How do you make a bed.....Seriously!

So you think you know how to make the bed? Do you do hospital corners and tucked in sides? Or do you have neat tight corners and loose sides?

How about tight sides and loose ends?  Or how about you are now lost in a world of confusion!

Bed making used to be an art. Beautifully executed hospital corners ( This was a fold the sheet, tuck it under, and appears a bit like an envelope on the bottom corners of the bed and never came untucked) and tight as a pin sheets that you could bounce a coin of (Army terminology here) like Grandma did.

Then came the amazing idea of feather/down or goose quilts that replaced blankets and people started to loosen up a bit about the tight sheets and wanted a bit more slack when they climbed into bed and slept under the soft layer of feathers as opposed to the heavier blanket.

Finally in this day and age 50% of us sleep with a fitted bottom sheet, loose top sheet, and a quilt in a duvet/quilt cover. The other half ditches the loose top sheet and sleep just under the duvet/quilt cover. We dress our beds with lots of pillows and shams. We place beautiful hand made quilts on top for decoration and you know what...We rarely show these rooms to anyone as they are our sanctuary. When was the last time you invited someone into your bedroom?? (To look at the bed folks!)

So how did  YOU  make the bed today?  Did you tuck in corners or leave sheets loose?

Do you have a special way that only you know how to do that your partner knows they cannot duplicate? 

I love chatting to people who tell me all sorts of things about how they make a bed, the way they sleep or style their bedrooms and I look back to my time growing up and what I learnt and it made me remember, I think I forgot to teach my children how to execute a hospital corner sheet tuck! 


Maybe that’s why our children don’t like to make a bed…   We forgot to show them!
Happy bed making everyone :) I have added a How to make hospital corners below for those who are wondering!

Jane EcoSleep Australia
Designer of Coshee® Smart Bedding for all the family

www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

Ecosleep The Home of Coshee: Smart Bedding: Patents. Do we really need them?

Ecosleep The Home of Coshee bed linen: Patents. Do we really need them?: Five years ago I invented a bed linen concept. At home in sunny Melbourne, an Australian mum fixing a problem. Why? Because I was sick of...

Patents. Do we really need them?

Five years ago I invented a bed linen concept. At home in sunny Melbourne, an Australian mum fixing a problem. Why? Because I was sick of washing heavy quilt and duvet covers every weekend because my children wouldn't use a top sheet. I would find the sheet at the bottom of the bed every week and it was so frustrating when they would look at me blankly as I ranted and raved on how hard it was to remove the quilt, wash the cover, dry the cover, and then get the quilt back into the cover and remake the bed.
There response was but the sheet gets tangled, I like the cover only. So my idea was born, I made a few sets and friends wanted one and then another and so the idea became reality.
Now I am not a sewer so I asked questions, listened to advice, and finally I was happy with the finished product.
 Then someone said "What about a patent" Ummmm. I hadn't thought about that. Do I really need one?
What's the point? So I organised a meeting with a Patent specialist and I took his advice and I patented my Coshee®  idea, trademarked the name as it stood for Cover-Sheet and off I went into the big wide world to manufacture and sell my bedlinen.

Now its five years on and we have branched out a little we now sell in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia and just last year we picked up an agent and started selling in the USA.

Things are good and we are moving along nicely. Until this week...someone else is selling our idea!

Could they have thought of it like I did? Maybe they didn't know we were here and had a Patent pending in the USA. Maybe just maybe it was a mistake I thought...until I watched the video and read the blurb and watched the money rolling in as people pledged to buy this product as it was an AWESOME idea.
Yeah it is and its MINE

. I spent 24hrs in denial. I was crushed. I have a Patent pending it will all be good.
But it doesn't quite work that way. Until I could listen to the sound voice of the legal team I was teetering, all those years of heard work for nothing? Then the voice of reason came through, a strategy was discussed and I saw clearly and with clarity that I was in the best position.

My Patent may not be through yet but I had 5 years behind me and hey maybe I could learn something from these guys. My website talks to you about beautiful bed linen, shows gorgeous shots and talks about eco friendly materials and how we solve your problems in the bedroom. Get it? You want to buy it now don't you?

No? No you don't. Why?  Because I had missed the point. I had hidden the solution to your problems in my discussions about beautiful bedlinen. I had stopped listening to why you were here and how I could help you, because I assumed you knew what I was selling.

Well I was wrong and thanks to these guys I am back on track to show you how I can make your life better in the bedroom (now now this is not an R rated piece)

I will get rid of that pesky scrunched up top sheet. I can guarantee you can make your bed each and every day in under 5 secs flat or I will come around and do it for you (confident aren't I!) and your washing will be less and easier to do.
So to the guys out there with my AWESOME bedlinen idea. Thanks so much because I am back in the saddle and here for my customers, solving their problems, helping college kids sort out their bed sets when they leave home and best of all...When my Patent is through.....I hope you have made lots of money because that is when you will meet me and my legal team because yes I believe in Patents and Karma :)

Jane
Designer of Coshee.   Smart bedding for all the family
www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

Bedroom Storage For All Seasons

How often do you walk around your bedroom with an item in hand looking for a place to put it? I do it so many times that I wonder how it felt when I first moved into our home and wondered how I was going to fill it!

Storage in the bedroom can be tricky as some things we like to display and others we don’t! So where can we put them?

Below I have listed some easy solutions and others that you may have to look for but will work well.

·         Have a bed head made that will open on hinges so that it may be used for storing extra pillows or small blankets that are used seasonally.

·         If, like me, you have a bedside table that has draws but are an avid reader think about having a small bookshelf built in to your wall between the studs to display your most favourite night time reading and small prints of the family.

·         Look for a glory box (yes they are still around) or chest or long seat with a lid for the end of the bed to store your bed pillows or spare quilts when you hop into bed at night.

·         I have a chaise lounge in my bedroom that unfortunately seems to hold more than my wardrobe some days but it is ideal for sitting on when getting ready and holding some of the clothing items I may need tomorrow!

·         Build or buy a long low shelf/draw unit for under the window to store knick knacks, jumpers or everyday items for a quick find. This can be made to be a perfect addition to any bedroom as places like IKEA have them in various colours to suit both modern and old style furniture.

·         In children’s rooms the box shelving with the coloured boxes are always a hit as so much can be stored here and are easy to the kids to pack their toys into.

·         Hooks on walls in any bedroom can be used to hold both dressing gowns and jackets that are now easy to grab.

Hopefully all of these ideas will help make your bedroom a warm haven that you love to spend time in J

Jane

www.ecosleepaustralia.com.au

Where do you go to my lovely....When you're alone in your bed?

We work hard, play hard, think a lot, laugh a lot, live life and look for new opportunities…daily. Are you exhausted already? I am!

So at night when my head hits the pillow I want that deep warm slumber that I had as a child that makes me feel refreshed in the morning and helps me to bounce out of bed, but somehow, some days it seems to allude me.

My brain wont turn off, I wake at 3am thinking about the job deadline for the next day, the cat wants to go out at 4am and I cant go back to sleep so by 6am I am now bleary eyed. Where is that peaceful 8 hrs slumber and how do I get it back?

Everyone has points they like to offer but here are a few I have tried and found work for me…..most nights!

A 20 minute siesta mid afternoon between 1 and 4pm if available will boost your energy levels and allow you to function better and sleep more soundly later that night. 

Think about what you eat and drink during the day and don’t have your evening meal too close to bed time. Cut down on the alcohol, sugar and carbs when possible. Make sure you see sunlight for around 20 minutes a day to boost your Vitamin D levels.

Have a “to do” list and de-clutter your mind before bed rather than toss and turn on the events you can’t change at 1am!

Choosing the right pillow as mentioned before is crucial to a good nights sleep

Go to bed when you are tired and try to keep to a routine. If you don’t fall asleep get up for half an hour then try again. Don’t keep tossing and turning. Remember we did it for our children and it worked then!

Sometimes adding more calcium and magnesium to your diet or taking supplements will help calm the mind and muscles.

My husband loves his shower before bed and I like to read. We both find when this doesn’t occur our sleep is not as good…..Do we favour routine for a great nights sleep umm I think we do! 

Happy sleeping

Jane

What's in a Colour?

As a parent you never stop helping your children even when they are adults, so on the weekend my husband and I found ourselves helping to build a picket fence.

Now we have done this before but the tricky part came when colours were being decided.

Desert sand posts with white pickets….. easy. No it wasn’t! The discussion on white, off white, and antique white was long and vocal.

In the end the antique white won and it does look good but it made me wonder where we go when we aren’t sure and need some assistance in the ever changing world of colour.

Many years ago houses were painted white, then beige. Who remembers mission brown architraves?

Nowadays we want a feature wall or two in a bright bold colours or antique white walls and ceiling with white furniture, with splashes of color in rugs or cushions.

You will need to decide which colours combine well, whether they are toning, harmonious or complementary. By coming to grips with the rules of colour, you can give any room a professional look.

Primary colours are three key colours - Red, Blue and Yellow. They cannot be made from any other colour.

Secondary colours: Your Secondary colours if you mix equal amounts of the primary colours, are- Purple, Green and Orange.

Red + Yellow = Orange
Red + Blue = Purple
Blue + Yellow = Green 

Tertiary colours: If you mix a primary with a secondary colour, in a ratio of 2:1, you get a Tertiary colour. Red-Orange, Blue-Green.

Cool versus hot Yellow, red and orange are 'warm' or 'hot' and blue, green or mauve are 'cool' or 'cold'.

This is useful when you want to create a mood or feature in a particular room or need to make your space cosier or lighter.

Neutrals Neutrals are one of the easiest groups of colours, or non-colours to work with. They don't appear on the colour wheel and include Black, Grey, White and sometimes Brown and Beige. They all go together and can be layered and mixed and matched. No neutral colour will try to dominate over another.

Accent colours and Feature walls. An accent colour is a colour used in quite small quantities to lift or to add punch to a colour scheme.

• An accent colour should be in a complementary colour. It works best if it's a bright, vibrant colour. Accent colours are perfect if you're scared of using strong colour - simply add a splash of an accent colour with a cushion, a vase or a throw or go all out and do one wall in a room.
• Keep most of your room in shades and variations of one single colour. Choose a number of items in a harmonious colour. Then your feature wall or furniture piece will be the room statement.

So now back to painting the fence! Enjoy your painting and never be afraid to use different colours as you can always paint again!

Jane
www.ecosleepaustralia.com