Bed Pillows and Wine Glasses......

Yesterday I purchased a simple, yet necessary luxury; new bed pillows!! Pillows are often a little luxury that gets overlooked. We spend a good portion of our lives in our beds, and with busy lives and busy schedules, the time we spend in our beds should be comfortable, peaceful, restful, and well... a little indulgent!! You should have a pillow that supports and pampers your neck. Only you can decide what is best for your sleep!! There are a variety of fills you can choose from, down, fiberfills, foam and a combination of fills. Martha Stewart often talks about buckwheat filled pillows!! I prefer down pillows; They can be fluffed or flattened; I like mine fluffed, my husband prefers a flat pillow so the down does double duty. I like that they keep their fluffed shape on the bed too!!

After I finished college,(years ago!!), I worked in visual displays at a department store. One of my duties was to dress the beds in the linen department. That meant a lot of ironing and primping!! That notion of a well dressed bed has stuck with me all these years. I still iron my sheets, (well the pillow cases and the top of the top sheet, only what you will see). I also like to change the sheets twice a week, a fresh bed makes a refreshing rest!! I like my beds simple, elegant and luxurious. I generally do all white and cream and buy the best quality linens I can afford. I usually go for the hotel lines. Yesterday, since I was buying pillows, (and a new coverlet) I just bought new pillow cases, 500 thread count, because I didn't want to splurge on a whole new set, but wanted to be a little indulgent!! That is the nice thing about keeping to a certain color combo, for me white and cream, because you can mix and match and still have it look well dressed.

I have a queen sized bed, I like 2 king sized pillows in the back, 4 standard pillow in front and one rectangular decorative pillow to finish it off. I use a coverlet to dress the bed, (my new one is a cream matlesse with a "mod" graphic stitching pattern) and a down comforter with a duvet folded and fluffed at the end of the bed. You often see tv shows that say "decorate your whole room for $500", in the bedroom, I would rather spend that $500 on making your bed as luxurious as possible and save to finish the rest of the room. Remember this is where you start the day and end the day, it should make you feel as refreshed and luxurious as possible!!

I have mentioned before that I think Mariette Himes Gomez, Vicente Wolf and Barbara Barry do the best beds!! The keep to that clean elegant sensibility that I just adore, to me that is luxury!!

Barabara Barry for Baker. The white crisp linens against the dark wood just looks so comforting. This bedroom has a clean, refreshing, luxurious, calming "Old Hollywood" feel.

Mariette Himes Gomez, her rooms look so clean and fresh and look at all the fluffy pillows and the white linens!! My idea of a beautifully dressed bed!!

Vicente Wolf, beautifully dressed bed, lots of pillows, beautifully mismatched bedside tables; I would love him to do my house!!

Can't say enough about this divine bedroom by Vicente Wolf!! The fabrics, the subtle color, the artfully hung mirrors, the pillows, the linens..... What dreams I would have!!

Vicente Wolf, again!! Pale, divine, dreamy!! How glamourous!!

Had to end with a picture of my new wine glasses. Villeroy & Boch, clean, simple, elegant. I drink mostly whites, but I like to drink them out of a Bordeaux glass. I like the look and feel of this shape!!

What do you think is a luxurious bed? I'd love to hear your comments!!