Throw Pillow Inserts 101

Throw pillows can literally transform a space, but WHY are they so expensive?!?! The reason why I right blog posts is to inspire you and help you make your home a place you love. If I can do it on a budget, even better! So in this post I wanted to show you how to find affordable throw pillows using throw pillow inserts.

Why Inserts?

Purchasing pillow inserts and then switching out the pillow covers is one of the most economical ways to buy new throw pillows. There is a little bit of an investment at first but once you have the inserts all you need to buy are the covers! In this post I am reviewing four very pillow inserts all ranging from $10-$20 per 20×20 insert:

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

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1-Foamily

These inserts are very affordable and shipping is quick with Amazon Prime. As soon as I opened this package I knew these inserts were not going to be a favorite. They are not as soft and definitely made of a foam material, not feathers. You can tell in the picture below, they don’t quite “fluff” like I like them to 🙂

2-Crate & Barrel

These pillow inserts are awesome! They fluff nicely and are made of down feathers. The inserts shipped a little slower than an Amazon Prime product but I love their structure for styling pillows.

3- Utopia Insert

Now these pillows are interesting… They shipped to my house with all the air sucked out of them. The instructions say you have to shake the insert for five-ish minutes to loosen up the feathers. This part was a little annoying but once they were fluffed up I ended up loving them!

It is recommended that you size up when using these inserts. For example, when you have a 20×20 pillow cover, purchase a 22×22 pillow insert. And I totally agree with this. I purchased the 20×20 insert for my 20×20 cover but I wish I had a 22×22 insert now. You can probably see that the pillow isn’t as full as the Crate and Barrel insert.

4-Pillowflex

Now these pillows are ok. Better than the Foamily but not as good as the Crate and Barrel or Utopia inserts. They are a polyester filled insert so they are not as fluffy as a down feather option. Great news is that these pillows are hypo-allergenic!

You can see from the photo above that it just doesn’t fill out the cover as well as the Utopia or Create & Barrel insters.

Comfort

Throw pillows aren’t just for looks, they should be comfortable as well. The least comfy insert was the Foamily so I do not recommend that insert if you have picky couch sleepers. The Crate & Barrel in probably my favorite pillow to lay on!

Now there are A LOT more pillow inserts out there but I chose to review these inserts because they are easy to order (Amazon), affordable and I have heard good things about the Crate & Barrel inserts.

Any the winner is…

Or should I say winners 🙂 The Crate is Barrel insert is my favorite insert, but the Utopia inserts are definitely a very close second because they are more affordable and ship quickly. Both inserts are feather filled, VERY affordable, and have many sizes to chose from.

Where I purchase my Pillow Covers:

My favorite place to buy pillow covers is Etsy. There are SO many vendors and options out there, plus it’s so fun to support a fellow small business!

Amazon and H&M also have really affordable pillow covers!

I wrote this post for those of you that want an economically way to trade out your pillows for each season. Buying nice inserts and then purchasing covers can save you a lot of money and time arguing with your husband 😉 hahaha