The Easiest Way to Make Your Bed Every Day

Disclosure: Crane & Canopy provided me with the bedding for this makeover.  The room design and all opinions about the bedding are my own.

There’s two kinds of people in the world; those who make their bed every morning and those who leave the covers in a messy heap in the middle of the bed when they get up. I am one of the latter. I am not a bed maker. To be totally honest, I think it’s tedious and it’s just going to get messed up again the next time you sleep.

Is there any hope for me?

Turns out you can go from being a slob to having a beautiful bedroom every day. I didn’t think it was possible after more than three decades of hoping someone else would do it for me, but now I actually want to make my bed every morning.

I’ve discovered two things that make me eager to make my bed every day:

1. A gorgeous grown-up bedroom.
2. Foolproof bedding that even my five-year old can make look nice.

First, if you’ve got hodgepodge bedding in an undecorated room, who cares if you leave it rumpled on the bed in the morning? Chances are you keep the door to that room closed all day. But your whole outlook on bed making will change the instant you give your bedroom a little love.

We recently completed our bedroom makeover with a mix of new items and items we pulled from other spots in our house (Free Decorating in action!). Once we had a gorgeous grown-up looking room, it just seemed wrong to leave the bed unmade.

(Are you loving the pattern mix in this room? At the end of this post there’s a video showing you how I picked the perfect patterns for this room. Plus, I made you a free Color and Pattern Cheat Sheet so you can mix patterns like a pro.)

Second, simple bedding is key. I hate flat sheets. I don’t like them tucked in at the end of the bed (probably because we’re tall and need our foot room all the way to the edge of the mattress), so our flat sheet always ends up in a ball under the duvet cover. Removing the duvet cover to straighten out the crumpled flat sheet every morning is a serious pain. Why do we even need the flat sheet anyway?

Turns out we don’t. Not even to make the bed look pretty when you fold the sheet over the top of the duvet. The geniuses at Crane & Canopy created a duvet cover that does away with the flat sheet (and by the way, they sell sheet sets with or without the flat sheet). Instead of a flat sheet, they integrated a flat sheet look into the top of the duvet cover.

It’s their Signature Nova system, a 2-in-1 solution, that gives you the perfectly made bed in 80% less time. The two-toned cover mimics the flat sheet with a color coordinated accent stripe. Of course, without a flat sheet, the material your duvet cover is made of becomes more important. The Cora Grey duvet cover I chose is crafted from the finest quality extra-long staple cotton in a 350-thread count single ply, singe pick weave. All of Crane & Canopy’s bedding, duvet covers and sheets use soft and breathable, extra-long staple cotton, woven in 300+ thread count, hand-picked for comfort and quality.

Without the flat sheet and, let’s be honest, at least one dog and one child visiting our bed every night, we needed a duvet cover that was easy to remove and wash. The Nova duvet covers have a hidden full width invisible zipper under that faux sheet flap, which makes the duvet cover a cinch to remove and wash. Plus, no more buttons coming undone at the foot of the bed. Crane & Canopy’s duvet covers feature ties inside the corners to secure your comforter and make stuffing the cover a breeze. We’ve had our Cora Grey for over a month now and I’ve removed and put on the cover several times without breaking a sweat.

With our new duvet cover, making the bed is so simple that I can leave it up to my five-year old. (You caught me…some days I still get someone else to make the bed for me.) He sneaks into our bed around 5 AM every morning and then he’s usually the last one to get up. So on those days, it’s his job to smooth out the bed and put the pillows back. With our Crane & Canopy duvet it’s easy for him to get it looking nice.

Picking the Perfect Pattern Mix for Your Bedding

I’ll admit picking out the perfect bedding was tough. Crane & Canopy has so many beautiful options. I wanted to bring more pattern into our room, because the white bedding we had before looked so plain with our beautiful lamps and the artwork above our headboard.

I know picking the right pattern mix can be tricky, so I made a quick video to show you just how I did it for our bedroom. I’ve got a simple pattern formula that will get you the right mix every time. And I’ll show you how to get three different looks using the same formula. (Psst. Don’t worry about taking notes… at the end of this post you can download the bonus Color and Pattern Cheat Sheet.)

I used to think making the bed was a waste of time. Yes, even despite the studies that say it makes your whole day better. But now I realize just how wonderful it is to retire in the evening to a beautiful oasis where the bed is already made and all I have to do is relax.

My favorite thing about our bedroom makeover is how all the colors and patterns work together to create a vibrant, but soothing retreat. I’d love to help you pick the right colors and patterns for your bedroom (or any other room). I made a bonus cheat sheet just for you. Download your Color and Pattern Cheat Sheet.