In 25 years of working with professional housekeepers in hotels around the world, we’ve come to understand the key role pillow placement plays in the overall look of a beautifully made bed. We wanted to share some of the pillow arrangements we’ve loved so you can incorporate them at home to achieve the luxury hotel effect each time you make your bed.

Pillow Placement Should Be Intentional

We firmly believe making your bed is a great way to start the day. It’s something simple to check off the to-do list, an accomplishment before you’ve even left the bedroom. Additionally, a beautifully made bed creates an appealing retreat you can look forward to enjoying at the end of the day.

The choice of pillows and how they’re arranged in hotel guest rooms is no accident. The final look is a result of many decisions made by owners, interior designers, sleep experts, and purchasing agents. Not to forget the housekeepers who ultimately carry out and maintain the look.

We’re sharing a few of our favorite hotel pillow designs you might consider for your bed at home. Don’t panic. Each design can be adjusted to  your own aesthetic, the size of your bed, your sleep style, your pillow preferences, and the amount of effort you’re willing to put into making your bed every day.

1.   Layers of Pillows Make Your Bed Inviting

Crisp linens, perfectly tucked corners, fluffy down comforters, and a curated arrangement of pillows make a bed seem both inviting and intentional. Pillows in hotel guest rooms are set deliberately to blend brand identity, visual appeal, and the science of good sleep. Your choice of pillows and pillowcases can do the same thing at home. It all begins with layers, whether it’s one, two, three, or more.

A layered look presents abundance and offers an invitation to climb in. Layering can be accomplished in several ways, by placing pillows upright against the headboard or horizontally on the mattress. They can be angled, stacked, or a combination of the two. In luxury hotels, you will typically see three layers of pillows. Each layer has a unique purpose.

The first layer, placed against the headboard, comprises your largest pillows. Hotels often use Euro squares for this purpose. The design of these larger square pillows is somewhere between a sleeping and a decorative pillow, adding height and structure while softening the transition between function and style. They provide a comfortable cushion when you want to sit up in bed.  We offer our most popular pillows in a Euro square-size. We also offer Euro square-size shams in our most popular sheet collections to coordinate with the rest of your bedding. If you would prefer, you can certainly use king-size pillows as the first layer in place of Euro squares.

Additional tips to achieve the look;

• A hotel laundry typically runs its sheets and pillowcases through an institutional iron. That’s what gives hotel pillowcases their smooth, crisp finish. It’s your choice whether you want to go to such lengths at home.
• Using pillows that are slightly larger than their shams ensures the pillows look full and provides the firmness that allows the pillows to stand up against the headboard.
• A chopping motion at the top of the pillow will give it a finished look.

The second layer is made up of sleeping pillows. Even if hotel pillows look identical from the outside, there are often several different levels of firmness to the pillows on the bed. That gives different sleepers their choice of a soft or firm pillow. You may wish to do the same at home. To find the pillows with the right fill, firmness, and size for your sleep style, you can take our Pillow Butler Quiz.

The third layer is where you’ll place the decorative pillows. These bolsters, boudoir, and accent pillows in all shapes and sizes provide the final touch that uses color and fabric to make a statement. These pillows enhance the room’s design and allow you to express yourself. In a hotel, the decorative pillows will be removed, and the sleeping pillows will be repositioned and fluffed. We offer a variety of decorative pillows with removable covers, as well as down and feather pillow inserts to place within covers you’ve already collected. It’s much easier to store a variety of decorative covers than to store a variety of decorative pillows.

Additional tips to achieve the look:

• The beauty of decorative pillows is the variety they offer in shapes and sizes. You can also replace the covers to reflect a change of season or mood.
• A pillow that is slightly larger than the cover will provide a fully plush look.

There is a psychological effect to seeing a beautifully made bed. Symmetrical placement, regardless of the style chosen, conveys order and calm. It is order and calm that is often identified as a reason why guests sleep so well when they stay at hotels.

2.   Pillow Sizes and Styles Depend on Your Sleep Preferences

While aesthetics matter, hotel guests return because of the quality of sleep they enjoyed. That sleep often depends on the comfort of the pillows. The same is true of your bed at home. You want the pillows to look beautiful while they support your sleep.

Typically, sleeping pillow size is determined by the size of the mattress: king pillows for king-size mattresses, queen pillows for queen-size mattresses, and standard-size pillows for double beds, bunk beds, and rollaway beds. This is not a hard and fast rule. If you have a king-size mattress but prefer to sleep on standard-size pillows, that's what you should do. Luxury is usually defined as at least four sleeping pillows on the king-size bed. If you like to sleep with a body pillow, it can easily take the place of two of the sleeping pillows.

Although the 7 and 8 pillow bed stacks might be perfect for king-size beds, you might want to pare down to a 6 pillow bed stack for a queen-size bed (3 Euro squares, 2 sleeping pillows, and 1 decorative pillow), a 5 pillow bed stack (4 sleeping pillows plus 1 decorative pillow) for a full-size bed, or a 3 pillow bed stack for a twin-size bed. Feel free to use fewer pillows on a larger bed, if you prefer a more streamlined look, or more pillows on a smaller bed, if you like abundance. These are not rules, only suggestions.

Since hotels cater to a wide range of guests with different sleep preferences, they provide multiple pillows in a variety of fills and firmness so guests can mix, match, stack, or remove pillows as desired. A stomach sleeper might want a super-soft pillow while a side sleeper looks for extra support. We recommend you include a variety of pillows with different fills and firmness for you and your sleep partner. You might want firmer pillows while you’re sitting up reading but softer pillows when you’re ready to turn off the light. To find the pillows with the right fill, firmness, and size for your sleep style, you can take our Pillow Butler Quiz.

Additional tips to achieve the look:

• Since your pillow preference might change with the seasons or with how you feel at any given time, you may want to follow the example of luxury hotels and keep a few additional pillows on hand. We recommend you store extra pillows in a storage box or bag to keep them clean when they're not in use.
• When you’re hosting overnight guests, follow the lead of luxury hotels and offer a pillow menu letting your guests know what you’ve placed on their bed and where they can look for any alternatives or extra pillows.

3.   Hygienic Pillows Protect Your Sleep Health

Crisp pillowcases and a fresh smell signal cleanliness, whether you’re sleeping at a hotel or in your own bedroom. To support bed hygiene maintenance, we recommend our hotel clients implement the consistent use of zippered pillow protectors on all sleeping pillows. The same recommendation applies to sleeping pillows used on your beds at home. In addition to sweat and drool, pillow protectors prevent dirt and spills, as well as allergens and dust mites, from reaching your pillows.

Even if they do not appear soiled, pillow protectors should be removed regularly for laundering with your other linens. In addition to maintaining hygiene, pillow protectors extend the life of the pillows in which you’ve invested time and money. Pillowcases, which come in direct contact with your face every night, should be laundered at least weekly.

Additional tips to achieve the look:

• Even if they don't appear soiled, pillows  should be laundered regularly. How you launder your pillows depends on their fill type. Our down and feather pillows, as well as our aquaplush® down alternative pillows, can be laundered in your machine at home. Like all down and feather products, they must be thoroughly dried before being placed back into their pillow protectors and pillowcases. Down and feather pillows will benefit from being placed in the dryer on low heat for 3-5 minutes to remove any moisture and open the down and feather for maximum fluff.
• When it comes to decorative pillows, we recommend removable covers that can be cleaned regularly or upon soiling. Decorative pillows without removable covers should be spot cleaned.

The next time you walk into your bedroom, take a moment to appreciate the beautifully made bed and thoughtfully placed pillows. Then feel free to toss the decorative pillows aside and climb in.

Cheers to the perfect pillow placement that creates a cozy and inviting bed.

-The Team at down etc

Read more:

Why Do I Sleep So Well When I Sleep at a Hotel?

Why Do You Need a Waterproof Mattress Pad and Zippered Pillow Protectors?

Why Do Hotels Trust down etc Pillows?

Everything You Need to Know About Caring for Your Pillows

Bedding Buying Guide: The Right Sleeping Pillow for Your Head and Your Bed

Why Do Hotels Use White Bed Sheets?

About down etc

For over twenty years, down etc has worked with hoteliers and professional housekeepers in hotels around the world to manufacture and provide pillows and bedding that will offer hotel guests memorably great sleep. Through our retail website, we seek to provide products that will result in the same quality sleep for our customers at home. We believe in the restorative power of a great night’s sleep, whether at home or away. That’s the reason down etc wrote the book on it, Roll Into a Perfectly Made Bed: All You Need to Know About the Art of Bedmaking.

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