I Swear By My Mom’s Ingenious Hack for Instantly Making My Bed Look Cozier (It’s So Simple!)

I’ve spent the last several years trying to figure out the ideal bedding situation for my bed, and after a ton of trial and error (and way too many throw pillows to count), I think I finally found something that checks all of my boxes: sizing up my bedding. 

When I first moved into my Los Angeles apartment, I invested in an Avocado Green queen-size mattress, and to this day it’s one of the comfiest I’ve ever slept on. My room is on the smaller end of the size spectrum, and as much as I wanted to give this mattress the throne it deserves, I didn’t want to crowd my space with a massive bed frame. I opted for a basic metal style that helps ground the mattress in my bedroom and still allows me to store plenty of things (read: shoes) underneath.

I needed to find a way to hide my under-the-bed shoe collection, though, to make the room look less cluttered. So, I did what any other grown millennial would do — I consulted with my mother. She suggested I get a bed skirt, and tried to position it as the more obvious choice — which, I guess, it was. But there’s something too frilly about them, and washing and putting them back on sounds like extra laundry, so I quickly squashed that suggestion (sorry, Mom). 

Then she came at me with one more idea: Go up a size in bedding. As it turns out, bedding can be a lot like fashion, in that certain sizes give you a specific look. While you absolutely need to get the correct fitted sheet for your mattress size — otherwise, it won’t actually be a “fitted” sheet — you can totally go up a size in comforters, quilts, and blankets to create a more relaxed, effortless bedding style (or win your fight against bed skirts). 

To achieve this look, I ordered the Brooklinen Linen Quilt in a king/California king size. I’ll admit, when I first took it out of the box, I was a bit nervous it would be too big. But once I draped it over my bed and saw the way it covered my bed and the bed frame, I was sold. 

My queen-size comforter only drapes down the sides of my mattress (as it’s intended to do), and even though it doesn’t actually look bad, the larger quilt creates a much cozier-looking bed. My mattress appears bigger, too, without it actually taking up more space. And, because it touches the floor, the quilt covers up all of the items stored under my mattress — bed skirt, be damned! This extended bedding style even resembles the European-inspired coverlet trend, which is perfect for giving low-profile bed frames a more high-end appeal.

With fall weather expected to make its debut any week here in LA, it’s almost time to fold my quilt up until next summer, which means I am due for a new comforter. You bet I’ll be ordering the largest one I can find and layering it with the coziest blankets I have (including my beloved faux fur Lola blanket)!