I make our bed every day unless I am sick. I don’t always make it in the morning, either. If I’m running late and don’t have time, I’ll often go back at 4:00pm and make it before I start working on dinner. I don’t do it because I’m a rigid, tidy person. Really, it’s because I’m a fan of the big bang-small buck school of thought. A bed takes up so much real estate in your bedroom that it will instantly make you bedroom appear 75% cleaner if you take the five minutes it takes to toss back a few covers and smooth a few pillows.
That reminds me: pillows. I’ve considered it, and after much deliberation and an 11 year experiment, I’ve decided I hate them.
For the last 11 years, we had an embarrassment of pillows on our bed. It was an embarrassment because only three of them were for sleeping. We had European pillows, standard shams, decorative pillows, bolsters, and, tucked in the madness, four lumpy pillows on which to lay our pampered heads. Of the four sleeping pillows, we used three regularly. I use two pillows, and the Mister uses the bottom left 1.75″ of one pillow, so the fourth pillow’s only purpose was to keep my head from exploding at the lack of symmetry.
Like I said, an embarrassment.
One day, while fluffing and smoothing and bolstering and decorative pillowing, I decided I wouldn’t mind taking a lit match to the entire bed and watching it all going down in a downy blaze. Instead, I decided to simplify.
I got rid of the floral and six pillows and replaced the chintzy lot with simple bedding from Target’s Thomas O’Brien line. The duvet feels like it’s cut from a man’s suit, and the sheets are thick, like an oxford. I know most people these days are obsessed with thread counts and soft sheets, but I like the scratchier, rougher feel of thick cotton. Besides, there is something to be said about waking up feeling like you’re wrapped up in Don Draper’s suit.
Aww a little Don Draper could be good. You are tempting me to toss all the decorative madness on my bed. I think I will give it a try! It could become a revolution.! I might just burn my bra too!
Sexy.
You think it is the book-loving, nerd part of ourselves that gets a kick out of sleeping on what looks like a man’s suit?
No idea, but it works for me! ;)
Say, I like it …
you are tempting me too to toss all of our extra pillows; we have 2 Euros (which are ridiculously expensive to find shams for btw!), to nice pillows for decorative shams and 1 “accent” pillow. We spend more time arranging pillows than making the actual bed! And the DD sheets do not disappoint, not at all.
Try it! Not only is it easier to make the bed, you don’t have to think about the pillows getting dirty when you toss all the extra ones on the floor to sleep.
HA! this made me laugh out loud, because I as well sleep with two pillows and my other half sleeps on a little tiny bit of bottom right corner. Which if not positioned just right, I have the remaining pillow in.my.face. lol
How funny, we have the exact same set for our bed! Unfortunately, the dark side of the duvet has caused our cats to squeel with glee, as (for a reason I have not yet been able to ascertain), they all prefer laying on dark covered fabrics. Drives me insane, not the least because I HATE sleeping with cats. :)
I, too, have a similar hatred for too many decorative pillows on the bed (they serve no purpose!)
On another note: where are those curtains from? They’re beautiful! =)
They’re from IKEA, but I think they were discontinued a while back.
Bummer! Really love them.
I bought some Thomas O’Brien towels at Target recently and they are so fluffy and plush. I am slowly replacing all our mismatched towels with crisp white ones. Now I am inspired to move on to the bedroom makeover!
I like it….we need to de-pillowfy as well. I do like having one extra set for reading and lounging, but we have two extra, and it’s too much. I’m going to repaint this summer, so it’s a good time to think about a change!
Love your bedding. I bought our Pottery Barn stripe duvet on EBay. Do you have a bedskirt? I can’t decide if I need one or not.
I don’t. When we first got married I bought one because I grew up with them, only to realize that our bed is a sleigh bed with wood sides. No one could see the skirt! Since then I’ve skipped them.
I’m terrible about bed making. I actually do a half hearted job right before I get into bed, just because I like getting into a made bed. But I never, ever make it in the morning. Our bedroom is a general disaster anyway, because D leaves clothes EVERYWHERE and I’ve decided that I can let that go as long as we never have dishes in the sink (and we are so on top of our dishes that I think it’s working).
I don’t like slippery sheets either – prefer something that feels a bit more substantial.
Now where do I find sheets that make me feel like I’m wrapped in Don Draper?
:)
They are one the matching/complimentary sets that go with this bedding.
I want to make out with Thomas O’Brien because of his Target line. The towels are the best towels I’ve ever seen and I once worked in the Macy’s linens department for 3 months so you know I’m an expert.
Don Draper, yes please! I just sat through “The Town” and he was looking so sexy in an otherwise lame movie. Thanks for the link, I may get some of those menswear pillow shams.