always purchase feather-down inserts from Crate & Barrel. 12″ insert is $6-23″ insert being $16 and they have all the sizes in between.
Good to know, Hope. Thank you! I need some 16″ ones. Makes you wonder why the horrible poly-fil inserts at fabric stores are so expensive?!
I’ve never used inserts. I save old bed pillows that have “lost their fluff”, wash them and stuff my throws with the poly fill.
Shannon,
this is a good way to upcycle! I have tons of these types of pillows that I am close to getting rid of!
Good tip!
Love all the pillow insert ideas. I’ve used the Ikea down inserts, but I don’t like that the quills poke out and I end up with feathers everywhere. Maybe that’s an issue with all down inserts. I have the same Ikea strategy, Jackie. I need to have more than one item to buy to make it worth my while.
A good tip! No need to pay a lot for simple inserts. Better to spend the mullah on fancy fabric to cover the pillow
I go to Ikea for just about everything :) I have about 20 of their feather throw pillows and I love that they have a nice selection of solid color covers that I can use with my patterned covers. It makes changing things up very simple. I have been known to run in just for napkins (they are the best paper napkins in the world!) but I usually end up buying a few other things while I’m there, though…
Great tip! My favourite have always been the Ikea feather inserts. They are pretty reasonably priced and nice and full… but we live a few hours from Ikea so this might be a great solution for me! Thanks for sharing,
Krista
This is such a great idea and perfect timing for me. Since I don’t have an Ikea or Crate & Barrel or other place like those, finding inserts is always hard. I just wish the Home Goods were a bit closer to me.
I was at Home Goods today (lunch breal) and strolled the clearance area to see if i could find some “ugly pillows”
no luck! But i had fun looking at all the goodies!
Ahh, Home Goods, how i love thee! ;)
Jessie, They seem to go in spurts. Sometimes the clearance section is empty and the next week it is packed. Hopefully you will have luck soon.
The discounted red tag pillows at SteinMart is my source for feather inserts. They usually have a sale where you can used a 50% off coupon on red tag items. I zero in on the discounted pillows and have purchased as many as 10 at one time with an average price of $4. I also donate the unused covers to Goodwill or family members.