Making your bed in the morning can be a bit of a boring job. However, if you do it right, you can start your day off in a better mood and get a better night’s sleep when you get under your sheets at the end of the day.
One of the best ways to make your bed look good and get that ‘hotel bed feel’ at the same time is by mastering hospital corners. Hospital corners is a sheet technique that uses overlapping folds to create a flat surface and neat creases on your bed. As the name suggests, hospital corners are most commonly found in hospitals as well as military bases.
Due to how neat and precise hospital corners are, they can look quite tricky but if you follow these simple steps, you can not only master this sheet technique but create a comfortable bed that you’ll look forward to getting into everyday. For more bed making advice, try these 7 hacks to make your home bed feel like a five-star hotel bed.
1. Place a flat sheet over your mattress
First, place a flat sheet over your mattress. A flat sheet doesn't have any elasticated or rounded corners, but is rather a simple rectangular sheet with sharp corners. If you have a fitted sheet, you can put this on your bed but you’ll still need a flat sheet to lay over the top of it. With the flat sheet, lay it on your mattress with three sides of the sheet hanging off the mattress at the foot and sides of the bed. The top of the sheet should be aligned with the top of your mattress or head of the bed.
If you want to upgrade your sleep set-up, check out our guide to the best mattress and if you need any new bedding, take a look at the best sheets.
2. Tuck the bottom of the sheet in at the foot of the bed
With your sheet in place, head to the foot of the bed and tuck the bottom of the sheet underneath your mattress. Do this by lifting the bottom of your mattress and tucking the sheet beneath it. Put your mattress back down and slide your hands between the mattress and bed base to make sure the sheet is smooth and tight.
3. Tidy up the excess fabric
After you’ve done step 2, there should be excess sheet fabric at the corners. To make your first hospital corner, lift up the sheet and place it on top of your mattress in a 45-degree angle or a tent-like triangle shape. Smooth the corner on top of the bed and tuck in the excess fabric that’s hanging down underneath the mattress. Fold the corner back down over the mattress and tuck this underneath it, too.
If you’re not sure what a hospital corner is meant to look like, once you’ve finished your corner, you should be able to see a little fold that you can slip your hand into. Repeat this step on the other corner and then make your way around the bed, tucking in the sheet and making your hospital corners on all four sides.
4. Smooth out any wrinkles
Once your hospital corners are complete and your sheet is all tucked in, smooth out any wrinkles on the top of the bed by running your hands along the sheet. If you want to really push the boat out, you can steam the sheet to get rid of any folds or wrinkles. If the sheet is a little baggy in places, continue to tuck in your sheets and pull it under tightly. To make your bed look and feel even more professional and comfy, you can also tuck your duvet in under the mattress so it looks even sleeker.