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The same duvet cover, three totally different looks.

There’s a difference between knowing the fundamentals of bed making and understanding how to style a bed. Sure, you have crisp hospital corners and a perfectly stacked pillow pairing, but it takes some finessing to go from good enough to chic. Fortunately, you only need a few bedding accessories—no bolsters or body pillows here—and Domino style director Naomi deMañana’s three easy-to-execute formulas to nail it. Read on.

Domino-vetted accessories to liven up a lackluster bed:

A neutral-toned duvet + 4 pillows (2 standard and 2 king-size); 2 sets of pillowcases in two different colors + a solid sheet set

DeMañana describes this pared-down style as “simple and clean, without the frills.” When you make the bed, turn the top sheet and duvet down a quarter length of the mattress (or longer if you want) and tuck the sheet beneath the duvet fold. Sit your larger pillows side by side a few inches apart against the headboard, then place the standard ones in the pillowcases that match the sheet set up front. DeMañana went with tone-on-tone neutrals, but for a brighter setup, she likes mixing cool pastels with dark neutrals like lavender and rust, or combining warm tones such as sunflower and peach.

A neutral-toned duvet + 4 pillows (2 standard and 2 king-size); 2 sets of pillowcases in two contrasting colors + 2 square patterned throw pillows (we like 16-by-16-inch ones) + a patterned throw

To achieve this layered technique, you’ll need to bring in a pop of color—in this case, deep burgundy—and a few variations on a single pattern, like stripes. First, pull the duvet cover all the way up to the top of the bed so that it completely conceals the sheets. Follow the same pillow arrangement from the first style, but then add a third row of patterned decorative throw pillows. Feel free to play around with your throw placement. Casually draping it across the corner of the bed loosens up the otherwise structured display. 

A neutral-toned duvet + 3 pillows (2 standard, 1 king-size) + a rectangular decorative throw pillow (we used 14-by-20-inch ones); 1 standard pillowcase set + 1 patterned envelope pillowcase + a solid sheet set + a patterned throw blanket

Incorporating bolder prints is simple when you use them in just a few key spots and stick to one color palette (here, earthy brown tones). Start by turning the top sheet and duvet down, then tucking the sheet beneath the duvet. Prop the standard pillows up against the headboard, slightly spaced out. Center the king-size pillow in the front, then put the rectangular pillow down in the center. To top off the look, fold the throw blanket in half and lay it at the edge of the bed. 

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