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If you want to have your very own hotel bed at home, or just want to spice up your bedding to make your room look more luxurious, you’re going to want to check out these tips and tricks on how to make your bed look expensive while sticking to a budget.
This post is all about how to make your bed look luxurious and expensive while sticking to a budget.
As a recent college graduate, I’m used to sticking to a budget when buying furniture, bedding, clothes, shoes, and even groceries.
I cringe when I see a $3,000 mattress or a $200 comforter (believe me, they exist).
But, I’ve found smart and convenient ways to save money while still having the bed of your dreams, and lucky for you, I’m going to share them with you right now.
How to Make Your Bed Look Expensive
Tip #1: Use White Sheets and Pillow Cases
To get that hotel look, white sheets are where it’s at. Although they’re pretty boring, they keep your bed looking fresh and clean, and add some lightness and airiness to your bedroom.
White sheets are also extremely easy to clean (believe me) because they can be bleached and then put on a washing cycle, and they come out looking brand spanking new!
Plus, you can mix and match tons of different throw pillows and blankets with them, because they give you a neutral background to start designing your dream bed.
Here are some affordable amazon sheet sets that have rave reviews:
Tip #2: Get Larger Pillows for Your Bed
One of the best ways to make your bed look like an expensive fluffy hotel bed is to add pillows that are a bed-size bigger than your mattress (i.e. put a queen-size pillow on a twin bed and king-size pillows on a queen bed).
Having larger pillows on your bed will give it that full, fluffy look, and will take your bedding up a notch. Plus, you can find super affordable pillow inserts on Amazon and elsewhere (like Costco, Sam’s, Walmart, and Home Goods) to fit your king-size shams.
You can buy any white standard pillow cases, and they come in different material, like cotton, satin (better for your skin and hair), and silk (on the pricy side).
Here are some awesome pillow cases from amazon:
Tip #3: Get a Headboard
Head boards are one of the best things you can do for your bed and overall look of the room. They add dimension, grandness, structure, sturdiness, and style to your dream bed, which is extremely important when designing a bed that looks expensive.
I guarantee you that 99% of professionally designed bedrooms have a bed with a headboard attached. It’s one of the best ways to make your bed hotel-like.
Headboards can get pretty expensive though, and this can put a damper on your dream bed, so here are some amazon finds for headboards that still fit within a budget:
Tip #4: Add Multiple Comforters
One of the keys to making your bed look fluffy and expensive is layering with comforters.
I recommend taking a duvet and two (yes, two) duvet inserts and putting them together in the duvet cover to form one large fluffy comforter to go on top of your bed. This will give your bed that hotel look while still looking polished and staying affordable.
You can also choose any regular comforter and throw it on your bed, with the sides tucked under the mattress and the edge of the comforter almost to the edge of your pillows at the head of the bed. Then, I recommend taking a duvet cover and only one duvet insert, and folding it in half to lay at the foot of your bed to give off expensive hotel vibes.
Here are some great options on Amazon for comforters, duvet covers, and inserts:
Tip #5: Add Throw Pillows
Throw pillows can make for break a bed. Too little or too many throw pillows can do the opposite of make your bed look expensive. Luckily, I have a little trick to find the perfect balance for your new luxurious bed.
For a twin bed, you should have, at most, two throw pillows in addition to your standard queen-size sham. This will allow you to decorate your bed how you like, but will also keep you from getting into overkill territory.
For a queen bed, you should have at least two 26×26 throw pillows, but I think 3 looks better, because it fills up the bed width fully, making it look more cozy and put together. Then, in front of the three throw pillows, you can put two smaller throw pillows with a third mini throw pillow in front of those, or you can just throw a lumbar pillow in front of the three 26×26 pillows for simplicity.
Either way, just make sure your pillows fill up the width of your bed, but don’t extend past the half way mark of the length of your bed.
For a king bed, I recommend having three large Euro pillows (28×28 or bigger) with some smaller throw pillows or a lumbar pillow in front, as the Euro pillows will be able to fill the bed space perfectly, and the smaller throw pillows will add style and dimension to your bed, making it look more expensive.
My favorite places to get affordable throw pillows and pillow covers are Etsy, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Amazon, Woven Nook, Target, and Walmart.
P.S. – if you like the look of chopped pillows, you can always buy cheap down inserts from amazon, or find them in the clearance sections of the stores mentioned above, and then just reuse or purchase a pillow cover that you like. Just make sure the pillows are choppable to get that expensive and professionally designed look!
Here are some affordable down inserts and super cute pillow covers from Amazon:
Tip #6: Add a Throw Blanket
Like throw pillows, throw blankets can either make or break your bed design. Too crazy of a pattern or too different of a color, and you’re bed design will look scattered and less expensive. Too simple or boring of a throw blanket and your bed won’t have enough dimension or style to look expensive.
Some good rules for choosing a throw blanket are to get a blanket that is mostly neutral in color, minimally patterned, and has slight to medium texture so that it complements your bed without overtaking it.
These throw blankets from amazon are super cute and affordable, and will complete the expensive and luxurious look of your bed: