When you peel yourself out of bed in the morning, are you already dreaming about crawling back in that evening? Why not treat that happy place to a summer makeover?
Restful neutrals
There’s nothing like soft, serene neutrals for creating a bedding ensemble that’s absolutely heavenly.
To harmonize with the ice blue and chocolate brown color palette in my friend’s home, we decided to do her bedding in different tones of brown and cream. We picked four key fabrics — a cream matelasse and a brown linen, paisley and velvet — then accented them with loads of cream details.
The duvet cover featured the cream matelasse on one side and the paisley, which was so soft if felt like cashmere, on the other. Two Euros (big square pillows) covered in the matelasse have brown velvet cording. And two king pillow shams of brown linen were punched up with cream that looks fabulous paired with everything.
Bright and bold
Apple green is everywhere this year. And people are taking this playful color up a notch by pairing it with vibrant tones such as tangerine and hot pink, breaking all those pesky, inhibiting color rules. Pair an orange Euro piped in magenta with a lively paisley quilt in apple green, orange, pink and blue, and you’ve got a bed that makes a statement.
Geometric patterns are all the rage, and you’ll find great fabrics that feature square, diamond, circle, trellis and icat patterns, as well as oversized florals. Mix some of these retro fabrics in hot colors with traditional fabrics such as a toile, ticking or a delicate floral.
Big pillows
Gone are the days when we decorated our beds with a garden of dinky accent pillows. We’re all sick of the clutter. Instead, the look now is big accent pillows, like Euros, king or queen shams, oversized bolsters and buddy pillows. (These awesome pillows, which are about as long as you are tall, are made for hugging.)
When accenting your bed, limit yourself to just a few strong layers, like two Euros, topped with two big shams, then punched up with a sizable bolster or large square pillow. Then, toss the buddy pillow at the foot of your bed.
Under the covers
If you’re going for bright and bold covers and pillows, add sheets in citrus colors. If you prefer restful neutrals, good old white sheets work, or hunt for soft, muted solids or patterns that harmonize with your colors.
Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home-furnishings stores and is the author of several books on home decorating.
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