You know that experience where you see a new quilt or duvet and you immediately fall in love with it? But once you took the plunge and purchased it somehow it just doesn't give that same spark when you lay it out on your own bed? What happened? What’s the story there? 

Well, there are various ways to make a bed, but a few tips can help you achieve the desired look. Today let’s chat about a few tips for making your bed look like you’re sleeping in luxury. 

But before we get into the nuts and bolts of it, what we’re talking about today assumes that you already have sheets for your bed. Whether that be the fitted and the flat, or if you’re of the” fitted only and a washable duvet on top” camp—we’ll save that debate for a different discussion. But for the sake of this conversation we’re assuming that you have the basics in place and we’re gonna chat about the top coverings.

Here’s a few tips that can help you get the look you’re after.

LAYERS

First things first, layers! It may be that your dream bed is simply  just  missing some layering magic. Multiple layers of bedding add visual interest and make the bed more captivating. So what are those layers?

• THE COVERS

A duvet or comforter is a great place to begin. A fluffy duvet gives you a great foundation to build on.  

TIP—For extra fluff and luxury use two inserts inside your duvet cover!

Next up, layer a quilt or coverlet on top. Make sure it's large enough to hang down on each side of the bed. OR reverse the formula and and start with the quilt on the bottom and layer your duvet on top!

If you want to add more visual interest, toss on a throw blanket or faux fur as the finishing touch.

• THE PILLOWS

Up next, the bed pillows. Instead of leaning them against the headboard I often tend to stack them. 

For a queen—two stacks of two standard pillows; for a king—two stacks of two king pillows (or two kings on three standards) for a king bed is my go-to. This’ll give a good backdrop foundation for the styling pillows to layer against.

Now, for the styling pillows— on a king bed, I love using three euro shams in front of the bed pillows (with a nice karate-chopped middle) and topping off the look with a couple of throw pillows or a long lumbar. For a queen, two euros and a lumbar or throw pillow usually does the trick. 

Or you can go with a simpler look like in the photo where there’s four king pillows and a long lumbar. This look allows all the bedding layers to take center stage.

STYLING

Think of all these layering pieces we just talked about—the duvet, coverlet/quilt, bed pillows, and throw pillows—as the art medium you’re gonna use to paint a masterpiece on your blank canvas, i.e. your bed. 

So, what's the trick? Well, it's all about allowing those layers to be seen on the bed in sections.  Start with folding the duvet back to showcase sheets and pillows on the top third.  Then cover the bottom third of the bed with a folded quilt for that extra touch. 

This not only complements the exposed layers on the top but also adds a touch of luxury and detail to the lower part of the bed. It's like adding that extra sprinkle of magic to the overall composition.

OR, layer the duvet on top of the quilt and let the quilt peak out a little at the end like in this bedroom.

CONTRAST + REPETITION

Lastly, contrast is crucial. I talk about it a lot, because honestly, it's a game-changer! Colors pop when they're next to each other, right? So, your duvet's color against your quilt or coverlet can make both shine. So pick fabrics that play together nicely but aren’t exactly the same. Maybe a patterned duvet with a solid coverlet, or vice versa. Or maybe choose a solid linen duvet with a color blocking quilt on top.

OR, if you're into more of a tone-on-tone look, bring in the contrast with different textures. A linen duvet paired with a chunky woven bed blanket and a velvet lumbar pillow? 

Working in tandem with contrast is repetition. Look for ways to repeat colors or textures to tie the whole canvas together. Whether that be the colors in the quilt are repeated in the euro pillows, or the velvet coverlet has a corresponding matching lumbar pillow. Repetition ties it all together!

So there you have it, the building blocks for a luxury bed—layers, styling, and contrast + repetitions. That's the secret sauce for a bed that's not just comfy but OOZING with luxury too! Sweet dreams!