how to make a bed like a designer

For many, making the bed is about more than tidying your room or making sure your bed feels crisp at bedtime. It’s about making your bedroom look like it belongs in the glossy pages of a magazine. Your bed is a major part of your bedroom’s interior design and intentionally layering your bedding can take your bedroom design to the next level. Here’s how to make a bed like a designer. 

How to Make a Bed Like a Designer Part 1: Buy the Right Bedding

Before you can layer your bedding like an interior decorator, you have to have the right materials. Here are the bedding layers you should consider in the order in which a designer would place them on the bed. 

Mattress Protector

Mattress protectors don’t just protect the mattress, they can also protect you from dust and other allergens that can get trapped in your mattress. In fact, some mattress protectors even offer improved ventilation to help keep you cool while you sleep.  

Fitted Sheet

Sheets generally come in a set that includes a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and pillow cases. Fitted sheets have an elastic band that holds them in place, covering the mattress. Because of their design, it’s important to buy the right size so that they pull snugly over the mattress. While they create a smooth, flat surface to sleep on, they also protect the mattress from debris. 

Flat Sheet

Also known as the top sheet, flat sheets are traditionally placed between the fitted sheet and the interior blanket. Not only can they provide extra comfort, but they can also trap bacteria so that you don’t have to wash the blankets with the same frequency as your sheets. 

Interior Blanket

If you want to layer your bedding like a designer, it’s important to have some sort of blanket or coverlet below your exterior blanket. Not only can this help keep you warm and cozy, but it can also allow you to achieve the curated, layered bedding look you love.

Exterior Blanket

An exterior blanket can be a duvet, a quilt, a comforter, or a throw that is used as the top layer of your bedding. While the top layer of your bedding can be used functionally for warmth, it’s also the part of your bedding that can be seen most clearly and thus is often chosen for its pattern, style, or texture. 

Euro Shams

A Euro sham is a decorative pillow covering that fits over a Euro-sized, square pillow. Not only can they help accessorize the bed, but they can also provide back support for reading and watching TV in bed. Euro shams should be placed behind all of the other bed pillows and tend to match the top layer of bedding. 

Quilt and/or Coverlet Shams

Quilt and coverlet shams mimic the material of whatever quilt, coverlet, or blanket that’s layered under the top bedspread. You’ll likely want to put these pillows in front of the Euro shams on the bed. 

Standard Pillows

A standard pillow refers to the pillow you use to sleep every night. These pillows are covered with cases from the sheet set, so they should fit perfectly with the color scheme of the bed. Many interior designers place this pillow between the quilt/coverlet shams and the decorative accent pillows, 

Decorative Accent Pillows 

Decorative accent pillows can come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, including lumbar pillows, bolster pillows, neckroll pillows, small square pillows, and boudoir pillows. A bolster pillow, for example, would likely be centered left-right at the very front of your pillow arrangement. 

How to Make a Bed Like a Designer Part 2: Carefully Layering the Bedding

Now that you’ve purchased your bedding, it’s time to get into the details of how to make your bed like a designer. 

  1. Put on your mattress protector, pulling the edges taut and smoothing over the surface of the bed, making sure all of the edges are tucked under the mattress.
  2. Put on your fitted sheet one corner at a time, pulling the edges tight and smoothing over the surface of the bed, making sure all of the edges are tucked under the mattress. 
  3. Fold the flat sheet in half from top to bottom and center the sheet, left-to-right. Lay it flat so the top and bottom of the sheet are hanging slightly over the edge of the bottom of the mattress. Then “short-sheet” the bed by folding the remainder of the sheet toward the headboard and lining up the fold with the bottom of the mattress to prevent the fabric from gathering together at the bottom of the bed. Flatten and smooth the flat sheet before tucking the sides of the sheet under the mattress.
  4. Take the bottom layer blanket (typically a quilt or coverlet) and fold it in half from top to bottom, centering it left to right at the bottom of the mattress. From there, pull the top of the blanket to the top of the mattress, and pull tight to smooth out any wrinkles. Together, take the top of the sheet and the blanket and fold it over itself about the length of a pillow. The top of the blanket should not show from under the top of the sheet. Make sure to tuck the blanket into the rails to help cover the box spring. Create hospital corners at the bottom of the mattress by carefully tucking the blanket on the sides and just around the corner, leaving the bottom of the blanket to look like an envelope. Then tuck the bottom of the blanket, overlapping and giving a purposeful crease on each corner. 
  5. Take your top blanket (duvet, quilt, comforter, or throw), fold it from top to bottom, and center it left to right before placing it on the bottom half of the mattress. Pull the top of the blanket to the top end of the mattress so the bottom and sides overlap evenly with the rails and footboard. Tri-fold the top of the blanket so it covers the bottom third of the mattress, exposing the interior blanket. Create hospital corners at the bottom of the mattress.
  6. If you notice lots of wrinkles, you can use a steamer to smooth them out. To do so, you’ll want to pull the fabrics tight as you steam, avoiding pulling to the point of causing ripples or stretching. 
  7. Cover your pillows, placing Euros in the back, then quilt set shams, then regular pillows, and then decorative accent pillows. Pillows should be placed with a slight angle. Make sure they are not too upright or too slouched. 

Now that you know how to make a bed like a designer, it’s time to take your bedroom to the next level. Not only do we have a huge selection of bedroom furniture, but if you visit our stores, you can browse our huge selection of luxury bedding. In the meantime, check out our interior design blog where we cover everything from how to make a bed look luxurious to our bedroom essentials checklist.