Whatever is detracting from a cozy and comfortable sleep experience, beautifying your sleeping space starts with making your bed. If all those years of your parents forcing you to make your bed didn’t last through adulthood, we’ve got your back.
Want to learn how to make your bed like a pro? Below, we’ve laid out a step-by-step guide to making your bed perfectly, every single time.
Before You Start: The Foundation to a Well-Made Bed
Before you even think about touching that fitted sheet, you should evaluate your current bed setup. Here are a few of the essentials that can make or break your sleep experience:
- Bed base: Unless you want to just throw your mattress directly on the floor bachelor-pad style, you’ll need a platform bed or another kind of base to rest your mattress on.
- Mattress: Make sure you invest in a good mattress that’s as supportive as it is comfortable. Treat yourself to a cooling copper mattress with memory foam. Memory foam is an ideal material for all sorts of sleepers: side, stomach, back, and tosser/turner types. Not only does it relieve surface pressure from your knees and hips, but it also evenly distributes your weight, so there’s no sinking and sagging leading to back pain and stiffness. Innerspring mattresses tend to bow over time, but memory foam retains it’s bounce and comfort over a longer period.
- Pillows: Your pillows absorb oils, dead skin, cells, hair and whatever else falls on them during the night. Their lifespan depends on their material, but if they’re several years old, it’s almost guaranteed you’re sleeping on Petri dishes. If you can’t remember the last time you got new pillows, it’s time for a new set—especially if they’re lumpy and misshapen. Shredded memory foam pillows are an ideal choice because they form to your unique neck and head shape, so you get the perfect loft or firmness every time you lie down.
- Mattress topper: Adding a comfy mattress topper can make your mattress a little softer if you’re looking for an additional layer of comfort. If you choose one with antimicrobial properties, your topper acts as a shield to keep out bacteria and other unseemly bedmates.
- Mattress protector: To increase the lifespan of your comforter and keep out allergens, consider investing in a mattress protector. It also will keep out spills from those mornings spent eating breakfast in bed and any other accidents.
- Sheets: It’s incredibly easy to get a pair of colorful, cheap sheets and call it a day. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. Cheap sheets can quickly fall apart in the wash, feel scratchy, and age poorly. It’s best to invest in high-quality sheets like hypoallergenic bamboo sheets which provide sleepers with a significant difference in comfort and lifespan.
Now that you’ve gotten a handle on the right materials you need, let’s dive into the instructions so you can get that hotel bed feeling at home.
How to Make a Perfect Bed
Maybe you’re asking yourself if you should even bother making your bed. After all, you’re just going to muss it up when you go to sleep at night anyway. What’s the point, exactly? Well, it turns out that environmental factors have a potentially massive impact on your emotional health.
In a survey of 68,000 people, 59% of people responded that they didn’t make their beds while 27% did. Another 12% of respondents paid a housekeeper to make their beds for them. But the most interesting takeaway from the survey is that people who made their beds were more likely to be happy than those who didn’t.
71% of bed-makers reported they were happy while 62% of respondents who didn’t make their bed reported being unhappy. While this is merely a correlation rather than direct causation, there have been countless studies proving the physical environment directly affects our mood and happiness.
One part of your environment you have total control over? Your bedroom. So, take the time to make your bed so you look forward to bedtime every night, instead of feeling stressed by the crumpled sheets and strewn blankets.
1. Put on your fitted sheet
Make sure everything’s off your bed before you begin then grab your fitted shit. Figuring out what way the fitted sheet goes on your mattress can be a little difficult. We recommend laying out your fitted sheet on top of the mattress so you can see where the long sides and the short sides are located.
Start with your fitted sheet at the top part of your bed. Place one elastic corner over the left edge, then smooth out the sheet. Next, repeat the same process for the right corner. Smooth out the sheet again before moving to the bottom corners of the sheet. When all four corners are secure, straighten out any wrinkles that might prevent the sheet from lying flat.
2. Put on the top sheet
Putting on the fitted sheet is only half the battle, now it’s time to add the flat sheet. Lay the flat sheet over the mattress. If it’s patterned on one side, make sure the pattern is facing down (you’ll see why later). Spread the sheet out, and pull the upper hem to the upper edge of your mattress. Then, check to ensure the sheet is evenly draped on both sides of the bed. Smooth out any wrinkles to avoid unsightly bumps in your final, picture-perfect bed setup.
Now for the hard part: the “army” or “hospital” tuck. First, tuck the bottom of the sheet under the mattress all the way across. Now, grab the corner of the left side of the sheet hanging out from the bed. Fold the corner up until it’s against the mattress side. Tuck in the flat sheet, ensuring the corner stays tightly folded so there’s a crease. Repeat on the other side.
Leave around a foot of the top of your sheet untucked.
3. Place your duvet or comforter on top
Put your comforter or duvet over your sheet, making sure to check the draping is even on both sides of the mattress. Match up the top edge of your comforter with the top edge of your sheet.
4. Fold duvet and sheet back
Fold both the sheet and comforter back together. This creates that inviting contrast between the color of your sheets and comforter. If your sheets are patterned, this will reveal the pattern.
5. Add finishing touches
This is the time to let your personality shine through and have fun with the final touches of your bed. A seasonally-appropriate quilt is great if you’re feeling festive, or add a bold-patterned wool blanket to match a Southwestern theme.
The jury’s out on bed skirts, so that’s a choice we’ll leave up to you. Some may want to consider a bed skirt to hide any under-the-bed storage or metal casters of the bed frame, while others like a more minimalist approach without a skirt. You can decide what aesthetic is right for you.
And finally, a couple of throw pillows can add visual interest and texture to an otherwise neutral bedroom environment. Just make sure that all the colors are complementary.
Your Mom Was Right: It’s Time to Make Your Bed
We get it – when you get up in the morning, your focus may not be making the bed you just ruined. However, if you spend the three minutes or less that it actually takes to make a bed, you might be surprised by the change in your overall happiness. It’s a small task that can give you a small sense of accomplishment early on in the day. Making your bed can also boost your mood and make you feel less stressed when you come home in the evening. Add in a Layla mattress and Layla sleep accessories as part of your well-dressed bed and you’ll be ready to face anything your day throws at you.
