Hey! So, it's now undeniably cold, and I've been thinking about making a tutorial of *sorts*, or at least a set of tips, about this for a while now. When I first moved in, my focus was on making a cosy pretty bed, because when your main space is your bedroom, I feel like how it looks and feels makes a big difference. Especially now it's cold and my flatmates are curbing my central heating usage (our first bill came and everyone is freaking out) the focus is definitely on being nice and warm.
My first choice was a super-king size quilt for my humble double bed. For me there is nothing worse than having your pretty room ruined by seeing all the ugly under-bed storage. It's also fantastic for being able to wrap yourself up in.
Layers: Another thing I hate is beds with just the duvet on. They make me think of uni halls and little kids Ben Ten bed covers. In my - potentially snobby - opinion you need at least one eiderdown (throw/blanket/etc) Not only does it make your bed look way more 'made' but all those layers keep me a lot warmer than one thick duvet which is only about 4 or 5 tog. I fell in love with my smaller, floral throw in a charity shop and after washing it thoroughly, I like to drape it haphazardly over the top of my bed to stop it looking so formally 'made' - often times just pulling the duvet up and re-fluffing the cushions makes it look more inviting than having every blanket perfectly aligned. Not only blankets, but I feel it's important to layer cushions and pillows. I like a minimum of four pillows on a double bed and when I moved in I bought a brand new set - one set for sleeping, one set to look pretty. I think 'lots of cushions' goes without saying.
I do take one tip from hotels, or maybe just Americans - I feel like this is a more american approach to bedding, going by Pinterest and what I see in movies. I like to have a loose, un-elasticated sheet over my elasticated sheet to sleep under as well as my duvet. It keeps the duvet clean, is easy to wash and adds another layer against the cold.
Tk Maxx is your friend - I know there's some hate for this store, and honestly in the clothes section I tend to agree - I feel like the place is supplemented with cheaply produced 'outlet' items such as the 'Mod Box' section - but you can't deny the wonders of the 'home' section. They have so many thing there that I honestly can't think where else I would even look for them and it generally isn't expensive. I've requested a faux fur throw for my birthday because they have racks of beautiful ones, and I bought my green eiderdown and my new pillows from there.
Finally, fairy lights - I will forever sing the praises of fairy lights - I've had them in my home my whole life, I had them at uni and I will have them for the rest of time! I love them outside of Christmas. I've talked before about levels of lighting before and when it gets dark I like to put a lamp and my fairy lights on for cosiness. I keep them over my bed so I can switch them off as i'm going to sleep.
I hope this post didn't seem too puerile and self congratulatory, and that maybe someone gleaned something useful from it! My bed is one of the prettiest parts of my room so I wanted to talk about it and hopefully give someone some homey inspiration.
