Perk Up Your Bedding’s Personality

Lauded New York designer Laura Bohn famously said, “I am always looking for a blend of surprise mixed with an invitation to comfort.”

She completely echoes my philosophy that mixing in our homes is the key to personal, welcoming, sensational interiors. This is nowhere more relevant than in our bedrooms, which ought to be our favorite and most inviting spaces. But do you labor and hesitate and perspire over all the bedding choices out there before finally throwing in the towel and settling for a “bed in a bag”?

If you want to mix your linens in a way that allows your bedroom to tell your story, share your taste and tickle your imagination, here are some ideas to help you do just that.

A classic and almost foolproof basic is a white duvet cover. It allows you to indulge your whims at will, while never going out of style.

This bedroom brings white from elemental to high fashion through a graphic mix of patterned and solid pillows in shades of black and gray. The stunning wallpaper doesn’t hurt a bit, either.


For those of you who have fingers poised over your keyboard waiting to comment on how much you hate piles of pillows on your bed, this is for you. The classic white bedspread is striking with its minimalist black bolsters, but do you see what makes this work so well? Yup — that awesome black and white horse on the wall. (Note: Your bedding choice should be augmented and enhanced by whatever you choose to display behind or over your bed.)


Minimalists will love this as well: simply two pillows per bed, one solid and one graphic, but in a rich color that repeats the area rug and memorably warms the room.


What a remarkable demonstration that simple and simply mixed can be just right. The wool blanket not only nods to the design of the room, but keeps the straightforward white bedding from looking sterile, Plus, what’s not to love about a bed that looks good unmade?


OK, enough of white. Consider this statement on how to casually but effectively mix linens using color. The linear striped sheet beautifully enhances the patterned spread, while the stool adds yet another pair of patterns. The solid-blue throw pillows hold this design together.


Again, a linear pattern — this time in a bold color and stripe — provides the anchor to a bedding scheme. A different and softer stripe married to muted florals completes the look. This color palette could have come straight from a rose garden, and it is just as romantic.


If you are a novice at mixing, take some clues from this bed. Start with the varied scale. The bed features a pair of Euro shams, then scales down to a pair of queen shams, then a pair of bolsters and finally the accent pillow — which in this case is a happy lion. (Don’t you want to know the story behind that?) This is the classic approach to dressing a bed if you are an “I love pillows no matter the hassle” person.

The patterns are classic in approach as well: a mix of solids, florals and textures. This could be personalized more by mixing in stripes, geometrics and another not-necessarily-smaller-scale floral instead of the matching floral that is currently used on the Euro shams.


Here’s the same approach again, this time slightly more subdued. Why does this work so well? The larger shams do not exactly match the spread, although the coloration is similar. The smaller pair of shams introduces an entirely different color, and the two accent pillows each feature one color from the primary pieces. What do you suppose inspired this unusual, alluring palette?


Take a gander at this lovely floral composition and then scroll back to the bedding in the previous photo. Might its inspiration have been drawn from nature?


You do not, however, have to follow a classic path. Feel perfectly free to just pile on the pillows you love. And don’t let anyone berate you about function. It is your home, and if you don’t mind messing with pillows, that is your privilege — with the caveat that if this is a guest room, you may want to put some pillows away when guests arrive, just to make them more at ease.


Another pillow option is to simply stack them up, larger to smaller. It makes for rather a neatnik look, and if your partner — like mine — sleeps with pillows crammed everywhere, this approach can give all those pillows a home.


An addition that always steps up the comfort in a bedroom is a second duvet (or blanket or quilt) folded or thrown over the end of the bed. In this case the mix is both surprising and engaging. I don’t know if the painting over the bed was the chicken or the egg, but the color of the throw clearly acknowledges its blue, while the zebra bench at the end is the equivalent of the fat lady singing. It’s the touch that says, “We’re done!” Not a thing really matches, but everything seductively harmonizes.


Valentina Ramos Flowers Duvet Cover, Queen - $249 Still uneasy? Let’s do a little demonstration. I’m going to start with this stunning duvet, because I love it and my husband, Mikey, hates it. He would never allow it in our home, so this is the only way I can play with it. Assume we are going to purchase the ensemble (shams and duvet). Buy on Houzz


Queen Striped Sheet Set, Spring Green - $124 I am gong to add striped sheets, in green, blissfully unconcerned that the greens don’t match. After all, think what would happen to nature if the greens everywhere were all the same! Buy on Houzz


La Cozi Hot Pink Duvet Cover Set - $295.95 I think the magenta trim on these shams is perfect for my design, so I am going to add a pair of queen-size ones in front of my floral Euros. I might repeat their design in a duvet folded at the foot of the bed, unless I decide to wait until just the perfect patterned quilt or blanket presents itself. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your bed doesn’t have to be, either. (Deep, huh?)


Standard Sham, Spring Green - $58 This little pillow calls to me, especially as it takes the stripe in a different direction from the stripe on the queen-size shams. Buy on Houzz


Medallion Pillow Euro Sham, Blue/Green - $124 I like this, too! It brings in the blues and adds a bright, ethnic touch. Buy on Houzz


Shams, Apple Green Toile, Set of 2 - $109 I can almost never say no to a toile, so if I were building this bedding scheme, I would absolutely bring home a pillow in this pattern and give it a try. (But I would be sure I could return it if it bombed.) Buy on Houzz


Reversible Pillow, Red/Fuchsia - $44 And I simply cannot lose with this hot pink accent pillow. I am not going to use all these pillows; I’ll end up with the two or three that I love the most.

So there is how I compose a bed. Now, march into your bedroom, take a look at your linens and consider if you are ready to up the personality quotient in your bedding. Have fun!

More: How to Restyle the Foot of Your Bed Buy on Houzz

URL: Perk Up Your Bedding’s Personality http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-22826.html