The Best Made Bed

 

Would you believe me if I told you that there is one thing, just ONE, that we can do that will completely change how we feel about our entire home?

Well it’s true and that million dollar  change is in the bedroom. It’s your BED!

I was never a bed maker. Maybe it’s because I was never a morning person? I can still hear my mother complaining that I never did that one minute quick fix, well into my college years. If only I knew or even cared, how badly I was jipping  myself.

But now I’m a completely reformed convert, who LOVES making my bed.

Maybe it was the 12 years as a nurses aide making 13-15 beds/shift?

Maybe it was starting an upscale cleaning business with my signature service being lavender pressed linens with each bed change.

Or maybe was obtaining the right bedding. Essential pieces I actually LOVED.

I don’t know.

But I’d like to share with you some of the staging techniques n tips I’ve learned along the way, helping me to make some really impressive beds. This way when your whole house is screaming for your attention, you’ll always have a retreat for a queen that sees you off in the morn n greets you again at the end of each of your days.

First, the right pieces make for the best made bed. I don’t have all of them myself, but I’ll do the best I can to demonstrate with what I have.

Linen sheets are cool in summers, have great texture and wear well. (They also press well for perfectly crisp sheets if that’s your thing;)

Down inserts: a duvet and pillows made from down add body to your bed like volume to your hair, making your bed resemble a plush cloud, inviting you to jump on and relax. Down pillow inserts also allow you to shape your pillows for staging.

Duvet covers make for an easy strip n wash, and also seasonally change your fabric or maybe you just want to switch up your style, without buying a whole new comforter, or duvet. They allow the one you initially purchase to last a lifetime with less wear and fit all seasons and moods.

Alternate quilts or coverlets in winter/summer months either on top of your comforter for added weight or as a decorative throw over your top sheet.

 

Your comforter or duvet is best suited either accordion (1st image) folded at the foot of your bed or, as I refer to, bolster rolled (2nd image) in front of your pillows for a plump layered effect.

Yes! I have WAY too many pillows.

But I use them all!

If you love a lot of pillows too, just be sure you have someplace to store the ones you don’t sleep with, so that they don’t go to the floor instead. A chest or bench at the foot of the bed, or a chair in the room is a typical place to put them but since I have a 9×11 bedroom without an inch of free space, I store them above my chiffonier in a basket.

Aside from having the right pieces and layering them just right, actually MAKING the bed takes some finesse.

Check out out these tips…..

Fold your top sheet over itself OR over your quilt/coverlet with a generous 10-18” per your preference and your body frame. The fold is to adequately snuggle over your shoulders at night, so if your a smaller framed person less is better so your not drowneding extra fabric and if your a larger framed person more to fully cover you.

Hospital corners? Awkwward no?

See how you feel about HOTEL corners! I tend to think it a little more polished look. More like wrapping a present than your mattress:)

Next try standing your pillows up against the head board (or wall if you don’t use one) instead of lying them flat on the bed. And give them a “fluffing” which really makes them take shape and have body. This is where having down fill comes in handy.

First give the pillow a wast by pinching a middle.

Second, karate chop the top to form “ears” on the pillow, giving a fortune cookie shape.

Now your bed starts to take form and is likely taunting you to jump into it!

Try these tips and share a pic with me:)

Happy Bed Making!!