1 Bed, 7 Ways

Some tips/thoughts on waking up on the right side of the bed every time.

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I am an everyday bed maker. No matter where I am, even in hotels, which is saying something (probably something bad, but who cares). Unlike other popular home chores, which I’m not so much a fan of—folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, dusting the high shelf (no thank you)—making the bed never feels like work to me. It’s more of a morning meditation, like the tiny briefest of hugs between myself and the refuge that hopefully gave me some solace for 6+ hours from whatever physical exhaustion or mini nightmare might have unfolded the day before.

Put simply: Beds reset. Beds revive. Beds rule. And, not just any beds, but beds that regularly get the attention, love, and respect they deserve. Beds that, if they could talk, might say, “Hey, what are we wearing today?” Or, “Please, please not too many pillows.” Yes, changing sheets frequently is a pain in the ass as important as not being hasty about finding the right mattress—or God forbid, settling for a subpar mattress, which could actually ruin your LIFE not just your sleep. (For the record, this is the mattress of my dreams that I slept on at a friend’s house recently and will someday buy when I have extra $$...if you have some extra $$, I wholeheartedly endorse this purchase, and will be happy to come and sleep at your house, too.) But taking a minute or two every morning to allow your bed to delight and replenish you with color/patterns/textures will pay you dividends in the evening when, on occasion, you are tired and beatdown AF and just want to dive into the well-appointed arms of a bed that cares…and looks GREAT to boot😎.

This week’s (V-day❤️) edition of ATA is devoted to another love that knows no bounds…doing up my bed every morning. Nothing crazy or unwieldy, just having the right tools to work with and establishing a routine that makes you feel good. Which usually includes a rotating cast of patterned quilts, vintage blankets, and colorful coverlets that make it extremely easy and fast to make my very simple bed much more clutch. And, here’s a little secret I discovered, too, about daily bed-making: It can shift us from a very bad day/week into a much better one, with barely any effort at all. That’s the secret about doting on your bed regularly…it has this wild power to work behind the scenes to make the rest of your life and mood a little bit better.