Some of you might remember that my hubby bought a gorgeous furniture set as my Christmas present this year. They’re absolutely beautiful with turned legs and plenty of detail… just look at that headboard! Of course the best part about new beds is new bedding! I absolutely love a great quilt of fluffy bedspread… and since this was the first piece into the new room I could really work with a blank canvas. Which means I could pick anything I wanted!
So how do you pick the perfect bedding when the options are unlimited?
With these 5 tips!
Tip 1: Quilt, Comforter or Duvet
The first step is to decide which bedspread is right for you: quilt, comforter or duvet! At the end of the day all three are very similar but there are a few things to take into consideration.
We live in the south y’all… so a full down comforter would be absolute misery 9 months out of the year! If you live in a warmer climate a thinner quilt might be just the ticket, while a thick comforter or duvet would be perfect for those snowy temperatures. In high school I lived in Colorado… y’all I had a comforter, a quilt, 2 blankets and a sheet and I was still cold! Remember where you live and what the night temperatures are like before investing in your perfect bedding. Climate matters!
Just remember… a colder climate doesn’t always mean thicker bedding. Think about whether you like to sleep in layers or if you’d rather have one big duvet. My hubby loves to start with all of the blankets on… but by the end of the night he’s kicked off all but the final sheet! He would be absolutely miserable with a duvet cover that contains all of the layers in one. If your sleeper loves layers a thick comforter might be too much… try several layers (like a knitted blanket and a quilt) that make up for the warmth of a comforter without the one large layer.
On the other hand if you love being warm but hate the feeling of a sheet, blanket and quilt try a duvet cover. Most duvets can be used without a sheet and you can always add an extra blanket inside the cover if you’re still cold! I know friends who love duvets… because of how clean and neat they look. One large duvet prevents having sloppy blankets that stick out at all different angles… there’s something to be said for one big neat duvet package! 😉
After you’ve thought about your climate… think about your washer. More importantly think about your dryer! Not all washers and dryers are created equal my friend, you may want to take your itty bitty efficiency mashing machine into consideration before you purchase that extra thick king size comforter set! Just this morning a friend of mine (a co-worker friend) was talking about how much laundromats hadn’t changed… because she recently spent her entire afternoon at the local laundromat in order to clean her bedding!
No bueno!
At the end of the day we decided on a quilt since they’re easy to wash, easy to layer and are perfect for the hot weather down here in LA (lower Alabama, baby!).
Bonus Tip: If you’re outfitting your guest room (like I am) opt for a quilt that you can layer with lots of blankets… that way your guests can pick how warm they’d like to be!
See! Extra blanket! *wink wink*
Of course after thinking about all of the technical aspects we get to the fun part… which ones the prettiest!
Tip 2: Working with Color
Once you’ve narrowed it down to which type of bedding you’d like it’s time to pick color! This is the fun part… at least for me! 😉
I love to take into consideration the entire color palette of the room before deciding on the perfect bedding. Really once you’ve looked at the palette there’s only two ways to go… with the color palette or with a pop of color!
In my case my beds are sage and cream… and I’m still going ahead with the pop of navy! With two strong colors my color palette really could only handle neutrals … and it was easy to decide on a grey to match the rug I had rolled up in the other room! So my final color palette is sage, navy, cream and grey.
If you’re working with your color palette (like I am) think about what other elements you have in your room. If the rest of the room is neutral (like my bedroom) you may want a bit of color on the bed. In this scenario I would have picked either sage or navy for the bed. However if your room is like mine (with the furniture being the main color: sage) try sticking with a common neutral like white, beige, brown, grey or black.
If you’ve decided to take a turn west from the color palette and go with a contrasting pop of color try picking a color exactly opposite from your palette. In this scenario I would have taken my sage color and picked a color directly across the color wheel… like purple! Check out the darling little girls room below the color wheel… she uses mauve and green to show you just how beautiful complimentary colors can be!
Tip 3: Pattern
Alright y’all… after color it’s time to talk about pattern. My basic rule of thumb here is simple: if you have pattern everywhere else in the room… pick a solid bedspread.
If you have smooth furnishings with no pattern… pick a patterned bedspread!
Pretty simple right? Just remember that solid doesn’t have to mean boring! There are plenty of bedspreads with gorgeous texture or quilts with amazing stitching. Texture always adds visual interest so if you’re going with a solid option try adding a little something something in the texture department.
Of course if you’re sitting on the other fence I have a few tips to help you pick a fabulous pattern! Remember to take scale into consideration… larger pattern is calmer while a tiny pattern is a bit busier. Likewise try to stick with the time period of the piece… if you’re decorating an antique cast iron bed a super modern duvet with a geometric print might not be the best choice! There’s always room to play and no rule is set in stone but try to pick a pattern that makes sense with the timeline of the furniture pieces. Damask, paisley and toile are great for an antique bed while geometric patterns, stripes or color blocking might be better for a more modern headboard.
If you have an older bed (like I do) but don’t want a toile bedspread (or giant flowers) try a damask or paisley with a bit of a modern flare. If you’re working with a modern bed but love a pattern that speaks to the past try picking a more traditional pattern with modern colors!
Of course once you’ve picked your pattern make sure it mixes well with your sheets, curtains, rugs and other textiles in the room! Remember when in doubt pick one large pattern, one medium and one small! Take a look at how the filigree of my quilt mixes with the circles on the pillowcase and the stripes on the bed… they’re not identical but they all work together!
Check out this post if you want to know more about pattern!
Tip 4: Buying Online
Sometimes you’ve gone over every item on your checklist, you know exactly what you want, you’ve hit every single store… and you just can’t find what you want! Or maybe you live in the middle of nowhere (we’re an hour and a half from the closest TJMaxx *shutter*) and getting to a store takes way too much effort!
It’s these times that buying online becomes a must for just about everything! I took to the internet to find my perfect bedding and you can too!
Just remember to pick a site with clear, gorgeous pictures and a great reputation! From there browse, browse, browse! Send your hubby pictures… then after realizing he knows absolutely nothing about picking out bedding re-evaluate and send them to your Mom.
Ahhh… much better!
*wink*
The best part about shopping online is you can easily enter all of your criteria in the search bar… after going through all the steps above I knew I wanted a grey twin quilt with a medium size semi-traditional pattern. Just look at the results page when I put that information into the search bar on BeddingStyle.com Do you spy the quilt set I ended up with?
Forget hours worth of frustrating shopping… I’ve automatically found 16 quilts that fit my criteria and I didn’t have to waste valuable shopping time to do it! Now the next time I find myself with a shopping day I don’t have to go store to store looking at quilts… I’m free to see what kind of damage I can get into on the clearance aisle!
You never know what you can find there!
Tip 5: The it Factor
Of course after everything is said and done sometimes there’s a bed-set with the it factor. You know what I mean… it’s the set that despite all of the rules and advice you just have to have! You’ve left the store thinking about it (or clutching it to your chest refusing to put it down for even one second in case someone takes it) and are still thinking about it later that night.
At the end of the day, go with what you love!
You can always design the rest of the room around the bedding!
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