How to Dress a Bed with a Duvet

Place a mattress pad on the bed, centering the thick pad in the middle of the mattress. Pull the sides down tightly to smooth the top of the bed.

Encase the mattress in a fitted bottom sheet. Pull the sheet corners down tightly to give the bottom sheet a smooth appearance.

Place the top sheet on the mattress with the colored side facing down. The arrangement may look upside down, but it will give the bed a finished look when you turn the top of the covers back. Tuck the bottom of the sheet into the foot of the bed using hospital corners.

Cover the sheets with a blanket that matches the sheets and duvet cover. Pull the top of the blanket up so that it doesn't quite reach the top of the sheet. Neaten the bottom of the blanket with hospital corners at the foot of the bed.

Lay the duvet on the bed with the top edge of the duvet at the head of the bed. Move the duvet around if needed to ensure the right and left sides are even.

Fold the duvet top, blanket and top sheet down together as one piece. Pull them down until the top edge of the duvet is about one-third of the way from the head of the bed. Smooth the blanket and sheet over the folded edge of the duvet.

Place the two main pillows on the bed, side by side, at the very head. Arrange the other decorative pillows in symmetrical order, cascading down from the main pillows toward the center of the bed.