I’m so happy to be joining Crane and Canopy today, along with a few of my blogger buddies to put together this little “blogger slumber party”. We’re all going to be sharing some of our bedding ideas, so I thought I’d show you what I did in our master bedroom after I took out all of the Christmas decor. Well “all of” is a little bit of an over-statement. I guess it was really only a few things, but it felt super Christmassy in here. And now it doesn’t. 🙂
After-Christmas decorating can be a little tricky because we definitely want things to feel fresh and new for the New Year, but we still need that cozy feeling that our Christmas decor provided to get us through the rest of Winter. This is actually my favorite time of year because I love the fact that everyone is so into cleaning things up, organizing and trying to make their homes serve them and their families better. And after all of the busy-ness of the holidays, we actually have a little more free time to do it!
Of course, when we think about making things cozy, we think about adding in lots of fluffy, texture-y layers to help keep us warm and comfy, but this look can sometimes run the risk of starting to feel cluttered or stale or just plain messy. I thought it would be appropriate today to share what I like to do to get that layered, textured feel, while still keeping things feeling really clean and fresh, especially because my new book The Cleaning Ninja will be coming out in 11 days! I talk a little more in the book about some tricks for decorating in a way that makes your house feel cleaner automatically, but for today I’m just focusing on the bedroom since this is a slumber party and all. 🙂
When it comes to your bed, I really think a good basic quilt is almost always the way to go. Something with some repeating texture like this one from Crane and Canopy makes making a nice crisp bed almost effortless. The texture of the quilting means that you’ll never have unwanted wrinkles or creases and the fact that it’s not too thick allows it to lay flat on top of the bed and make it look like you took way more time making everything perfect than you really did.
When it comes to adding more fluffiness and texture, there aren’t really too many rules. Basically, layer up anything that you see or that you have on hand that makes you feel happy and cozy. Toss it all on the bed together and see what plays well together (You may have seen my big pile o’ coziness the other day on Instagram 🙂 ). If you keep in the same color family, everything will pretty much work out most of the time. I picked up these super shaggy furry pillows from my grocery store, the sheepskin is something that I’ve had forever, and the throw was a Christmas gift. None of it was planned to go together, but it all worked so well in the name of coziness.
I actually have a chapter in my new book all about bed-making so it’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart. I have to admit though, that I broke one of my own rules again when I added the throw on the bed. The throw actually usually stays neatly folded over the arm of a chair when it’s not being used, but for the sake of the styling of the pictures, I threw it on the bed.
The thing that I find that makes something like this come together really nicely and still feel crisp and clean is to have one “focal point” item with a crisp, clear pattern that kind of cuts through all of that texture-y noise and gives you a place to rest your eye. It really keeps all those fluffy pieces from looking disheveled and untidy. The same concept would work really well if you’re trying to get a cozy look on your couch or your chair!
So that’s what I did with my Winter bedding this year! I’m really enjoying having something fun and fresh to look at after the holidays. Now make sure you continue on and visit the rest of the ladies in our slumber party to see what they’ve done with Crane and Canopy bedding!
Thanks so much to Crane and Canopy for providing me with the quilt and shams for this post!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.