Minimal Bed Styling Ideas: How to Make a Bed Look Great Without all the Layers

I know it seems odd that I of all people am sharing minimal bed styling ideas with you on the blog today. After all, my mantra when it comes to bed styling has always been more is more. If a bed doesn’t resemble a pool of cushions you can dive into, is it even a bed?

But, I’m growing. I’m evolving. A lot of my interior design clients lately have been requesting a more pared-back look over my usual approach to bed making. So I’m moving with the times. You really can teach an old dog new tricks. And below I’m sharing my secrets.

Scroll on to take in all of my fave minimal bed styling ideas, along with tips on how to get it right and some common styling mistakes to steer clear of.

Firstly, Let’s Acknowledge That Minimal Bed Styling Ideas are All About Function

Minimal bed styling keeps the overall number of pieces on the bed fairly low. Nothing stays on the bed that won’t be used when you hop into it. 

This means that going to bed at night no longer involves removing oodles of euro pillows, throw pillows, and a few blankets in what resembles a race-against-the-clock Survivor challenge. This pains me, but I’m working through the sadness.

It also makes the entire bed-making process each morning very easy. Let’s face it, nothing is nicer than a freshly made bed, but you don’t want it to feel like a gruelling chore. The ideas in this post make the bed look stunning without the heavy lifting.

It Also Happens to be Perfect for a Small Bedroom

Having worked in the world of interior design for over a decade, I reckon I’ve styled over 100 beds. And the cold hard fact is this: an over-layered bed in a small space is an easy way to suffocate the room. There are just too many soft furnishings going on.

If your bedroom is on the smaller side, leaning into a minimalist bedroom design is a good way to make it feel larger. Things like a platform bed, negative space and keeping clean lines in furniture like your bedside table are all great ideas. But don’t underestimate how much of a role the bed styling plays.

Keep minimal furnishings front-of-mind and you’re onto a winning approach.

What Goes on a Minimally Styled Bed?

You really only have a small amount of items to play with when you’re styling a bed in a minimalistic fashion. It’ll differ from person to person depending on your individual needs, but you won’t want more than this on the bed:

• Four standard-size pillows on a double, queen or king bed
• A fitted sheet is a must no matter the size of the bed
• A flat sheet isn’t a must but it will look nicer when the bed is made
• A doona/quilt cover (or in summer, a coverlet)
• An throw is needed if the bedding is white in colour
• One lumbar cushion, or two smaller ones

Read on as I explain why you might not need a throw or cushion, and in what situations it becomes important.

A Functional Bed Doesn’t Mean It Has to Look Basic

Take in the travesty above. I know, it’s not pretty. But it’s a fairly honest depiction of how minimal bed styling can go wrong for so many people. 

And don’t feel bad if this is where you’ve landed in attempting to create a minimal bed look at your place. Before I was studied design many moons ago this happened to me too. 

The main reason it looks so sterile is because there’s no variety of neutral tones, patterns or textures. It’s giving daily-turnover hotel vibes in the worst way possible. Nothing about it feels warm, cosy or welcoming. To achieve a successful all-white look, consider the following…

If You Wan’t to Go All-White Bedding, Check Your Bedroom Colours First

Many people who want to go all-white with their bed styling ideas fail to step back and consider their bedroom as a whole. By that I mean, they don’t consider the colour of the walls, carpet, the bedhead or anything else around the room.

The all-white minimal bed styling look needs other neutral colours around it to ensure the space doesn’t feel cold or sterile (think oak timbers and beige decor). If you have an all-white space with white walls, a white bed frame, white curtains and white bedsides, than all-white bed styling is not going to shine.

The image above is a perfect example of what I mean. Because there are other tones at play that are draw your attention, the white bedding is a calm supporting player. So think about this in your room before you add-to-cart that all-white bedding set.

Organic Linen Bedding is the Way to Go

If you scroll through all of the minimal bed styling images in this post, you’ll notice they all have one thing in common: they all feature organic bed linen.

That’s because natural materials like linen brings with it a scrumply, low-maintenance, time-worn quality. And that’s what minimal bed styling is all about: ease. The hotel-vibe image further up looks so cold and clinical because of the colour, but also the crisp bedding material. 

Bamboo bedding sets are another option outside of linen. There are natural elements at play with bamboo, too. Here’s a brand we love to source bamboo bed linen from if you need.

You’ll Also Notice the Colours are Calming

I don’t make the rules, I just share them with you. And there’s no way around the fact that minimal bed styling – in a modern space or traditional one – calls for bedding in a more toned-down or neutral colour palette.

​Bright colours take you out of the calm, easy-breezy vibe you’re trying to create in your minimalist room, so while some colours can be present (like soft blues, greens and yellows) the tone is kept rather muddy or muted.

This approach to colour in a minimal bedroom also ties nicely into our rules for the perfect feng shui bedroom, in case you wanted to address those concerns too.

Minimal Bed Styling Works Best in a Room with a Hero Piece

Every room should have visual highs and lows. By that I mean, as your eyes move around it some things should read as quiet and calm, while others are a little louder.

If you love the look of minimal bed styling, you’re going to adore it more if there’s a moment of visual interest somewhere else in the space. We call this the focal point. It’s the piece that draws your attention. If you don’t have one, the minimal bed styling in it can look rather dull.

In the image above, notice how simple the bed styling is. It’s literally two pillows, a quilt cover and a throw. And yet it looks sublime. That’s because the black accents in the room like the pendant light and window frames are the hero; they draw your eye. 

Let Your Four Standard Pillows Lean or Lay Down Flat

When carrying out your minimal bed styling ideas, you have to let your pillows do zero work. In a fuller or more formal bed styling approach, the pillows stand tall and upright in the row. But here, they’re on long service leave.

Let your pillows lay down, one stacked on top of the other. The more relaxed they are, the better. They can lean a little on the headboard if you wish, but you don’t want them standing upright. The moment they do that the entire look feels too forced.

The best part of a minimally styled bed in a beautiful bedroom is that it looks like it took no effort to throw together. 

There’s No Room for European Pillows

I know, the horror! But truly, a minimally styled bed doesn’t need all the bells and whistles. It’s not demanding attention. It’s more the quietly confident type. So the big European pillows at the head of the bed simply aren’t required.

This also means you can opt to have a bed frame or headboard that’s lower in height. Or, better still, you might have an ensemble bed frame pushed up against the wall with no headboard at all. Now that’s a truly minimal vibe.

If you want to hunt down the best pillows for your bed, this post has you covered.

Small Details Like Piping Can Lift the Look

As mentioned earlier, because there are fewer items on top of the bed for your eyes to take in, you have to be creative with colour, pattern or texture otherwise the room can feel boring. There are also small details you can bring into the styling that are subtle yet do a lot of work.

For example, try a quilt cover set that features piping on the trim, as seen above. Small details like this can make an otherwise flat scene look interesting. 

You could also try freyed edges on pillows cases, a quilt cover with ties at the end, or a throw that features tassels. A little goes a long way.

Try Neutral Bedding with One ‘Power Throw’

You need a power throw in your life immediately if not sooner. And yes, I just made up the term ‘power throw’ and you’re more than welcome to use it should the opportunity arise.

A power throw is a throw blanket you spread rather widely across the width of your bed, at the end of it. What makes it a power throw is that it is the statement piece that commands attention on a bed with rather a neutral (or white) quilt cover set.

It does the heavy lifting through its colour, pattern or texture. It can’t be a thin line running across the width of your bed either, nor is it bunched up. Lay the entire throw blanket out so it covers a lot of area and voila – you’ve made the room feel anything but basic.

The Magic of the Lumbar Pillow/Cushion

Do you need cushions on a minimally-styled bed? It’s a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure story. It’s not a strict essential, but it is a great way (like with the power throw) to give your bed an additional element that feels cosy.

Lumbar cushions are gaining in popularity. They’re great because they’re so long and low that that run beautifully across the front of your standard pillows without looking dominant. If you want to include one, have it be the only accent pillow on the bed.

They also make for a great hug pillow for those of you who like to hold into something when you sleep. And you only need one. You can opt to place two smaller cushions side by side in front of a two-stack of standard pillows instead though if you like.

Don’t Feel Compelled to Tuck Everything In

Remember, minimal bed styling is easy. You want the look to take you mere minutes to create each morning. With that in mind, it’s time to embrace the draped quilt cover. Don’t feel compelled to tuck everything it under your mattress.

Don’t get me wrong, a tucked-in quilt cover can look nice, but again… it’s veering toward formality. And minimal bed styling abandons formality in favour of relaxation. 

Work through your need to give your sheets and quilt a hospital-corner tuck and the room feels will improve greatly.

To Fold the Top of the Quilt Down or Leave it Alone?

What I do enjoy most about these minimal bed styling ideas is that you do have the freedom to create a look that works for you. There are far stricter rules when making a fuller or more formal bedding look.

As you can see in the bed styling images in this post, most of them have the quilt cover folded over so it doesn’t lay completely flat on the bed under the pillows. This is my preferred approach. That said, some images (like the one above) show the quilt sitting under the pillows and it can also look rather charming. 

The rule I go by is that if the quilt is laying all the way under the pillows, you need to have something else bringing the interest to the zone, like a power throw or coloured cushion.

Two Colours on the Bed Means Less Items are Needed

If you want to keep your bed styling minimal without it feeling boring, mix two tones together on the bed. One colour is in your top pillows and quilt cover/doona, while the other tone is in the base pillows, fitted sheet and flat sheet.

Because there is more colour on top of the bed, it negates the need for a cushion or throw because there’s enough going on visually. You don’t want to make the zone overwhelming. The beauty of minimal bed styling is that it feels simple.

Ensure you choose two tones that are soothing and complementary though. Either go for a monochromatic palette (different shades of the same colour, as seen above) or pair white with a similar neutral colour like oatmeal, beige, or natural.

Choose a Simple Pattern Like a Stripe to Bring Subtle Interest

Another perfect choice when considering minimal bed styling ideas for your bedroom is to bring in some pattern. You want it to be simple though, so you don’t overstimulate the eye. 

Think a soft stripe in two tones that are rather muted. You’ll want to avoid prints like polka dots, geometrics, crazy chevrons and so on. Avoiding wild pattern is one of the best ways to ensure calm in the zone.

Also bring the pattern into only one area. It’s either on your fitted sheet and base pillows (and your quilt cover is in a block colour), or you do it the other way around.

Did you find these minimal bed styling ideas helpful? I hope it’s given you some inspiration and the confidence to try some of these concepts when styling up your own bed. Drop me a comment below and let me know how you got on. I’d love to hear from you.