A Messy Bed

 

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With Mother’s Day coming up tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the things my mom used to say to me.

Like…

‘Always tell the truth’.

And

‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all’.

And

‘You’re not actually going out of the house looking like THAT are you’??

And the ever popular…

‘Did you make your bed’?

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But sometimes I really get tired of making my bed every day

Straightening the duvet cover…

Making sure it’s even on both sides…

Arranging the pillows…

Sometimes I just feel like leaving it messy

I mean, you see Messy Beds all the time in Pottery Barn and Anthropologie right?

But I found out it’s not quite that easy…


Believe it or not, there’s actually a technique to creating a Messy Bed.  Can you believe I just said creating a messy bed???  Apparently it’s not quite right if you just get out of bed in the morning and leave it.  It has to be styled to look messy.   There’s a difference.  

Go figure…


Pin for laterGet ideas for painted furniture HERE

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Get ideas for painted furniture HERE

So here’s a list of things that I found out you need in order to have a proper Messy Bed:

  • A headboard or wall at the head of the bed to rest pillows against.

  • A little elevation – it won’t do if your mattress is on the floor.  It needs to be at least a few inches off the floor. This gives height for blankets and throws to drape. (And anyway, if you’re an adult, your mattress should not be on the floor.)

  • Washed linen bedding is the perfect look for unmade beds.  

  • Fluff – the look is more successful if your bedding is lofty.  Flat blankets and coverlets don’t lend themselves as well to the intentionally rumpled look.

  • Varied textures add depth and interest.  

  • Piles of pillows add volume.  

  • Lots of layers.

  • Multiple colors.  All monochromatic bedding will work for this look but it’ll take a lot of layers and texture.  It’s easier to achieve with color.

  • Careful draping.  The final touch is a throw blanket tossed and draped over the foot of the bed.  

Sounds easy enough.

So I decided to try it.

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And here’s what I came away with about a Messy Bed:  

It was fun to style and I kind of liked the look.  

Pin for laterRead about whey we chose this wainscot treatment HERE

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Read about whey we chose this wainscot treatment HERE

BUT…

  • It’s hard to leave it alone.  If I made my bed this way every day, I would go insane because every time I walked into the room, (and I walk in here a lot because this room is on the way to my office!) I would be messing with it.  I would constantly be re-draping duvets and throws and adjusting pillows to try to create the most perfect Messy Bed I could make.

  • You have to straighten everything up before you go to bed or all your bedding ends up on the floor during the night.

  • It’s exhausting. It takes about four times more time and energy to make a Messy Bed than it does to just make the bed.

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Pin for later

Kind of the same amount of time and energy it takes to achieve Messy Hair.  You know — the tousled, messy, beachy, wavy style that looks all casual and carefree.  But actually takes an hour and a half to style.

Seriously, between styling my bed and my hair – I would never get out of the house!

But when I do get out of the house…

Sometimes I actually DO go out looking like THAT!

Love you, Mom!


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