How to Make a Luxury Bed

Make your bed at home look and feel like the luxury bed at a 5-star hotel.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• feather bed
• mattress pad
• one fitted and two flat sheets
• down blanket
• duvet and cover
• Two down pillows and two hypo-allergenic pillows
• Four pillow protectors
• Four pillow cases or two shams and two cases
• One boudoir pillow
• Optional - bed skirt

1. The hotel's luxury bed starts with a high-quality firm mattress. If you're in the market for a new mattress, by all means buy the best mattress you can afford. But you can still make a luxury bed with the mattress you have.

2. A feather bed is the next item you need. This is a soft layer of down designed to lie on top of the mattress to make it softer and more comfortable.

3. Next you need a decent mattress pad. Its main purpose is to protect the bed from dust, spills and stains but some mattress pads are also filled with down or polyfill which adds another layer of softness.

4. Sheets. For a super soft luxury bed, you'll need one fitted sheet and two flat sheets. Buy the best quality sheets you can. Try to find those with a high thread count--the higher the number, the softer the sheets. Egyptian or supima cotton, or cotton sateen are also very soft.

5. You'll also need a blanket. For the luxury bed, choose down or a down alternative blanket with a 100% cotton cover in a high thread count. A down blanket makes your bed plush and cushy without a lot of weight.

6. Next you'll want a duvet. A duvet is a soft flat bag enclosing a quilt or poly insert. This will be our comforter, the top layer of the bed.

7. 
    

   To complete your super soft bed, you'll need four pillows. Make sure that two of them are big enough to span the width of your bed when placed side by side. You'll also need pillow protectors to keep them clean and of course, pillow cases that match your bed linen.
   
   Or consider buying pillow shams-decorative pillow covers that typically aren't meant to be slept on-for two pillows, and regular cases for the others.

8. Finally, you'll need a bolster pillow, sometimes called a budoir pillow. This is a long round pillow that served primarily as a decoration.

9. Optional - a bedskirt. A bedskirt hangs over the box springs to the floor to conceals the outside of the box springs and hides that stuff under your bed (dust bunnies, old copies of National Geographic, and a lurking monster or two).
   A bedskirt contributes nothing toward the all important comfort factor but does make the bed look sharp and well appointed.

10. 
     

    Now it's time to make your bed.
    1. First put the feather bed in the center of the mattress.
    2. Cover the feather bed and mattress with the mattress pad.
    3. Now put on the fitted sheet.
    4. Next comes the top sheet.
    5. Then add some warmth - the down blanket.
    6. Next is a layer you might not expect-another top sheet goes over the down blanket.
    7. To make it look luxurious, inviting and tidy, fold down all these layers to reveal the lower sheet then tuck everything in.
    8. Now add the duvet cover with the duvet inside.
    9. Finally, the pillows. Stand two pillows up against the headboard side by side. Against them, prop up the two other pillows with cases.
    Finally, place the boudoir pillow against the others in the middle of the bed.
    Voila! Your luxury bed is ready.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your Sunday newspaper for a discount coupon for the local kitchen, bed and bath store. The store in my area offers a coupon good for 20% off any one item. That's a big help.
• You can get a feather bed in a polyester fiberfill version (although I guess that's technically not a feather bed) which may not be quite as soft but is certainly more affordable. Or try a foam mattress topper such as an 'egg crate' type, also inexpensive.
• The advantage of a duvet is that the outer cover protects the inner quilt and can be easily cleaned separately.
• Don't be confused when buying a duvet and cover. In the U.S., some retailers refer to a duvet when it's really just a duvet cover - the outer covering only. Be sure to get both a cover and an insert.

Resources

• Westin Hotel Heavenly Bed

[annajacobs]

on 11/14/2008 I had never heard of a "feather bed" before. I'll definitely be getting one of those.

[MIghtyDreamer]

on 8/11/2008 I tell you one thing, after getting all this together, I'd be ready for the bed for one reason or the other. The ideas are tantalizing though. :)

[Psalmist4M]

on 8/9/2008 And there's noting like a wonderfully plush clean bed! It's like a glimpse of heaven. 5*s