How to Dress a Bed

Making your bed is one of life’s little pleasures. Whether it’s a quick tuck in the morning before work or a careful picking out of colours and cushions for a new style, there’s nothing like stepping back and revelling in how beautiful your room looks with the bed made.

It’s good for you too! Making your bed in the morning means that, even if you achieve nothing else, you’ve completed that one task, giving you a sense of pride and productivity. It lowers the clutter level in your bedroom, making you feel more relaxed too.

Dressing a bed, styling it, making it beautiful, giving it that chateau feel… it’s something of an artform. We’re guiding you through each step to ensure you can dress your French bed the way it (and you!) deserve. 

The Fitted Sheet

Whether you prefer silk sheets, high thread count cotton sheets, or lavender-scented for the perfect night of restful sleep, a good fitted sheet is a necessity. Opt for plain sheets in a high thread count for optimum comfort.

The Duvet

While the duvet doesn’t strictly come under the “dressing” of a bed, it forms an important part of the way your bed looks aesthetically; an inviting bed is often accompanied by a fluffy duvet.

Your duvet should match the season, if you can help it. A winter duvet should have a tog over 10 to keep you feeling delightfully snug, and summer calls for a duvet between 1 and 7 tog to keep you cool but covered. An all-rounder of a 10-tog duvet should keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, if space or budget doesn’t allow seasonal duvets.

When it comes to the filling, you have a choice, natural or synthetic.

The choice of luxury is usually down, because it is filled with fluffy feathers that offer a high level of warmth, and they are lightweight.

Wool, another natural filling, is inherently breathable and moisture wicking, making it an excellent choice for all year. Choose a high-quality wool duvet and you’ll find that dust mites are a thing of the past.

Synthetic fillings don’t sound so luxurious, but for those with allergies, it’s the only choice. Luckily, microfibre fillings are so fine and light that they feel beautifully high quality, so you don’t feel like you’re making any compromise at all. See our luxury, 230 thread count hypoallergenic duvet here.

The Bedding

How you adorn your duvet is important both aesthetically and practically. It sets the tone for dressing your bed and it will lie next to your skin as you sleep, so choose wisely.

Cotton (particularly white cotton) is the ultimate in achieving that hotel feel – there’s nothing like sinking into crisp sheets at the end of the day. All of our cotton bed linen sets are OEKO-TEX certified so that you can sleep soundly, knowing your duvet cover is made from ethically sourced cotton.

Linen gives you more of a relaxed, casual feel, and as a natural fabric its very breathable, and soft too!

Silk is opulence in fabric form. If it’s a decadent experience you want to create, it has to be silk. There’s just no substitute. It also has inherent beauty benefits for both skin and hair. It helps them both retain moisture, keeping your skin soft and your hair shiny. Silk is also a really beautiful fabric to sleep in as its hypoallergenic and breathable.

Styling touches: lay your duvet on the bed so that there’s an even amount hanging over the edges. At the top of the bed, fold down the duvet to leave enough room for your pillows.

The Pillows

The debate over whether the pillows should go under the duvet, or above it, is the wrong question in our eyes. We’re firmly of the opinion that pillows should be above the duvet - it’s a styling moment that shouldn’t be missed! The real question is: should they be stacked or propped up?

It is, as always, a matter of taste: stack them for a laid-back jump-right-in vibe, and prop them up for that sought after hotel elegance.

Styling touches: For a formal feel, layer a square pillow, a standard pillow and an Oxford pillowcase. Your Oxford pillow can be there for pure aesthetics, ensuring your bed looks beautiful.

The Layers

The joy of dressing a bed lies in the layers. Think colour, texture, and seasonality.

In winter, choose chunky knit throws, sumptuous velvets or faux fur to create a rich, snuggly feel. In summer, natural fabrics like linen and cotton are key to staying cool, whilst still giving you the option of another layer for chillier nights.

Styling touches: laying your throws across your bed neatly folded will give your bed a formal look, whereas if you drape your blankets and bedspreads across the corner of your bed, it will cultivate a much more casual feel. If your main concern is warmth, then fold your throw concertina style, and pulling it up in the night is easy.

The Cushions

The last flourish of a bed well-made is the cushions. Mix and match different cushions for a fun modern look (keeping it colour or style-co-ordinated, of course), go for formal matching pairs for a hotel vibe, or layer patterns to go with your maximalist bedroom.

The cushions are the place where you can really show your personality. Patterns, graphic prints, slogans, or pom poms, faux fur and fringing. The world is your oyster!

Styling touches: even numbers of cushions come across quite formal, where an odd number is playful. Five is the most we’d recommend.

Bed Styling Tips

For a Formal, but Luxurious Bed

If it’s a high-end hotel feel that you want for your bed, then white sheets with a pop of colour in your layers and cushions will give you exactly that. Oxford pillows with starched edges propped up with two matching cushions placed in front exude formality – even if your cushions are a bit zany!

For a Dark and Dramatic Bed

Whether your bed is the crowning glory of your bedroom or it’s just another piece of the maximalist jigsaw you’re creating, a dark pattern paired with vibrant colours and intriguing textures is the perfect way to create drama.

For a French Feminine Bed

Pale, washed out shades and light layers are key. Whether it’s blush pink, white or ivory, add texture in with broderie anglaise, ruffles or pom poms to keep it in the French country chateau style. Go for a little more opulence with silk bedding and quilted bedspreads, topped off with soft textured cushions.

For a Grown-Up Princess Bed

Pair rich fabrics, jewel tones and extravagant adornments for the perfect fairy tale bed of your dreams. Think four poster bed, velvet in emerald green, teal and pink, and playful fringing and pom poms. Pile those cushions high, add a faux fur throw in too and enjoy feeling like a princess.