There is little more inviting than diving back into a neatly made bed with wonderfully thick pillows and crisp, fresh white sheets. But then, sleeping in a hotel every night is a bit much to ask.
The good news is: you don't have to. In this blog we give you tips on how to make your bed so that you create that luxurious five-star feeling in your own bedroom - even though it is actually better not to make your bed at all.
Er, sorry?
Yes. To give dust mites no chance (and you do want that), it is best to leave your bed turned back. But what about that wonderful hotel feeling then? The solution is DOUXE bed linen (with the no-mite label). That gives you the best of both worlds: no dust mites and yet that ultimate luxury feeling of your favourite hotel. Dust mites simply don't thrive in down and feathers – and you do.
All that is left for you to do is make your bed neatly and create your own five-star feeling. If you follow this step-by-step guide, you are guaranteed to succeed.
The preparation
1. Airing
Before you start making your bed, pull the sheets and the duvet right back for a moment – because, dust mites. Or rather: no dust mites. Draw the curtains aside so that the (sun)light shines on the mattress, and open the window wide for some fresh air as well. It would take a clever mite to survive this.
2. Shaking
Making your bed starts with plumping things up – a handy side effect: it wakes you up nicely too. The feathers and down in the pillows and the duvet are made to be shaken loose. Afterwards they are wonderfully plump again and look as good as new.
3. Featherbed
For everyone who wonders how that ultimate soft feeling of a hotel bed is created, we have one answer: featherbed. This down mattress topper forms a little cloud on top of the mattress, so you sink into it wonderfully and experience that extremely blissful feeling.
4. Washing
In the category ‘think before you sleep’: make sure you wash your new bed linen first, before you use it for the first time. Washing instructions for this first time: 30 degrees with a delicate detergent (after this it can be washed at 60 degrees). Fabric softener: no; washing with like colours: yes please. After this wash you have had the first and only shrinkage, and this freshly washed linen will fit perfectly around your bedding.
5. Drying
You might not expect this, but you can put your bed linen in the tumble dryer. Do choose a low programme to prevent shrinkage and creasing, and check the material. Sateen-woven Egyptian cotton is more suitable for the tumble dryer than percale, because percale tends to crease more. Ironing is (and remains) recommended for both fabrics, but if you really can't be bothered, hang it out (outside) as taut as possible. It dries best in the open air – and in the case of percale cotton, super quickly too. On a sunny day your hotel cotton is crisp, fresh and dry again in half an hour to an hour.
Making the bed
And now we have arrived at the point where the magic happens: the bed-making ritual.
Fitted sheets
The topper and the mattress are made up together with a fitted mattress protector or a plateau mattress protector. Pull it nice and tight around the mattresses so that a nice bulge forms. Use the right size for the mattress protector and the fitted sheet – that is the size that equals the mattress. Also look carefully at the corner height of the mattresses combined. DOUXE fitted sheets have a standard corner height of 45 cm, which thanks to the very strong elasticated edge fits mattresses from 5 cm to 45 cm perfectly.
Example: if you have a 180 x 200 bed and the height of the mattress (plus any topper) is 30 cm, then you use a fitted mattress protector and a fitted sheet of 180 x 200 with a corner height of 30 cm or 45 cm.
Mattress protectors
Mattress protectors: you often know they exist, but what are they actually for again? In other words: do you need them or not? Our answer: yes. Mattress protectors protect your mattress and pillows from perspiration and dirt. Yes, that doesn't sound very appealing, but do know that you can wash mattress protectors. That way you keep your mattress and pillow extra fresh and hygienic.
Duvet
Once the mattress has been made up nice and tight, it is the duvet's turn, and everyone has their own techniques for that. That's fine, of course. But to create that real, ultimate luxury hotel feeling, the following instructions really are the best – and above all not complicated.
First of all: make sure the duvet fills all the corners of the duvet cover properly. With the DOUXE duvet cover you have that sorted straight away, because thanks to the handy bottle-neck closure the duvet stays nicely in the corners. Moreover, again thanks to that closure, you can tuck it in well under the mattress. This prevents shifting (and cold feet and stretched toes) during the night.
Getting the duvet into the cover is quickest with two people – so call in your partner or your neighbour for some company. Which method you prefer is up to you, of course. Our favourite is the fajita roll.
Finally, a real housekeeping trick: spray a little water over the duvet cover with a plant mister and iron it smooth. Believe us: it doesn't get more five-star crisp than this.
Pillowcases
If you really want to transform your own bed into a majestic hotel bed, we recommend a 50x90 pillow plus a 50x90 pillowcase. This size, nicely voluminous and luxurious, is much wider than the standard Dutch pillow. It is also ten centimetres lower than the standard pillow, so the hollow of your neck is properly filled and not everything gets pushed up when you lay your head on the pillow. Add two body pillows to this, and voilà : your luxury hotel picture is complete.
Pillow protector and pillowcase on your pillow? Then put your arms into the case once more to smooth out all the wrinkles. Next, lay the pillow down flat across its width before you stand it upright, and slide your forearms from the middle of the pillow to the outside. Do this a few times with a little force and the pillow will sit nice and taut on the bed.
The cherry on top
Little beats that ultra-clean, impeccably white look – we love it too – but beautiful decorative pillows really do add something to an ultimate luxury hotel feeling. A throw at the foot of the bed, and nothing more to be done. Okay, except diving into your self-created five-star hotel bed. Sleep well!
