Make A Perfectly Luxurious Bed

Start with your mattress.

Do you need a new mattress?
Do you need a new mattress pad?
Or maybe just a little extra comfort is in order.

If that's the case, try an inexpensive foam topper. Or if money is no object go for a 2 - 4" piece of memory foam or a feather bed. It really makes a difference. I sleep on memory foam and it is absolutely delicious. There are no pressure points and the foam really does mould itself to your body.

Now for the sheets. Don't skimp here. Quality sheets really are much nicer to sleep on ~ the higher the thread count ~ the softer and more durable the sheets will be. Thread count refers to the number of threads, both vertical and horizontal, in a one-inch square of fabric. A good thread count is about 400 - 500. When choosing fabric content a Supima or Egyptian cotton is superb.

After placing the mattress topper of your choice on top of the mattress ~ place the fitted sheet over both.

Now the flat sheet goes on with a nice, deep fold back on the top sheet ~ at least 12 inches. Don't forget the hospital corners. After tucking in the bottom of the sheet, lift up the overhanging side about 12" back from the bottom ~ making a triangular shape. Now just tuck in the bottom of the triangle. Lay the side back down and you have a perfect hospital corner.

Did you know that tightly tucked hospital corners where used to protect patients from falling out of bed before the side rail came into use.
Top the flat sheet with a light, quilted coverlet and matching shams. Then, add a duvet with cover, folded at the end of the bed. It's nice to match the duvet cover to the sheeting.

Now for the pillows.

Choose a pillow suitable for your sleeping habits. Select a soft pillow if you sleep on your stomach ~ a medium pillow if you sleep on your back ~ a firm pillow if you sleep on your side.

Pillow fill is a personal choice and can be polyester, foam, goose down or a combination of feathers and down. Down is usually more expensive. It's very soft and is easy to shape or mold to your head and body. Polyester, which is less expensive, is comfortable too, depending on the quality, but it won't fluff up the way down does. Check the amount of fill in the pillow (how full it is). The more fill, the firmer the pillow.

Now for pillow placement.

Sleeping pillows in the back, shams that match the coverlet in front of that, then decorative pillows in front of the shams. A chic hotel style of placing the pillows is to lay the sleeping pillow with the sham laying flat on top of it.

The decorative pillows look best if you choose another fabric or texture different from the duvet and coverlet. A good size for the decorative pillows is a 22" square. And then perhaps a small rectangle pillow in the very front.

For a king size bed use three euro pillows across, for queens use two across. However, don't go overboard with the pillows. Do what is comfortable for you, as too many pillows can just be a hassle. There should definitely be some space between the folded duvet cover and the pillows.

Finally, make your bed every morning. Our mothers were right - it really does make a difference in how the room appears and how the sheets feel to get back in at night!

Now if reading about that on a Sunday evening doesn't make you sleepy, I don't know what will!