On the Couch With Erika Powell

Well-Dressed Bed

MHI: How do you like to dress a bed?

EMP: From head of the bed to the foot: two sleeping pillows, two pillow shams that match the duvet cover, sheets that are usually ivory or white, a bolster or otherwise interesting pillow (in an unexpected and not-already-introduced-in-the-room fabric), a matelassé on top of the sheets (tucked in on all sides with the sheets folded back over it), a duvet in a cover that matches the shams folded across the foot of the bed (in the summer this can be exchanged with a lightweight throw), and a bed skirt with a box pleat. Depending on the formality of the room, it can be pleated every few inches, or, for a more masculine or contemporary room, have fewer pleats.