bed pillows

I am sort of a nut about my bed. I like a super cozy bed with white linens, a down comforter and a soft pillow. So when we got engaged I needless to say was very excited to register for some new bed linens and have since received most of what was on our list (thank you to all generous givers). Central to our bed makeover was a gray linen duvet cover that I got at my bridal shower. My first choice would have been an all white linens, however, with a dog that likes to lounge on our bed all day and all night it just wasn't practical. I love the duvet because it hides dog hair, looks great wrinkled and is soft. I also received matching euro shams but am a little unsure about them. I like the look when they are not wrinkled but after a wash they edges get very wrinkled and I am not about to iron them. I would be inclined just not to wash them but considering linen fades I feel like I need to wash them every time I wash the duvet cover. Dilemma...

With this little problem, I got to thinking about bed pillows and all the options that are available to achieve a glorious, hotel worthy bed. I checked around and found a few diagrams about how to arrange bed pillows but couldn't find anything great. So I decided to make my own to share with you all and with clients. The diagram is catered to a queen size bed and is by no means inclusive but it covers a lot of options. The first column uses standard pillows - generally 20" x 26" - as the base of arranging and the second column uses euro sized pillows - 26" x 26". Each row adds a new layer of pillows continuing up to four (you obviously could keep going but after four it seems a bit excessive). Personally, I would probably stop on layer three. Scroll below and stay tuned tomorrow for some example pics.