You know the feeling you get when you jump into a perfectly made hotel bed? Why not bring that luxury feeling right into your bedroom at home? With just a few easy steps you can learn the technique for making your bed just like a luxury hotel and add a touch of luxuriousness to your home life. 

The style used for making beds in nice hotels is known as hospital corners. As the name suggests, this type of bed making originated in hospitals and is still used in many today. The same style has since made its way into the hospitality industry, and when paired with high-quality linens and comforters it creates the high-end experience hotels offer today. Whether you have extremely high-quality sheets, or your regular old bed sheets, learning to make your bed this way will class up your bedroom. Here are the steps to creating a hotel bed experience at home. 

1. The bottom sheet - When you put on the bottom sheet start with the corners at the head of the bed and end with the corners at the foot of the bed. Once all four corners are on tighten the sheet by pulling the material at the foot of the bed and tucking it further under. 

2. The top sheet, or sheets - here you have two options. You can use a standard single top sheet and then put your comforter on top, covering it with a duvet cover. Or, you can double-sheet your comforter, so it doesn’t require a cover. At home it tends to be simpler to use a duvet cover but if you really want that luxury experience goes for the double sheeting and just put your duvet in a protector. 

   - If you’re only using one top sheet, you’ll merely lay the top sheet across the bed with the hem about 1 foot from the head of the bed. At this time do not tuck the sheet. 

   - If you’re going to double-sheet the bed place the first sheet on the bed with the sheet inside out and the hem all the way to the top of the bed. 

3. The Comforter - Place your comforter on the bed with the top about one and a half feet from the top of the bed. a. For double sheeting, after you place the comforter on the bed, place another sheet on top of the comforter (right-side out) about 1 foot from the head of the bed. 

4. Tucking - Here is where you’ll need some practice before this style of bed making feels easy and natural. Starting by lifting one bottom corner of the bed, take the sheet, or sheets, and comforter and tuck them under the mattress in one sweeping motion. Now go to the other corner and do the same. 

5. More tucking - Now you’re going to take the un-tucked linens from the corner of the bed and tuck them along the long side of the mattress. This should leave you with linens un-tucked on either side but completely tucked at the bottom of the bed. 

6. Fold down - From the top of the bed, fold the sheeted comforter down about 6 inches.

7. Hospital corners - Looking at the linens from the foot of the bed you should now see a sharp fold over at each corner. You can sharpen the fold by tucking the linens more and creasing the top of the sheet. From here you can either leave your hospital corners open, or you can tuck the linens along both sides of the bed for a complete and formal hospital corner.

8. Place pillows back on the bed. 

When you’re done, you should be looking at a bed that appears wrapped up like a present. With a little practice, you can make your bed this way in about fifteen minutes when changing sheets and in about five minutes flat for daily maintenance. Enjoy your new and comfortable luxury bedroom experience.

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Whether you're looking for your first house or getting ready to relocate for the fifth time, house hunting can wear you down after a while!

Not only can it be difficult to coordinate real estate appointments with work obligations and the demands of parenthood, but your stress level is compounded if you're on any kind of time table or deadline.

The secret to survival is to maintain a positive attitude, do your best to remain solution oriented, and work with a proactive real estate agent. A seasoned real estate agent who is familiar with the local market and is skilled at matching client needs to available housing inventory in the area can be your most valuable resource.

Know What You Want

One of the primary ways you can help your agent find your ideal home is to give a lot of thought to exactly what you want. When you're clear in your own mind about what would satisfy you, in terms of location, architectural style, and property size, then it will be a lot easier to refine your search and stay on target. Not only will that help your real estate agent match your specifications to available listings, but it will also help you recognize your ideal house when you see it.

A good starting point is to have a checklist of priorities, essential property features, and preferences that are important to you, your spouse, and your children. Deciding on must-have features as early in the process as possible can provide you with needed focus and momentum as you compare houses and view real estate listings. Although nothing is "carved in stone" and you can always revise your priority list, it can be a valuable tool for both you and your agent.

While everyone has different needs and wish lists, items to give some thought to may include a finished basement, a working fireplace, a two-car garage, a patio or deck, a screened in porch, a spacious back yard, a storage shed, outdoor security lighting, a sufficient number of bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate your immediate family and overnight guests, an abundance of storage space, short commutes to work, and proximity to shopping, essential services, and a well-rated school district.

Some couples have specific architectural styles in mind when they go house hunting, such as Colonial, Contemporary, Craftsman, Tudor, Victorian, and Art Deco. It's also helpful to have a clear idea, and hopefully be in agreement with your partner, about how much decorating, renovating, and fixing up you're willing, ready, and able to do. Knowing how much privacy you must have, the peace and quiet you expect, and the recreational facilities you want access to are other key elements of "the big picture."

Although the biggest hurdle may be staying motivated and optimistic in the face of temporary setbacks and discouragements, when you have a clear idea of what you want and an attitude of positive expectation, you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish!

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