Making a bed is like tying your shoelaces: something you’re taught to do at an early age that quickly becomes almost second nature, a force of habit. And yet beds offer so many different options regarding sheets, duvets, pillows, size and so on, so we asked our favourite designers for their philosophies on the delicate art of bed-making. Here’s what they told us.
Daniel Slowik
I've always preferred the look of sheets and blankets with a a quilt or similar over the end of the bed, you can adapt this slightly though for modern life by having a duvet covered fully with a bed spread and a flat sheet beneath the duvet turned back over the bedspread - you can then still have your quilt over the foot and it produces the a traditional effect. Tidy but with the opportunity of colour and pattern. Sheets for me are best being white linen as a foil to the rest.
Benedict Foley
I've always rather loved the sort of fitted bedcovers you get on state beds – think the green velvet bed at Houghton or Lady Ballie's bed at Leeds Castle. It can be visually rather effective having a very flat bed and a bolster in the same fabric as the bed cover if you have a small space and you might need to press your bedroom into being a reception room as well at times! Chuck the duvet and pillows in drawers under the bed.
Daniel is quite strict about cushions on beds, but I love them as I often read or write emails in my bedroom in the afternoon – on bed not in bed. Having cushions to prop you up is an old established practice and although people were shorter mostly in the past, early beds are short not for that reason but because people slept half propped up as they thought it had health benefits. Never miss the opportunity to have a favourite pattern as a bed cushion or three!
Lonika Chande
I like to have two square pillows at the back, one on each side of the bed, this makes if extra comfortable if, like me, you like to sit up and read in bed, and then two rectangular pillows on each side, as the regular pillows. I prefer goose down for the pillows and duvet. It’s both light, and warm. I feel the cold at night, and find it cosy, without being heavy.
I like white cotton bed linen best. I get mine from Cologne and Cotton. I find that it washes well and doesn’t fall apart. I always choose pillowcases with an Oxford edge. I love ironed bed linen. I get that this is a luxury, but it makes me feel vaguely put together no matter what sort of day I’m having. Plus, there is nothing quite like crawling into your own bed with freshly ironed sheets.
I cover the bed with a bedspread, to cover the expanse of white, and dress the end of the bed with a throw or a colourful kantha quilt. I have built up a collection of these in recent years, so switch them up when I fancy a change.
Rita Konig
I love silk duvets; they are lovely to sleep in once you get used to how light they are. They make up like blankets so you can achieve that lovely old-fashioned bed look without the bother of three blankets. Gingerlily make beautiful ones. I have a feather topper on the bed, which is from Soak & Sleep. Soak & Sleep also do great duvets.
I always like to have at least two pillows. It's nice to have a square one because it's nice to sit up in bed with a big pillow behind you. The square pillow can be slightly firmer than others, but the standard pillow that you sleep on should be the best you can afford. I think that Siberian goose down is the best.
The square pillows are in 'Violettes Pink' pillowcases from Porthault, which I absolutely love. They have an incredible sale twice a year at the Porthault in New York and I always try and stock up. The pillows at the back with the pretty pink undulating edge are also from Porthault, but the Monogrammed Linen Shop on Walton Street, London also does similar ones. The other sheets on the bed are an amazingly soft percale with very fine embroidery.
Angelica Squire
Whilst I haven’t yet tried a full silk bed set, I do really, really love a silk pillowcase. I think it makes such a difference to cotton or linen, which can sometimes feel a little scratchy on one’s face. I’m also a duvet not a blankets girl, but for real luxury I find that adding in a high thread count sheet between yourself and the duvet feels hugely decadent and extra sumptuous. It does make for harder work when making the bed up but boy is it worth it if you can be bothered.
Philip Hooper
Nothing beats a well-made bed. I always sleep best when I snuggle down into freshly laundered sheets and pillows. I remember returning to London after my first trip travelling in India and the feeling of utter bliss of finding brand new sheets on my bed, having made it up four weeks previously. They were blue, heavy cambric cotton bought from Liberty several years before Ralph Lauren started making similar ones. That started my addiction to smart linen.
Our American cousins make up brilliant beds, they are like sleeping in a cloud. Monogrammed pillows stacked three high, down mattress topper, comforter, crisp sheets and a blanket. My preferences are at home are similar. I have three pillows, one down, one sheep’s wool (it’s cooler) and one large square one for propping up and reading, mattress topper and a sheep wool mattress, sheets and pillowcases are nearly always linen with a ladder stitch detail as I love the feel of it.
High count cotton is ok but don’t pick too high a thread count. Pillows need to be sized to the bed, regular pillows never work on a large bed so buy extra long king size ones. I made the mistake of thinking that a set with corded edges and a thousand count would be the ultimate in luxury but unfortunately high thread count equals shiny and you end up slipping out of bed, it’s like sleeping in an ice rink.
I do love a top sheet below a duvet, it looks smarter when the sheet is folded over at the top and allows you on warm nights to throw the duvet off and sleep under a sheet. I always needs to be cocooned in something. Pillowcases should be the Oxford type, either with a corded detail or ladder stitch. I am not a fan of fancy details and contrasting colours, although C&C Milano used to do a version with a coloured blanket stitch I liked and Tomasz Starzewski is working with Moroccan embroiders producing the most sublime cross stitch patterns. Smaller pillows can be monogrammed, I quite like that, although if doing the main pillows put the monogram in a corner otherwise its embossed on your face in the morning! Decorative pillows are a must. I like to bring the room’s colours back with a few well-chosen examples. Not so sure on counterpanes, the jury is out. I love American beds without, probably because everything on show is newly pressed, whereas at home a light bed cover normally hides the crumpled linen.
Nina Campbell
I like to sleep on a relatively hard mattress, with a silk filled mattress topper from Gingerlily on top. It feels like you're sleeping on a cloud, and you sink into it but are still held. I know you don't see it, but it is the comfort that counts.
I used to really dislike duvets and was the eiderdown and blankets sort. But they are now light as a feather. So many people don't know about hospital corners, and fitted sheets are a good, safe option. They keep everything in place. There is nothing nicer than pure high thread count cotton. I like white linen, but it can be nice to have a little coloured embroidery, which ties in with the palette of the room. I love the 'Spring' range from the Monogrammed Linen Shop.
I like to put a lavender bag on top of the pillows when guests stay. It encourages sleep and is soothing.
Emma Burns
When it comes to mattresses, buy the best you can possibly afford. A firm mattress, with a feather bed topper works well.
I'm a sheets and blankets person. I really hate duvets and think you should only use them on bunkbeds when you cannot possibly make the bed up with sheets and blankets. A nice cashmere blanket is lovely; Simon Playle sells blankets by French manufacturer Brun de Vian-Tiran, which are super luxurious.
For sheets, I like white linen, but colourful linen can work well. For crisp organic cotton percale sheets, I like Gayle Warwick. I also love Volga Linen. Merci in Paris do some beautiful soft rose linen sheets, which are ravishing.
In terms of pillows, people tend to all have very different views. Personally, I like to use a soft, full down top pillow from Duxiana and a firm latex under pillow from John Lewis.
Tiffany Duggan
I love a lumbar, especially on a bed. Lumbar cushions have always been part of our repertoire; in fact, our Le Manach lumbar has been with us since TROVE’s launch in 2019. There’s something a bit more relaxed about one low-slung cushion as opposed to three or four smaller cushions vying for attention - not to mention the time saved making the bed each day! They offer excellent support for reading and can also be used like a pregnancy pillow to offer better natural spine positioning.
Sarah Stewart-Smith
I like to use good quality, pure cotton sheets with a high thread count. The White Company and The Linen Press do perfectly good ones. The Ghost range at The Linen Press is wonderful.
It may seem obvious, but when you wash your sheets, don't ever mix colours. Always wash white with white. Otherwise, sheets can become a tired grey colour. Antique linen is absolutely wonderful - try and find some. France is full of it. I always buy a piece of linen whenever I can and make it into the top of a bedspread. I like to put slightly quilted bedspread on my bed. It should be big enough to fall down over the edge. I love the combination of natural linen sheets with a silk or velvet bedspread.
The idea of my bed not having a good airflow horrifies me; I always fold the bedspread and duvet back in half so that the mattress has air at all times.
