What makes a perfect bed?

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

If you had to think of how many beds you have slept in over your lifetime, I bet you would soon come to the realisation that it is quite a few. From when you were a little kid to now as an adult, to your own bed to those you have stayed in either on holiday or at the houses of family and friends. Each mattress a little different from the other, there is the firmness–one a little harder to the other and then there is the type; foam, springs, air, perhaps even water! This is only the start, I haven't even mentioned the bedding; sheets, duvets, blankets and then there are the pillow...! You might also change your bedding depending on the seasons. Wow!

When you think about it, beds can be complicated, but if you are like me, there is nothing nicer than cozying up in a comfy bed (so it is pretty important). 

This got me thinking, how do you go about creating a bed of your dreams? I know this is a hard one to answer and there is no right answer to it, but I would love to hear what you go for in your home and what you think of when you are putting together your beds for your guests. 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Thanks,
Lizzie

[Huma0]

@Lizzie

I'm sure you knew I was going to join this discussion. Anything to do with interiors and furniture and I'm there! 

The beds in my guest rooms (as well as my own bed) are really important to me. Afterall, it's where people will spend most of their time when they are in that room and it's also usually the largest and most prominent piece of furniture in the room.

So, firstly, the bed itself needs to be a statement and I think the bed in each room is a bit special, but this one is definitely the most popular (of course, my room is not quite as grand as this). I bought it on Ebay at a fraction of the retail price. Initially, I was a bit paranoid about the silk upholstery, but people are treatig it well!

Next, the mattress needs to be comfortable. If your budget doesn't stretch to an expensive one, then a mattress topper can really make a difference. I bought the thickest ones I could find, which are 10 cm or 4 inches deep. Since I got them, my guests have always told me the beds are super comfy. They were definitely worth the money.

In an Airbnb, probably the safest bet is to go for plain, hotel chic bedlinen in white or neutrals which work in contemporary or traditional settings. Doesn't this example look lovely?

However, even though I have bought plain sets, I just love pattern and colour and particularly Designers Guild. It's so expensive, but take a look at TK Maxx where you can buy it affordably if you don't need the 'latest' collection.  Maybe it's a bit loud for some people's tastes, but I love it. Here is one of the sets I use in the guest room.

I also like to mix and match a bit and layer it, so will have two pillows per person in complementary fabrics, plus some coordinating decorative cushions and a bedspread. It doesn't hurt to have scented candles on the bedside table either!

None of these photos are from my place (the ones on my listings were taken when I had lodgers, so do not actually show how I dress the beds for guests) but I will try to take some and post them.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Huma0,

I always love hearing your comments, you always have such enthusiasm, it is incredible. 

I remember reading in your Before and After pic discussion about the amazing bed you found and renovated, bringing back to life. It just shows that there are great bargins out there, if you keep an eye out and are willing to look around a bit.

It is really interesting to hear how you think the bed should be the statement in the room, it makes a lot of sense as it is usually the largest piece of furniture there and there is certainly a reason why a bedroom is called just that. 

I wonder, if you run a really busy listing, with little time before your next guests arrive, would you recommend having multiple versions of the same bed sets, so that if you are going for a theme in the room, you create the same experience everytime or do you like to mix it up? 

[Huma0]

Hi @Lizzie

Having multiple versions of the same sets could make life simpler, but as I'm a bit of a shopoholic when it comes to interiors, I have a few different ones for each room. Once you've dressed the bed and got it looking the way you want, it's easy enough to repeat that next time you use those linens.

I know my rooms are super feminine, but I do sometimes pick the linen depending on the guests, e.g. if it's a single guy, I might choose the plain stuff, whereas if it's two young ladies, I might go for the girliest set! It's the same even for the towels. In the bedroom with the gilt bed, girls and couples get a floral printed set and guys on their own get plain white ones. Maybe I'm gender stereotyping here but I don't want to put the guys off with anything too frilly!

[Amy38]

LOL!  No one has rooms like that.

A good mattress is a must, of course.  A cheap mattress is the most expensive one. It won’t last.

 I go with all cotton sheets of course, 2 down pillows of different fills, 2 synthetic ones in shams.  My sheets are in the grey family...some printed and some solid.

I triple sheet the bed which is a lot easier than wrestling with a duvet cover.

I do not tuck anything in as that is the first thing I undo in hotels...dont like my feet bound down.

A constant dilemma is ‘silky’ sheets or crisp. Personally, I prefer a crisp percale, but am unsure what most people like.

Input welcome.

[Huma0]

Oh, and I wonder if it is true, or just a gender stereotype, that guys HATE scatter cushions. They often end up throwing them on the floor!

[Lizzie]

That makes a lot of sense @Huma0 to simplify the process of preparing the rooms ready for your guest is a huge time saver and this way you are also making sure that you have it the way you want the room to look. 🙂

Aw now scatter cushions...where to start. It can be a tricky one this and I actually like talking about scatter cushions because as you say quite a lot of people have strong feeling on the matter! hehe – personally a couple of extra cushions on the bed is nice, but they always end up on the chair or on the floor! 

Do you normally include them?

[Huma0]

@Lizzieyes I do always have two or three cushions on the bed. I think it just makes it look more luxurious and helps to tie the colour scheme of the room together. Of course, they are pretty useless as there are enough pillows.

I do like the idea of adding a set of those large square continental pillows though. I think these days with people spening so much time watching Netflix or whatever in bed (no one seems to sit in front of the TV in the living room anymore) that they are quite useful as well as looking very hotel chic. I've ordered a couple to try out on my own bed.

[Colleen47]

@Lizzie We adore a good bed! There is nothing better after a long day skiing or mountain biking to snuggle into a comfy clean bed. I am fortunate enough to be with a partner with great talent. He has made, with his hands, all of our headboards and bed frames. They are beautiful, and while each is unique, they all match the aesthetic. 

As for the sheets, so far we go white. Classic clean and easy to replace. I would like to switch to grey in the future, maybe a bit more durable in terms of stains. I also loooove lots of soft pillows. In reality i prefer down pillows but thats not quite in the budget for rentals yet. Hopefully in the future. 

[Lizzie]

Wow, @Colleen47, your partner sounds very handy and what a wonderful story to tell your guests. He sounds very talented. It would be lovely to see a photo of the beds he has created (feel free to share them in this discussion if you can - just click the little camera on your post). 

My uncle just made me a lovely chopping board out of wood, in the shape of an apple. It is so nice to look at that everything I put on it looks like a work of art (something you normally can't say about my cooking)! 

Have you kept the headboards and bed frames their natural wood colour or have you painted them at all?

[Huma0]

@Colleen47

I really like the idea of handmade, unique headboards and frames. I've seen people make great ones out of things like old doors or huge mirror frames. It can add a real wow factor to a room.

[Helga0]

Profiting from a very slow but free Internet connexion during a coffee break, that’s the first thread I see, which is funny, as I sleep on an airbed for two months in a seaside apartment I wanted to give up 18 months ago, but somehow still have. 

Airbeds are surprisingly uncomfortable in winter, as they steal body warmth. It’s like sleeping on ice, but a layer of memory foam makes it quite comfortable. I bought an expensive one, to take back to Paris and put on the guest bed afterwards. 

@Huma0‘s pictures always make me laugh, they are so beautiful, but they would immediately decide me not to book, without even seeing the price. 

These beds are statements and if they are loud statements, they must preselect fitting guest types. 

My choice is on the other end of the spectrum, I prefer beds, where the structure is not visible, no footboards and I can forgo a headboard, if the bed is against a wall. I guess that comes from bad sight and a tendence to walk or sit down without looking, so I do not want any hard decorative elements protruding, to hurt shins or get bruises. 

(Most of our furniture in the small French apartments is custom made and all angles are rounded)

A bed should be functional for all purposes, to sleep on a good mattress, to sit in it, propped against cushions, have lots of sockets nearby to plug in phones, laptops, fans etc, have surfaces in easy reach to depose of all those when you fall asleep plus place a glace of water without risk to topple it over, when you search for your phone. 

Best beds are those shared with a partner - when the place where I’m now still had furniture, some guests deplaced the bed to have it in front of huge mirrors. We took the hint and installed the new furniture to offer full sight. It’s definitely a bonus and helped me selling the furniture two years ago. 😉

For the materials, I prefer natural ones, latex, cotton, bamboo, feathers, silk, although All new covers that I buy are selected for frequent washing. 

Pillows are very personal, some guests bought allergy free ones, others ask for feather pillows, my mother falls for miracle promises and passes on the results of her shopping sprees, so there is a huge choice of forms and densities. 

[Huma0]

@Helga0

I hear you, but those are not photos from my listings, but rather examples of the look I'm aspiring to. They would also make me think the price is WAY out of my range, especially the first one!

OK, I do have the bed in the first photo and the bedlinen in the third one. I really hope these things aren't scaring away budget conscious guests as my rooms are pretty cheap for London.

I agree, a bedside table or drawers is a must and sockets nearby. It drives me mad that in my own bedroom the builders put the sockets in silly places so I have to use an extension lead to power up anything by the bed.

As for the mirrors, I get what you mean! However, if you're into Feng Shui (I'm not, by the way) it's apparently really bad to have a mirror facing the bed.

If you do ever decide in future that you want a fancy bed, you could always go for one with an upholstered frame, thereby cushioning you from any potential bruises and scrapes. However, sounds like you are true to the original Airbnb concept of the air bed!

[Huma0]

As for pillows, personally I like them quite firm and can't understand how anyone can sleep on those squishy feather ones that offer no support. It's the one thing I hate about fancy hotel beds. I don't usually put them on the beds anyway as some people are allergic. However, I do have a couple available if that's what guests prefer.

I've stayed in 5 star hotels where they had a 'pillow menu' and you could chose from a very specific range of pillows to suit your tastes. I think that's a great idea but too high maintenance for my Airbnb.

Another hotel I stayed in provided aromatherapy pillow sprays and oils that you put on your wrist to help you sleep and they actually work, but are pricey. Again, out of reach for my Airbnb.

[Lizzie]

I think I am with you on this one @Huma0 with really soft pillows, unless you have three of them, which I suppose defeats the object. I recently bought a set of new pillow for my room and I went for a quite firm and they are thick enough that you really only need one. Having said this, I think I went a little too far and they are giving me slight neck cramp in the middle of the night! I may have to rethink this....

Do you think when supplying pillows for your guests it is best to go for a medium support and layer it (so give two)?