Want the designer look in your bedroom? Marissa Waddell shares some of her key considerations for styling a bed and developing a striking pillow story in the bedroom.
How was your weekend? We were bombarded with rain, so all outside projects were put on hold until it dries up a bit. However, it did allow me to focus on organizing my office for a while and I’m getting close to having it just the way I want it. Those of you who have been asking about my office closet makeover, I promise you will see the after photos soon. Between our basement renovation, the Outdoor Extravaganza and wrapping up client projects before summer holidays, that particular project took a back seat. I’m sure some of you can relate!
A while back, I stumbled upon a clever visual on Pinterest for arranging pillows on a bed. After tracking down the source, I discovered that Marissa from Marissa Waddell Interiors and Roost was the creator and I asked if she would share some tips for styling a bed. Thankfully she agreed, so here goes…
Styling a Bed
One of my favorite decorating duties is to pick out and arrange pillows. There are literally a million ways to style pillows on a bed! I made this little cheat sheet of my 10 favorite ways… but how do I decide which one to use? That decision process is usually three steps for me:
1. How big is the bed?
King-size beds usually require arrangements with two or three big Euro pillows. Queen-size beds can handle standard or Euro arrangements. Most of these arrangements work for twin-size beds, too– just half the number of pillows (round down for odd numbers).
2. Is there a headboard?
The height and visual weight of the headboard have a big influence on which arrangement is most appropriate. Typically, the bigger the headboard, the bigger the pillow arrangement.
3. Reality check.
Thank you, Marissa! Your cheat sheet for styling a bed is super handy and I love that you consider both form and function in your pillow selection process.
So, do you keep it simple and paired down or do you like a bed full of pillows? I’d love to know.
Enjoy your day!
Caryl Lyons says
I’m #1 on the Euro side. I’m liking the standard side to though. Might need to change things up a little bit. Thanks for sharing.
Sheila @SZInteriors says
Love my pillows on the bed! I’m one of ‘those’ gals ;-) And I do take the time every day to place them on the bed nicely… but I have to say, there are ‘those’ day that make me wonder what it would be like to slip on over to the simpler side of pillows-on-the-bed life! Thanks for sharing Marissa’s cheat sheet with us!
Shauna Oberg says
I have those days too. We have quite a few pillows and I like how inviting they make the bed look, but they can be a pain too!
Terri Petrovits says
After 15 years of arranging pillows on beds & shams, shams, shams, in our B&B, I’m at a point where I think I want to remove the shams, possibly even go with a variation on your #1 standard arrangement. Am I shooting myself in the foot? Are shams absolutely necessary, or should I simply add a few pillows?I like multiple pillows on the beds, we use 4 sleeping pillows on each bed along with a couple more on some, not so many on others. Your comments are really appreciated!