How To Make Your Duvet Fluffy and Full

This post has been years in the making.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been trying to figure out how to make your duvet fluffy. I desperately wanted to emulate that super full hotel bed look in my home but kept coming up short.

Yet, no matter what type of comforter or duvet insert I purchased, my final results would never look like the bedscapes styled by the interior designers on Instagram.  

Worse, my bed doesn’t even look like the product photo of the exact items I bought!

Alas, after plain dumb luck, I stumbled upon a YouTube video where the answer to my question was casually unveiled. I couldn’t believe it.

Hidden amidst an Amazon home decor haul, the secret for how to make your duvet fluffy was revealed to me.

I had to test it out.

If you want to know how to transform a flat duvet, into a fluffy full cloud, keep reading. 

Comforters vs Duvets

First, let’s talk about the difference between comforters and duvet inserts. 

While the terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. 

If you want to get that super fluffy luxurious look you’re going to want to go for a duvet.

A duvet consists of a duvet cover and a duvet insert. Think of the duvet cover as a giant pillowcase. They come in lots of different styles, fabrics, textures, and patterns just like you would find with a comforter. 

The difference is that a duvet cover alone has no filling. The filling is the duvet insert. 

The duvet insert is tucked inside the duvet cover and is fastened by ties or buttons that are hidden along the inside seam of the duvet cover. 

The duvet insert itself will have loops to connect to these buttons or ties. This stops your duvet insert from sliding around inside your duvet cover.

At a minimum, you’ll find a tie on each of the four corners of your cover and insert.  However, larger sizes, like King and Cal King often boast 8 tie downs.

In contrast, a comforter is pre-filled with either a fiber filling or a down filling. The inside of the comforter is not removable. Instead, it is permanently sewn in.

This makes the comforter a little bit more challenging to launder on a regular basis.  It also makes your style/color choice a bit more permanent. 

With the duvet, you can switch out your duvet cover easily to change up your look with the seasons.

You can also wash just the duvet cover without having to wash the insert each time you want to freshen up your bedding.

So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s talk about how the ways to make your bed look fluffy and full.

How To Make Your Duvet Fluffy

In essence, we need to overstuff the duvet cover to increase the overall fluffiness of the duvet.

I tested out a single overstuffed method and the recommended double overstuffed method to see the difference.

Standard Insert

As a reference point, this is what the bed in my guest bedroom looks like with a standard queen duvet insert inside of a queen duvet cover.

The result is a pretty flat and dull duvet.

Now, I know this will seem a little overboard to some.  But I want to give you a good illustration of what we’re talking about. 

In the picture below you’ll see I measure the height or fluffiness if you will, of the duvet when I fold it over the bottom half of the bed.

With a queen-sized duvet insert inside of a queen-sized duvet cover, we land around 2.5 – 3 inches off the top of the mattress. 

Overstuffed Method

Now, let’s test the overstuffed method. 

With the overstuffed method, you’re supposed to use a duvet insert that is one size larger than your cover. 

So, for my queen bed, I have a queen duvet cover and I’m going to overstuff it with a king duvet insert. 

The theory here is that the extra stuffing that comes with the king insert will be squished into the queen cover and fill it out more. 

This method made a lot of sense to me because I do the same thing with the throw pillows on my sofa. 

I usually size up one or two sizes on the insert from the cover so that the pillow is nice and full and firm. 

When I use the overstuffed method on my guest bed there was a noticeable difference.

Measuring the height of the foldover after the overstuffed method, we land between 3 and 3.5 inches off the top of the mattress.

It’s a slight improvement, but still not the super full fluffy look that I want.

On to the double overstuffed method.

Double Overstuffed Method

With this method, we are using two king inserts inside of a queen duvet cover. 

After a little trial and error, I found that the easiest way to do this is to secure your first insert completely with all the ties/buttons before you bring in the second layer.

Once the first layer is secured, slide the second duvet insert on top.  Then, one by one, untie a corner, align the second insert with the first, then retie them both together.

Do this all the way around until both inserts are fastened at all locations.

I won’t lie, the setup for this one is a bit laborsome. But check out the results. This is it!  This is exactly what I’ve been trying to achieve for years.

The foldover measure on this one is between 5.5 – 6 inches.  That’s a big difference from my starting point of 2.5 – 3 inches.

Other Ways To Get The Fluffy Bed Look

If you really want to take the styling of your bed to the next level, don’t stop at the duvet. Here are a few other things you should do.

Don’t skip the mattress pad.

Your mattress pad plays a big role in how fluffy your bed looks.

A pillow top mattress pad will not only visually add height to your bedding, but it will also make the experience of laying in it incredible.

Fold down your duvet or comforter.

Folding down your duvet or comforter is another way to add volume to your bedscape.

Pile on the pillows.

Pillows are another great way to add fluff to your bed styling.

Start from the back with your sleeping pillows, then add your pillows with shams in front.

Then, add another layer or two of decorative pillows in front of those.

Opt for pinch pleat covers.

Pinch-pleat duvet covers and pinch-pleat comforters are a great way to give the optical illusion of volume to your bed.

While they don’t do much for comfort, they will help your bed look full and fluffy.

Throw on a blanket.

Don’t forget to add a throw blanket to the end of your bed.

Whether you neatly fold it over or literally throw it onto the bed, it will create another layer to your bedscape.

Try to choose something with a lot of lush touchable texture like a faux fur blanket or a fluffy arm knit blanket.

Tumble dry to revive the fluff.

Remember, over time the fluffiness is bound to go down.

This happens as air escapes from the bedding.

To revive the fluff simply place your mattress pad and your duvet insert into the dryer on a tumble low setting for 20 minutes. 

This will loosen matted filling and infuse air back into the bedding.

Final Thoughts

Finally, the question of how to make your duvet fluffy has been answered.

In the end, this bed makes me feel like I’m sleeping on a cloud. The double overstuffed method is well worth the extra setup time.

Normally, I don’t style my bed with extra decorative pillows, but it’s a nice look for a guest room where you don’t have to disassemble and reassemble them daily. 

I give a lot of credit to my mattress pad and the softness of my sheets in addition to the duvet insert.

I’ll link below all of the items that I used on this bed. Everything is available on Amazon.

Down Alternative Comforter Duvet Insert

Modern Foliage Collection, 4-Piece, 14-Inch Deep Pocket Sheet Set

EASELAND Queen Size Mattress Pad Pillow Top Mattress Cover

Smile Bee Boho Outdoor Throw Pillow Covers Set of 2

Utopia Bedding Throw Pillows Insert

MIULEE Set of 2 Decorative Boho Throw Pillow Covers

Amazon Brand – Pinzon Faux Fur Throw Blanket – 63 x 87 Inch, Frost gray

Bed Pillows for Sleeping 2 Pack

Conclusion

In addition to the double overstuffed method, I’ve heard of people adding a comforter layer below their duvet!  

That would be a little bit much for me here in Texas, but if you live in a cold climate and like to pile on the blankets, it’s another option.

That concludes this post. I hope you found it helpful. If you did, please share it with a friend and follow Dianne Decor on Pinterest and Instagram. 

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