Bedding Style Evolution
For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with making my bed ultra comfortable. When I was younger I would hoard pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to make my bed plush and cozy. As I got older, I added lots of throw pillows and comfy comforters to achieve the same level of coziness. My bed has had a lot of looks and today I’m sharing my bedding style evolution.
My taste in home decor has shifted a bit throughout my life, but in general it leans towards both classic and eclectic. I love traditional pieces of furniture, warm colors, and pretty textiles, but I also need some funky thrown in. I’ve managed to stay mooooostly away from trends. But somewhere along the line (probably about 2005-2013), I watched too much Trading Spaces and/or followed trends too closely, and my choice of bedding got veryyyyy questionable. Think matchy-matchy, wild colors, and too many patterns. To be fair, these things were trendy circa 2013. And I was 24. It’s not my fault guys!! Sadly, I can’t find any pictures of my college apartment room. Because that would be a REAL treat. So we start with my first apartment post-college.
I was so proud of this room. It probably would have worked well if it had one less pattern and one less color. Maybe just navy and teal, or just navy and peach. Either way, the lights made it nice and cozy. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of my bedroom in my second apartment. The bedding stayed the same and I added some throw pillows with quotes on them. Admittedly one said something along the lines of “live, laugh, love.” But the other had a Harry Potter quote, so it’s not all bad. This next room was from my bachelorette pad (first time living alone) in Chicago. I ADORED this apartment. But it took some time to get my room right.
Again, too many patterns and colors that don’t exactly coordinate. I hadn’t learned how to buy things to complement what you already have. And I have always tried to work with mostly hand-me-downs and thrifted items.
This look worked better. I toned down the colors with a neutral rug that had previously been in my dining room and painted my nightstand. The plant on the right was a little overwhelming and as cute as that bedspread is, it was like sleeping in a sauna.
I sold the bedspread on Craigslist and replaced it with this simple white quilt. Similar version here. I still love this room. It’s both classic and a little funky, as I mentioned earlier. It brought me a lot of peace to walk into that room. I also learned a bit about “nightstand styling.”
This was my first bed styling in the Philly row house. It’s pretty but felt a bit too traditional. I also had not painted the nightstand well and it was peeling everywhere! Side note- clearly I liked my bookshelf above the bed as that stayed the same in both places 😉
Philly house part two was definitely more my taste, even though the IKEA duvet was always a wrinkled mess. The nightstand on the right is usually my TV stand, but it fits well with the striped duvet and Hudson Bay blanket. This look could have used a couple throw pillows to make it better. Sorry about the terrible lighting!
This is my current apartment the week after I moved in. I like the pink pillow, but the striped duvet wasn’t cutting it. I also have a goal to learn how to “layer” my bedding. Remember how much I crave a cozy bed? Even though it’s decorated for Christmas, below is my first attempt at layering. This is how my bed looks today and I’m pretty happy with it!
After the holidays I will change out the throw pillows and possibly the plaid throw blanket. My favorite thing is to shop my own house for ideas. As you can see, I’ve reused the same couple bedspreads for all my bed styling. I will definitely keep working at layering as well. Which will come in handy as we head into winter! I hope you enjoyed looking through my bedding style evolution.
If you have any tips, I would love to hear them. You can email me through the contact page.
