9 Ways To Make Your Bed Like A Professional Interior Stylist

Here at Rockett St George, we make it our mission to inspire creativity and personal expression through interiors – and we apply this to everything, even the most everyday tasks.

Like making the bed, for instance. 

It sounds so...mundane, doesn’t it? 

But a beautifully-made bed can transform your space from being just the room you sleep in to a calm and tranquil sanctuary that stills the body and soothes the mind. 

Fresh, crisp bed linen, plump pillows and an artfully placed throw are easy ways to create a bedscape worthy of the most exclusive of boutique hotels, and inspire joy every time you look at it. 

But it’s more than that. 

By making your bed in the morning, you’re setting your intention for the day.  You're starting it in an organised, clear way so that no matter what the next 12 hours throws at you, you know you’ll be coming back to a calm and cosy space that will help you drift off into a deep and restorative sleep. 

So how to achieve the bed of your dreams? 

It’s a question we get asked a lot. And we have to say, having made a few beds in our time (our own, our children’s and countless beds on interiors shoots), we consider ourselves something of an authority on this subject. That’s right - we’ve wrestled the duvet covers and ironed the sheets so you don’t have to (OK, you might have to iron your own sheets). 

And now we’ve whittled down what we’ve learned into the pearls of wisdom we’re about to share with you here, so give them a whirl. 

We promise you won’t be disappointed.  

When it comes to bedding, the old adage is true – you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to bed linen.

Good quality sheets (at least 200 thread count) will not only look better and feel nicer to sleep in, they’ll last longer too. 

When it comes to duvets and pillows, you’ll know already whether you prefer duck feather, goose down or a synthetic filling – just bear in mind that while synthetics rarely match feather or down in terms of ‘loft’ (puffiness), they can be better for temperature control. 

As well as pillowcases, a fitted sheet (this goes on the bottom) and a flat sheet (the one that goes on top of the fitted sheet but under the duvet), you might also have a fine wool blanket and a mattress protector – this adds comfort and extends the lifetime of your mattress. 

A solid foundation is where every fabulous bedscape starts. 

Fit your mattress protector and then layer your fitted sheet tightly over the top, making sure it’s tucked around and under each corner of the mattress equally. 

Smooth out any wrinkles or creases for a neat and tidy appearance.

Layer the flat sheet over the fitted sheet, ensuring it’s evenly spread and centered on the bed. 

Don’t forget you’ll need a section of sheet at the top of the bed to fold back, so don’t worry about pulling it down so that you have excess material at the foot.

In colder seasons, we like to add a fine wool blanket – the secret to a professional-looking, super-inviting bed is to create layers with lots of different textures. Again, ensure the blanket is even and centred. 

Iron the top edge of the flat sheet (that is, the bit you can see poking out) then pull it back, fold against the wool blanket and iron again. Sounds a bit OTT? It makes all the difference to the finished look, although we must be honest - we don’t always include this step. However, it’s a lovely finishing touch if you’re making up a bed for visitors, and quite apart from anything else, running a hot iron across freshly-washed sheets smells divine!

After ironing (or not), fold and tuck in the corners of your flat sheet. Fold so that the spare material is on the diagonal (as if you were wrapping a present) and tuck the fold either ‘up’, towards the head of the bed, or down, towards the foot, making sure it’s securely held underneath the mattress. 

This not only creates a neat and tidy fold that the duvet can sit neatly on top of, it feels super-snug when you get into bed, too. 

Put a freshly washed and ironed cover on your duvet. 

Once the cover’s on (and you’ll have your preferred method of wrestling that bad boy into submission), give everything a vigorous shake to make sure the duvet is evenly distributed inside the cover and there’s no bunching (it may also be worth checking inside the cover to make sure it’s free of knickers, socks and other random items of clothing that somehow get themselves stuck in the corners). 

Gently float your now-voluminous duvet down so that it’s evenly centered and spread over the bed, but so that you can see the fold of the sheet over the top of the wool blanket so you have a nice contrast of colours and textures. 

If you’re not using a wool blanket, fold down the top edge of the flat sheet over the duvet to create a decorative cuff or border. 

Smooth out any wrinkles and ensure the fold is even and symmetrical on both sides of the bed.

Arrange your pillows so they’re ‘standing’ (on their longer edge, rather than lying flat) at the head of the bed, starting with the largest pillows at the back and layering smaller pillows in front. 

Most of our pillows are the same size, so we cheat the illusion of larger ones by using a mixture of Oxford and housewife pillowcases. 

Both take the same size pillows, but Oxfords have a border (typically 5cm-10cm) that makes the pillow look larger, while the housewife styles have a sewn edge and fit neatly to the pillow. 

Use the Oxford pillowcases at the back and the housewives at the front to create the illusion of scale.

If you’re going for throw cushions, too, put these in front of the pillows at the front, plump up and then gently make a little ‘dint’ in the centre of each with the side of your hand.

 Symmetry is your friend here. 

How you style your throw is totally up to you. 

Some people (ahem - Lucy) like to literally ‘throw’ it across the end of the bed to create a perfectly imperfect finish to an otherwise immaculate bed. 

Others (Jane) prefer symmetry all the way, and fold the throw so that it’s a neat rectangle stretched out across the end of the bed. 

Some days you may feel more Lucy; others Jane. It’s completely your call – as we like to say here at RSG, your home, your rules.

Take a few moments to smooth out any wrinkles, adjust the bedding as needed, and ensure everything is perfectly aligned.

Pay attention to details like tucking in loose ends and making sure there are no labels on show. 

The key to a luxuriously styled bed is layers – different textures and patterns are interesting to both the eye and the touch.

 This technique is also great for temperature control – you’ll likely need all your layers, plus your duvet, in winter, while in the summer you can probably get away with a sheet and blanket (because you’re hot stuff, y’know). 

And there you have it – your perfectly made bed. 

There are (many) variations on this theme, but this is the tried and tested method that works for us, and it’s quick and easy once you’ve done it a few times. 

You're so welcome.