How to Make Your Bed Look Luxurious

Do you want to know how to make your bed look like the ones in magazines or at a five-star hotel? Beds are the focal point in every bedroom. There are five steps to get that luxurious bed look without a thousand decorative pillows, which can be a pain to take on and off. Follow these tips to design your dream-worthy bed.

Why take my advice? I ran a bed and breakfast for thirteen years. If there was an award for most beds made in a lifetime, I could be a contender. I have years of bedding ideas for luxury beds. I learned how to create beds that looked so cozy and inviting that my guests came back.

Follow these steps in your bedroom to create a bed you won’t want to leave.

1. Cover the Box Spring and Frame

If you have a platform bed in your home, you can skip to step two. If you don’t have a platform bed there are lots of options to choose from to hide your box springs and frame without spending a lot of money. I don’t like the word bed skirt, I prefer box spring cover because I like a more tailored look.

Before you buy a box spring cover, you need to measure from the top of the box spring to the floor so you know the right length for your bed. Typical lengths are 14 inches to 18 inches. The cover can hide the ugly metal legs under the bed and also disguise your under-bed storage.

Depending on your budget, there are many options for covering your box springs for anywhere from $20 to $250. The more expensive bed skirts or box spring covers tend to have more weight and sometimes a texture. If you choose a heavier skirt, you will have a good base for your luxury bedding.

There are nice budget options at Target and Overstock. If you want to upgrade your bedding, look at the Company Store and Pottery Barn. You might notice that these photos are all white bedding, that’s because light colors can make your bed look fresh and clean. They are also easy to bleach.

• Wrinkle resistant bed cover from Target
• Company Store Matelasse bed skirt

Here’s an example of a bed skirt that will have the opposite affect – be sure to get one that covers the mattress completely.

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2. Good Quality Bed Linens

First let me say this is not a sponsored post. I have lots of opinions on bedding. First, if you can afford a linen top sheet that is the absolute best feel in bed. They are expensive, and I don’t like them as the fitted sheet, but a linen top sheet feels creamy like butter.

For linen sheets, the best prices I’ve seen are at Brooklinen.com and Parachute.com. The good news is you can save money on sheets if you buy just the top sheet in linen. Get tips for buying affordable linen sheets here.

If you prefer to skip linen sheets, I like Brooklinen’s cotton sheets. They are only sold online so they can bring factory direct pricing, which means higher quality sheets at a lower price. I also like Overstock.com. I tried Boll And Branch sheets, which are also factory direct, but I’m not a fan. The fitted sheets don’t have enough elastic and are constantly working their way off the mattress.

• Pinstripe linen sheets by Parachute (top sheet can be purchased separately).

3. Add Pillows (Not Too Many)

If you put a million decorative throw pillows in your bedroom, it looks nice but going to bed can become a chore. It’s a cycle of putting pillows on and and taking pillows off. I think it’s good to have two sleeping pillows plus 2-4 other accent pillows, but no more.

It looks nice if you can have a mix of fabrics and patterns on your pillows and a variety of sizes. My personal preference for pillow design is two standard king sleeping pillows, two larger Euro pillows and a long lumbar pillow are a good combination of sizes and heights.

My favorite resources for accent bed pillows are Target, West Elm, Etsy and PB Teen (which can be less expensive than Pottery Barn).

4. Layer of Blankets, Quilts and A Duvet Cover

One of the things that stands out in bedroom photos you see in magazines is that the bedding has multiple layers of blankets, coverlets, quilts and duvet covers. You don’t have to have all four to have a luxury bed, but more than one is a good idea.

A duvet can be a great design idea for a luxury bed because it adds a really comfy look, but only if you live in a climate where you can stand to sleep underneath it. If you live in a warm climate be sure to get a cool sleeping duvet (which they carry at IKEA) instead of down. See my secret for how to put on a duvet cover here.

A great way to achieve the layered look is to use multiple, thin layers. Several thin blankets are also much easier to wash than one bulky comforter. I always have at least one white coverlet or quilt because it can be bleached. White on a bed keeps it feeling fresh and clean.

I love the weight of matelasse coverlets, too. Matelasse is pronounced mat-la-zay, which makes no sense. It’s a great top layer because it’s very easy to wash and is a great weight for the summer. It’s lighter than a quilt because it has no filling. It’s also washable and you can layer a blanket underneath or on top for winter.

5. Padded Headboard

If you don’t do anything in bed other than sleep, or other horizontal activities, you can skip a padded headboard. I like to read in bed and nothing beats a padded headboard for both a soft, lush looking bed and a cozy feel.

Padded headboards can also be very inexpensive. You can get a custom fabric on Wayfair for $189. A custom headboard added is one DIY project that is doable even if you aren’t very handy. Check out this great DIY padded headboard tutorial.

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• West Elm padded headboard (easy installation because you don’t have to bolt to the wall)
• Wayfair Beachcrest Padded Headboard – a steal!

If you prefer not to use a padded headboard, be sure there is some kind of headboard or bed frame behind the bed. A mattress pushed up against the wall doesn’t spell luxury. You can use a four poster bed, an iron headboard or a wood headboard. If you don’t have some type of furniture the bed just doesn’t look complete. You can even put a wall of curtains behind the bed or paint the wall a different color in the shape of a headboard.

How Do I Style My Bed Like A Hotel?

First, follow steps one to five above. To make it look and feel like the high-end hotels there is one additional step. This is only something I do only for guests, but it really adds that extra something special. Here’s the secret – iron the pillow cases.

I don’t iron anything on my own bed, but it really looks fancy and makes you feel special if you have the time to iron your pillow cases. If the top sheet looks really wrinkled because you left it in the dryer all day (this is what I do), press the top border of your top sheet, too.

How Do You Dress A Luxury Bed?

Once you choose all of the bedding, headboard, pillows etc., you are ready to create a magazine worthy bed with these easy steps.

• Get your bed skirt or box spring cover in place.
• Make the bed but pull the flat sheet up to the very top of the bed
• Put on the first blanket and then the second.
• Fold back the top sheet and both blankets to reveal all the layers. Pull them back past where your pillows will go.
• Put the tallest pillows in the back moving forward in order of height.
• Add another blanket throw at the end of the bed.

You can see how this formula is used in this bed from Schoolhouse.com on the left and in my bed on the right.

• West Elm padded headboard (easy installation because you don’t have to bolt to the wall)
• Wayfair Beachcrest Padded Headboard – a steal!

If you prefer not to use a padded headboard, be sure there is some kind of headboard or bed frame behind the bed. A mattress pushed up against the wall doesn’t spell luxury. You can use a four poster bed, an iron headboard or a wood headboard. If you don’t have some type of furniture the bed just doesn’t look complete. You can even put a wall of curtains behind the bed or paint the wall a different color in the shape of a headboard.

How Do I Style My Bed Like A Hotel?

First, follow steps one to five above. To make it look and feel like the high-end hotels there is one additional step. This is only something I do only for guests, but it really adds that extra something special. Here’s the secret – iron the pillow cases.

I don’t iron anything on my own bed, but it really looks fancy and makes you feel special if you have the time to iron your pillow cases. If the top sheet looks really wrinkled because you left it in the dryer all day (this is what I do), press the top border of your top sheet, too.

• Striped Diamond Ticking quilt
• Winter and Summer Cotton Coverlet

How Can I Make My Bed Fluffy?

You can create a more fluffy bed by adding these two steps. First, under your fitted sheet, add a mattress cover that is thick. Overstock and Wayfair both carry down mattress covers for less than $100. This will give your mattress that soft, cushy look and feel. Be sure you get deep pocket fitted sheets that are large enough for the extra inches.

Second, be sure to use a duvet with a thicker insert. Down has the fullest look, but not everyone can handle a down blanket.

Try out these tips on your bed and see if you get the luxurious look. Once you do it once, it’s easy to remake it the next time, if you feel like getting up at all.