Pandemic Pointers: Have You Made Your Bed?
Spending Time at Home?
The global coronavirus pandemic has provided all of us with many new things to figure out while trying to maintain normalcy wherever we can. In our isolation, however, I’m incredibly grateful to witness so much togetherness via video conferencing and phone calls. I have seen people make the best of the situation spending quality time with family, trying new recipes, and decluttering, physically and mentally. Personally, I’ve re-discovered my pressure cooker, learned how to attend webinar conferences, and been a virtual guest in the homes of superstar designers, all without a stylist or interviewer, via Instagram Live events.
Now that we’re more than a month into social distancing and isolation, we can commiserate over running out of things to do at home. Perhaps you’ve deep cleaned the house twice, cleaned out your pantry and freezer, finally got your garden in order, or have been relaxing your days away. No matter what you’ve been doing, I’m sure we can all agree that we’ve been catching up on our sleep! Some of you may even be spending more time in bedrooms that have been converted into working spaces. If this is the case, it is important now, more than ever, to maintain professionalism in your video conference calls -- having a well-made bed in your background is a great place to start!
An elegant bedroom oasis at our beach house. Photographer: G. Frank Hart Photography.
Why Make Your Bed?
These weeks of isolation are a great time to try and establish positive new habits in our daily lives. According to FlyLady.net a daily habit to establish is making our beds every single morning. This post from Fly Lady makes an excellent case for why a well made-up bed is important for our well being:
“Your bed in the bedroom is what the sink is to your kitchen. If the sink is empty and shining the whole kitchen feels better, the same applies to our beds. If the bed is made instead of the sheets and bedspreads in tangled mess -- it changes the way we feel when we are in the room.”
Not only does making the bed bring the whole room together and bring that sense of calm that tidiness seems to trigger, but it also does wonders for your mental health as you start the day. In 2014, this Navy admiral went viral for his commencement speech where he noted that making a bed and accomplishing at least that one thing is so incredibly important: “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” I urge you to take a quick listen if you haven’t already!
Inspired to start making that bed? I’m sure you have the basics down already, so read on for some tips about pillows, linens, and more. If you want some more perspective, browse this comprehensive article from Elle Decor.
Pillows - Accessorize Your Bed!
As my family can attest, I’m a pillow person! I love a pretty pillow sham and the interplay of patterns and fabric that accent pillows bring to a well-made bed. I’m a strong believer that pillows are what complete the bed. There are so many factors to consider when styling your pillow display. However, it’s not a free-for-all! There are some general guidelines to consider when building your pillow arrangement.
First up: the proper proportion of pillows compared to bed size. Interior designers have several opinions on this topic, but here are a few generally agreed upon tips and tricks.
Twin Beds - Add a King!
A quick way to add some depth to your pillow display on your twin mattress is to swap a standard-size pillow for one king-size pillow. The king pillow will span the entire width of the bed and provide a nice “canvas” to add one or two accent pillows against.
Thinking along these lines, Katie Ridder changed up the traditional sleeping pillow arrangement on these twin beds with one king pillow and sham (see how it spans the whole bed?), one european (euro) sized pillow generally sized as a 24” square, and one beautiful accent bolster pillow.
These uniform twin beds utilize three pillows: one king , one standard and an accent pillow. The linens are simple but still manage to make a statement:
Having such a simple set up makes cleaning up the kiddo’s room quick and easy without compromising style and aesthetics. Take a look at this sleek black and white children’s room from January’s Atlanta Homes magazine:
Queen Beds - Bring on the Europeans!
To encompass the width of a queen bed, two standard pillows alone won’t cut it. Instead, consider beefing it up with two euro pillows and then adding two to four standard sized pillows with an accent pillow in front to create a cozy, stylish pillow arrangement. Meg Braff executed this beautifully in this stunning blue room (did someone say blue?!):
Source Photographer: Annie Schlechter.
This infographic from designer-favorite linen company, Matouk , is a great reference to keep in your files. Try experimenting with a few of these configurations on your own queen bed to see what fits your style and taste.
As that handy infographic demonstrates, there are many ways to change up your pillow displays. And that infographic is not all-encompassing! Pillow arrangements on beds are fun to style because there are so many combinations that fit the space. You can go for very simple, like our hotel room in Scotland, with a sleek coverlet, two king pillows and two euro pillows:
Cromlix Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
Or you can go big, like I did for a guest room with:
● two king pillows with shams,
● two standard pillows with patterned shams,
● one small 18”euro pillow, and
● one bolster to add depth:
Source. Photo: G. Frank Hart Photography
King Beds - Mix & Match
Recently I tuned into Thom Filicia’s Instagram Live session for Eastern Accents where he walked viewers through several design ideas, including making and styling a King-sized bed.
Here are his specific recommendations, which I love:
● Two king size pillows (with pillowcases matching sheets),
● + Two king size pillows (with shams to match duvet cover),
● + Two euro pillows with shams in another complementary fabric,
● + One 18” or 20” accent pillow in another fabric to put in between the euro shams.
○ I’d suggest that you could also change this up with a long bolster or larger 36” long rectangular accent pillow
Thom puts this method to good use in this sophisticated bedroom (I love the duvet cover’s tribal fabric pattern!):
Linens & Blankets- Get Cozy!
Some folks forgo the top sheet and simply use the bottom fitted sheet and duvet/quilt. This is a huge no-no in any designer’s mind (and what would your mother say?!). A top sheet as well as a bottom sheet with a duvet or coverlet are definite must-haves if you’re going to have a properly made bed.
Duvets and quilts or coverlets can be used together or separately to top off a bed. A duvet is, essentially, a bag of feathers or other synthetic fill material that simultaneously adds warmth but remains very light weight. If you have a duvet, you can purchase duvet covers separately to protect it (and bring fun colors and patterns into your room!). You can buy your duvet cover as a set with matching pillow shams, just make sure you have picked the appropriate pillow sizes. For example a king duvet cover may come with two king pillow shams, so think about the other pillow sizes you may want to include in your pillow styling.
Designer Mallory Mathison matched this duvet coverlet to the King pillow shams, leaving room for a beautiful accent pillow that matches the wallpaper (how clever!).
Quilts can be used in addition to a duvet. Usually, when you make up your bed with a quilt and a duvet, one or the other would be folded neatly at the end of the bed. You can see this in Thom Filicia’s design below. He used both a quilt and a duvet, the latter folded to the foot of the bed, and matched the duvet cover to the accent pillow.
Another must-have for a beautifully made bed is a bedskirt. Oftentimes forgotten, a bedskirt adds that clean finish to the bed -- and, it hides all that finds its way underneath! Typically, a bedskirt has a 14” drop, which means the distance from the top of the boxspring to the floor.
This bed by Tammy Connor has a-longer-than standard bedskirt to show off the fabric pattern -- oh, how I love a toile!:
In general, there are two types of beds that don’t need a bed skirt: platform beds and beds with a headboard and footboard. Platform beds don’t have a box spring, sit on the floor, and generally have prefinished sideboards with fabric or material that match the headboard.
This platform bed doesn’t need a bedskirt. Source. Photo: G. Frank Hart Photography
Beds that have a headboard and footboard typically also have finished wood sideboards that hold the bed frame together. This bed from Mallory Mathison (I seem to be drawn to her bed styling!) is a great example of a clean and classic headboard/footboard bed that doesn’t need a bed skirt. The wood paneling is all you need -- make sure those sheets are properly tucked!:
Thread count - What and Why?
Regardless of color or style, one of the most perplexing decisions to make when purchasing a sheet set is the thread count. Despite popular belief, while you need at least 300, there is no need to go higher than a 500 thread count for your linens. There are marginal benefits as you inch higher than 500, but with notably higher price tags.
Does thread count even matter? Actually, not always! This is a factor to consider only if you’re purchasing cotton sheets, specifically 100% single-ply (i.e. 1 yarn = 1 ply) cotton. If you have sheets that are a blend of fabrics (e.g. polyester, cotton blends, synthetics), you don’t need to worry about thread count.
While it’s widely believed that thread count is what indicates quality of linens, it’s better to measure fiber quality and weave when considering softness and durability of your sheets. The best kind of fabrics to consider for sheets are Egyptian and Pima cottons.
This article from Good Housekeeping provides details and tips about thread counts in your sheets if you want to dig deeper into this subject!
Where Do Designers Get Those Beautiful Sheets?
Here are a few suppliers that I frequently use for my client’s bedrooms:.
● Matouk
Personally, I also love the products from Boll & Branch and Casper. I find consistently high quality products that not only my husband and I love, but our guests do too! In any event, special attention should be paid to your sheets -- your bed should feel as good as it looks!
Just looking at these sheets lets me know that they are crisp, cool, and always cozy. Source: Casper.
My Favorites for a Well-Appointed Bed:
While I try to keep everything I’ve noted above in mind when styling a bed, I have a few favorite go-tos that I suggest for my clients (and I use at home!):
● At least one king pillow. Excellent as a body pillow, if needed!
● A feather bed
○ Using a feather bed or feather bed topper adds a hint of “princess and the pea” style coziness.
○ If you’re skeptical about adding a featherbed to each bed in your house, consider a sheepskin mattress cover like this one from The Company Store.
● White sheets
○ These are a must if you are looking for something that can be washed and/or bleached without damaging them. I’ve been using white sheets in my home for a long time and it’s added so much ease when it comes to laundering all the linens after guests visit! There is certainly a good reason why white sheets are what hotels use.
○ I like Boll and Branch’s striped sheet sets. The sheets feel luxurious and the stripes bring so much ease to making the bed! (think of putting on that fitted sheet!).
● A sheepskin rug beside the bed
○ While this isn’t technically part of the bed styling, it is certainly part of the experience. What better feeling than stepping on this cloud when getting out of bed in the morning! Click here to go to my favorite shop for quality sheepskin rugs.
Adding custom embroidered euro pillows personalize an already stylized bedroom--did I mention I love toile?! Source. Photo: Diana Adams Photography
I’ll bet that when you wake up tomorrow morning you’ll be excited to make that bed and start thinking about how you can spruce up your bedrooms. Have a question about what to do for your bed styling? Please contact me so we can discuss how to update your bedrooms with classy and comfy touches.
Subscribe to our blog to get all future posts straight to your inbox!