You don’t need a five-star hotel budget to create a luxurious bed you never want to leave. According to top interior designers, it only takes four essentials to transform your bed into a cocoon of comfort.
“Our bedroom is our sanctuary, and our beds are the most important feature,” says Janette Ewen, the host and co-host of multiple TV interior design shows, including Inside the Box with Ty Pennington. “Combine the 26 years that the average person spends sleeping with all the other activities we do in bed, and perhaps it’s time to consider the bed as our personal home tub.”
A Quality Mattress
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Shop for a mattress that provides support, comfort, and, most importantly, motion isolation (how well a mattress absorbs your movement). “The last thing we want is to be disturbed in our sleep,” says Ewen. “I truly believe motion isolation mattresses can prevent a sleep divorce.” When shopping for motion-isolation mattresses, focus on ones with all-foam construction, such as the Nectar Classic Memory Foam Mattress, or individually wrapped coils and a thick comfort layer. Memory foam and latex mattresses are known for their motion isolation. Hybrid mattresses, such as the DreamCloud Hybrid, with thick foam layers and individually wrapped coils, also perform well. Avoid traditional innerspring mattresses with thin comfort layers, as they tend to transfer more motion.
Dressing the Bed
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Add a mattress topper to enhance comfort, provide support and protect your mattress. Ewen’s tip: Shop for a mattress topper designed to regulate body temperature. Cooling gels or natural fiber toppers will keep you cool and comfortable while you sleep. These include the Eight Sleep Pod, Viscosoft Active Cooling Copper Topper and Nest Cooling Topper. Next, think about the fitted and top sheets, which Ewen says should be a splurge. “Think of these two elements as your personal cozy envelope.” She avoids being matchy-matchy and instead looks for solids in high-quality fabrics. Bamboo sheets offer a cool and silky feel, Pima cotton is hypoallergenic and cooling, and Egyptian cotton is soft, luxurious and long-lasting.
Ewen always uses a duvet, avoiding the temptation of a comforter with a stitched-on cover (“They are a pain to wash, and they will never be the same quality as a luxury duvet,” she says). Consider the fill material, shell material and stitching for the duvet — and think about your temperature preference: There should be a warmth rating. Cotton and linen are a good bet as both are soft, breathable and cooling. If you hate it when your duvet shifts, make sure you get a duvet with baffle box construction, such as the Four Seasons All Seasons Duvet, to prevent it.