Let's Talk About Styling A Bed
I have been working on several bedroom designs lately… everything from nurseries to master bedrooms to lake house guest rooms. Bedding can be really tricky to pull together sometimes. Mainly because the overall look needs to be beautiful and add to the design of the room - it is the focal point after all - but also because bedding needs to also be functional. Not every client (or every room) is going to be able to accommodate an “all white’ bedding look or want 20 decorative pillows, ha. Pulling a bed together requires a lot of “pieces” and can seem a little overwhelming…. so here are my tips for pulling your look together like a pro.
Decide on your bedding style
There are many different ways to dress a bed, so narrowing down the overall look you want first will help you pull in the elements later. Deciding on your bedding style mainly pertains to the decorative pillows and the bed itself. Do you need a bed skirt or does your bed have a full frame? Do you want to go modern or minimal with your look? Or is your style a bit more classic? Is your bed a king, queen or twin? The size bed you have will determine the pillow arrangement… a king bed needs 3 euros, while a twin only needs 1.
Here are a few of my favorite bedding arrangements:
(2) euros with a bolster in front (3 if a King) and a duvet cover at the foot.
(2) euros with (2) 20” pillows in front and a duvet at the foot.
(1) single giant pillow in the middle of the bed (like the rooms below)
hotel stack your sleep pillows and do a single long lumbar or bolster in front (really minimal and sleek) and maybe a coverlet that waterfalls to the floor
An eclectic mix of various size pillows that don’t all match but “go” together
We did one single, oversized pillow for this queen bed
Pull your decorative fabrics together
Once you have wrapped your head around the way you want to style your bed and what your needs are… then the fun can begin! Now it’s time to start sourcing your decorative pillow fabrics (my favorite part). I definitely recommend selecting the decorative pillows first and building the rest of the bed around them. I also recommend making the investment in custom decorative pillows (unless you are able to find store bought pillows that you just love) because I think your color and print options will better if you select the right fabric and have pillows made, rather than locking yourself into store bought options. I would try selecting at least 2 coordinating fabrics for your bedding, but no more than 3… you don’t want things getting too busy. If you are mixing prints, pair a smaller print fabric with a larger print one for balance.
Select your main bedding
Once you have your decorative fabrics nailed down you can pull together the main pieces like coverlets, sheets, duvet covers and bed skirts. Sometimes you can go decorative and custom with these items - like with the bed skirt or duvet cover - but many times you will want these pieces to be washable basics. This is also where I recommend saving a little money and using store bought options
Of course, no amount of pretty bedding can make up for an uncomfortable bed! I recently partnered with Solay Sleep and have been very impressed with their products. Their foam mattresses and pillows ship straight to your door and use a combination of pocketed coils with layers of foam and cooling gels that make for a really comfortable, supportive and high quality product. If you purchase a mattress and use the code SARAHPILLOW at checkout you can get a free foam pillow with your order - how great is that?!
There are many different ways to style a bed and your room should be unique to you! It can be a challenge to pull a bed together, but don’t let that make you fret. Start with the fun, decorative part and work your way through to the basics. You’ll be sleeping in your dream room in no time!
Thank you to Solay Sleep for sponsoring this post