Ever wonder how decorators and stylists beds look so much more cozy and luxe? With just a few easy tricks I can show you have to make a bed like a pro!
Let’s start by going over the basics – What you actually need. It can be overwhelming to figure out what sheets, pillows, blankets, and throws you need. After years of regularly wrestling with our king size duvet we decided to update our master bed’s linens and switched to a quilt, so linen shopping is still fresh in my mind! Whether you’re putting together your bed for the first time, looking for a change, or just hoping to spruce up your current set-up, I hope these tips and suggestions can help1
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Sheets
The foundation of bedding, your basic sheets are an important part building out your bed. I tend to stick with clean white sheets, that way I can easily swap out other bed elements without having to worry needing to worry about coordinating. You can also go with a color though! I have seen some great examples of using colored bed sheets to add a little visual warmth to a bed, I have some fun examples on my Pinterest I’d love to try out in the future!
Thread count can be confusing, and to be honest, doesn’t always signify comfort. Personally, I recommend going in person and feeling up some sheets if you can, or at least doing your research well first if you’re buying online, and getting something returnable.
Quilts and/or Duvets
You’ll see a lot of decorators use both quilts and duvets, layering the duvet over the quilt, but personally I feel like that can be a little much for a bed you are actually getting in each night. Even though I love the look of layered up linens, I always believe that first and foremost your home should be functional. To me, having to take twenty pillows and 3 blankets off your bed before you can get in at night is not functional.
As I mentioned before, we recently swapped our king-size duvet for just a simple quilt in our master bedroom. Initially I was worried it might be too flat, but after staying at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs I fell in love with the simplicity of the look and decided to go for it. In our guest room I stuck with a duvet. A twin size duvet and cover are much easier to wrangle than the king size that was in our master, so I stuck with that in the guest room.
Pillows
Here’s where most of the magic happens. Even with basic sheets and blankets you can take your bed look up a notch with the right pillows. Sizes and how many will depend on your bed size, and there’s more than one way to do it right, but I have a simple trick to make sure no matter what options you go with you can make it look good.
Three layers are the base. You can always do more than 3 layers of pillows, but I’ve found that three is a good base to make any bed look full without looking over the top. Here are the three layers you should focus on:
- Base pillows – these are the ones that sit at the back, and these should span the length of the bed. For a twin bed that means a king size pillow, for a king size bed that can mean two king size pillows or three standard size pillows (you can also do a couple oversize square pillows for a different look!)
- Sleeping Pillows – These are the standard size pillows you’ll likely be actually sleeping with at night (or at least, we do!) so these can be chosen more on a comfort-base.
- Decorative pillows – The fun stuff! These are where you can add some extra texture, pattern, or just something fun. These are typically lumbar sized, or small squares and can be mixed, matched, and even swapped out seasonally if you want!
Throw Blanket
I always include a throw blanket on any bed. Not only is it my personal favorite blanket to snuggle up with, but it’s a great opportunity to add an extra layer of texture or pattern. Since the rest of our guest room bedding is all whites I went with a throw blanket with more color, texture, and pattern to add some more personality to the space. In our master bedroom I went with something much more basic since our quilt is already patterned, not to mention, the throw is the blanket I use the most so I opted for something extra comfortable as opposed to something more decor focused.
You’ll want to make sure the throw is long enough to hang over the side of the bed, without touching the floor. I had to find a king-size throw for our master bedroom. Previously we had a basic size throw on that bed and it just looked silly with how small it was (you can actually see that old throw and old duvet in these photos from our room makeover). An easy rule of thumb is to size up to the next bed-size if you can for your throw (twin size bed = full size throw) but you want to try out a few options to find what looks best.
The Extras
Like I mentioned, I like to keep things functional and simple. I don’t want to have to pull off thirty pillows and 3 extra blankets just so I can get in bed at night, but those things also can add some extra style! For guest rooms you can always turn up the style factor, since those rooms are typically used a lot less than your main bedroom.
For an extra luxe look you can add an additional row of pillows (for a king size bed that might mean doing one layer of two king size pillows, one layer of 3 or 4 euro shams, one layer of standard pillows, and top it all off with some fun decorative ones!
I hope this has been a helpful guide to guide you through making up your bed to look it’s best, but hopefully be a cozy and functional spot in your home!
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