Buying a luxurious mattress tailored for your personal needs only takes you so far. What you put on that mattress makes all the difference when it comes to both comfort and accenting your bedroom decor. Layered bedding presents a marvelous opportunity for creative design-minded individuals to show off their personal sense of style. It’s one of the rare opportunities where you can take a staple piece of furniture and make it wholly, unapologetically yours, perfectly suited for your tastes and comforts.

Knowing how to layer a bed is more than just picking out the right sheets and blankets. It comes down to understanding your personal sleep preferences and choosing designer bedding that is tailored for a good night’s sleep. It also involves making some smart aesthetic choices to get the look that best suits your bedroom decor. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to know when layering your bed!

Bed Sheets

Your sheets are perhaps the most important part of your new layering ensemble. The sheets you choose can impact your sleep experience more than any type of bedding, because of how much contact they have with your body. They also have a whole lot to do with how cozy you feel. Thread count is often used to judge the quality of bedding, especially for sheets. There’s much more to luxury quality than just thread count, though. Typically, a higher thread count is softer, and generally considered higher quality, but there is a catch.

Anything above an 600-thread count won’t really give you a noticeable difference, but your price can be considerably marked up. Aiming between 500 and 600 is a good range. Learn more in “The Truth About Thread Count and Better Ways to Choose Luxury Bedding“.

Some other common factors you should consider include:

• Fabric Selection — Fabric matters a lot for sheets. Most sheets are predominantly cotton or a synthetic fabric, such as microfiber. The percentages of each make a big difference in breathability, softness, and general feel. Made from flax threads, linen is a natural alternative that’s especially soft and durable. Different fabrics are better for different climates and seasons, so be sure to consider this when choosing your new sheets.

• Cotton origin — Not all cotton is the same. For luxury sheets, the origin of your cotton can give you insights into how it will feel on your bed. Egyptian cotton is widely considered the smoothest cotton, thanks to extra-long fibers that come from the climate where it’s grown. Pima cotton is an American grown cousin to Egyptian cotton with shorter threads that’s also quite soft and durable.

• Weaves — Two popular fabric weaves you’ll encounter are percale and sateen. Each comes with a different texture and feel (and different price point, of course). Percale is similar to a standard basket weave, one which is durable, crisp, and affordable. Sateen sheets feature a longer weave that makes them softer to the touch, thanks to more surface contact with the length of the thread. They are more costly and not as durable, however. For a stylish choice that’s equal parts luxurious and durable, the Company C Jewel collection can’t be beat.

Duvets

A centerpiece item for layering your bed, your duvet is the cushiony top layer of your bedding. Duvets are usually adorned with a removable cover that can be changed to match your decor and washed to keep it clean and vibrant. This is where you really let your personality show. For minimally-minded home decorators, a simple monochrome duvet adds a strong color touchpoint to your bed. For people looking to create a more dynamic and textured style, a patterned duvet like this boho-inspired Freesia multicolor duvet cover creates a marvelous layered effect all on its own.

The physical effect of your duvet does a lot more than just keep you warm. Studies show that heavier blankets can positively affect a person’s mood by providing a sense of comfort and safety. It works similar to a thundershirt for dogs during fireworks or lightning storms — the good feeling your body associates with a hug or snuggle comes from the weight of the sheet. Or, in other words, you climb into a hug. Not bad!

Pillow cases and shams

More than any other bedding, pillowcases and shams give your bed that layered look and feel, while creating depth, both physically and visually. Color wise, most shams and decorative pillows match your duvet. Creative minds can use pillowcases and shams to introduce extra texture or color to the layering effect. Company C’s Fountain Driftwood sham features a pleated effect that they affectionately call the “tuxedo shirt for the bed.”

Throws

Layering throws allows you to introduce color, texture, and pattern to your bed that can be added or removed seasonally to keep you comfortable. Large size throws will cover your whole bed, acting as an additional layer during cooler months. Throws can be layered above or below your duvet, or folded into small bundles for a colorful and eye-catching burst at the foot or head of your bed.

Accent pillows

More than any other layering staple, accent pillows are great for strong emphasis. Maybe you don’t want a deep turquoise motif all over your bed, but you want a splash of vibrant color to finish your look. Enter the Company C Larissa Peacock pillow, which adds to your aesthetic and helps prop you up when reading or relaxing in your next.

Bed skirts

An oft-overlooked element in your layering strategy, your bed skirt, while certainly not the star of the show, is the piece that pulls the whole bedding ensemble together. Subtle pleating on your bed skirt, like the waterfall-style stitched accent on the Waterfall bed panel, give a top-to-bottom layered visual effect that can’t be beat.

Creating your little bedroom oasis takes a little forethought. Once you have everything in place though, it’s a wonderful thing. Now, you have your own little comfortable nook, set away from the world for nights of luxurious sleep (and more than a little Netflix).

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