Interior Decorating Ideas - Bedspreads

Ooh La La, What's On Your Bed!

Of Course, it’s your “Bedspread” or could it be a “Bedding Ensemble”? This is what covers your mattress and sheets! The main difference between a “Bedding Ensemble” and a “Bedspread” is that a “Bedspread” is just the piece that covers the bed (usually it is a one piece cover that drops all the way to the floor and has enough length at the head of the bed to tuck your sleeping pillows under and create a pillow tuck). A “Bedding Ensemble” is a bed cover that is made up of a few separate pieces that make up a whole coordinated look.

“Bedding Ensembles” are usually composed of:

1. A Bed Cover (which could be a either a comforter, a duvet with duvet cover, a coverlet or a Quilt) that normally are about 12 to 18 inches off the floor.

2. In some cases, there is an optional Bed Skirt that can be ruffled or tailored, depending on the style, and that does reach the floor. Usually sleigh beds and more contemporary style beds have no use for the bed skirt.

3. Then there are rectangular Pillow Shams in coordinated fabrics (you normally do not use these for sleeping like a pillow with a pillow case) they are for back support and decorative purposes mostly.

4. The Euro Shams are also optional, they are larger 30”x 30” square pillow shams, that are normally used behind the pillow shams to add another layer of fabric color but mostly to add height in front of a very tall headboard. A lower scale headboard would not need these and you probably would not want to put these in front of a very detailed headboard because it would hide the charm of it.

5. The Decorative Toss Pillows are the smaller pillows that are used for a splash of color or fabric in front of your regular pillow shams. They usually provide the center focal point of the ‘Bedding Ensemble”. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Yes there are more elaborate ‘Bedding Ensembles” that come with a long Bolster Roll Pillow (the entire width of the bed) for sleigh beds or to create more of a contemporary sleek look on a bed, you would use this instead of all the other pillow shams. There are also coordinating throws for the bed that are about 48” x 48” square or even rectangular. They add a splash of texture or color, or even provide an extra source of warm covering like a small blanket would. All these extras are very nice but not necessary to create a sophisticated and well coordinated “Bedding Ensemble” for your bed. Yet if you do have a chance to get an 11 piece package set, do not pass it up because you can use extra pillows on a chair or settee, a throw on a bench, some shams tied together with ribbon placed on top of an armoire or chest. This gets them off the bed and bounces some of the color and fabric around the room to get a designer look! If you’re handy with a stapler, you can even create a window valance with a piece of log board, cotton batting and the fabric from the bed skirt stapled on to the board (that’s if you don’t need the skirt). You can re-upholster the seat of a small arm chair with an unused euro sham. Use some pillows in the room next door to tie the rooms together for a more coordinated design flow. There is no doubt that the your bed is and should be the focal point of the bedroom, so why not play it up as such. Because it is the largest scale piece in the room with a textile on it (like the sofa is considered in the living room) it needs to be well planned. Always by smart and think of the potential usage you can get out of purchasing your next “Bedding Ensemble” as opposed to just a “Bedspread”!

Tres’ Chic!

By:
Henri Yunes
Creative Director of Huffman Koos

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Interior Decorating Ideas - Bedspreads

Ooh La La, What's On Your Bed!

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