I think you need at least three Euros for a king-sized bed. You'll probably want two king shams, also. I actually use five Euros, two kings and three 16" squares with the sleeping pillows left in the closet until bedtime. Why not take a look at how beds are styled in advertisements for inspiration? I've linked Lauren below, but you could also take a walk through your local upscale department store. They would probably let you play around with different looks so you could get an idea of which elements you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: RLL

We have two "body pillows" plus two regular pillows. The two body pillows are a perfect fit for the width of the bed.

I just wanted to say, I understand your pain. When we moved last summer, we ordered a king size bed, which sounded amazing right until it was delivered. Then it looked like a monstrosity.

Well, here we are, almost a year later, and I love it. You will love yours, too. It's very upsetting to buy all new bedding when one's old bedding is much loved, but once the pain of that wears off, you will be delighted with your new bed.

So... enjoy!

Forward from the headboard:

Two bolsters (rusty tone on tone stitched windowpane silk)

Three Euroshams (darker moss green nubby solid that matches bed skirt)

Two smaller lumbar rolls (tweedy rust, brown and green fabric) with a smaller decorative square pillow in the middle (rust, brown and green subtle stripes with a decorative stone pin in the center)

Two smaller decorative pillows in the front center (one a multi paisley, one a chenille damask - in the same colors as above)

The comforter is sort of a Jacobean floral in deep shades of rusts, browns and greens on a beige ground.

Sleeping pillows go on the hope chest during the day.

I leave sleeping pillows on the bed with the coverlet over them. 2 king (contrasting) pillows, 2 king pillows that match coverlet and one decorative in the center.

I've eliminated extra decorative pillows from my bed and window bench since I'm in a 'less is more' phase this year!

As annz said above, I live in *less is more land* too. Putting lots of pillows on a bed (or a sofa for that matter) is just not my style but prefer things simple, tailored and crisp. I'm no longer bothered by the size of our king bed although at first it did seem huge. Filling it up with pillows was never on my radar but that's a personal decorating choice.

2 king shams in front of our 4 king sleeping pillows - warmer weather

2 king shams in front of our 4 king sleeping pillows - colder weather

Ours looks identical in make up to dlm's, with one difference: I like a euro decor pillow placed in front of the king size shams to " bridge" the two . Also, we only keep two king size pillows under the sham pillows for sleeping. I sleep with my down pillow and keep the sham pillow behind it. DH tosses his sham pillow onto a chair. I love the size for sleeping, but miss the queen when changing sheets.

dlm - What are the top patterned fabrics (warm and cool weather) on your bed? Sheets? Duvet covers without duvet? I like the taut, "thin" look (not puffy), particularly for warm weather. TIA

Java

I just started to make my bed up like dlm2000, except for the sheets folded over and showing (which I like!). My previous bed(s) always had at least 3 other pillows, what a pain to make and unmake and find a place to put them! I'm enjoying the simply bedmaking - and it looks great!!

sonicmom... Ha! We just recently did the same thing, upgraded to a king and gave our queen to our son. I am totally stumped with how to decorate our room now. We ended up buying an upholstered type headboard/base for the bed. I am thinking of posting pics of my bedroom to solicit ideas for colors/decorating ideas. Our headboard is sort of a grey color, we need to paint so I guess we can go in a lot of different directions. But I am confused as to what to put on the bed. I'm rambling now LOL!, I'll stop... but your post caught my eye.

If you are still trying to figure out what you like before you buy, take a look at the king size beds on Houzz. (am I allowed to link to Houzz?!?)
Lots of styling options depending on your taste. Have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: king size beds

dlm2000, thanks for the pictures- I like! Love your bed, bedding, the window treatments, everything! All the suggestions were very helpful. I've googled king bed and king bedding, but most images seem to be actually staged on a queen, so thanks for the houzz link.
I ordered a voile bed skirt from Overstock, that will be more fun than a basket of kittens to iron and install. Guess I can skip the gym next week.

{{!gwi}}

javachik - the warm weather is a reversible duvet cover from World Market (basically 2 sheets in fabric weight) with nothing inside, hence the down blanket at the foot of the bed for air conditioning or open windows on a cool night. Filled duvets bug the life out of me! I could never get them to look the way I like or lay (lie?) straight enough for my taste. The winter one is pretty much the same thing but custom and (shhhhh) we don't use it anymore because DH hates it - too heavy and makes his feet hurt :-/ The top layer that you see is just a printed cotton, a bit heavier than sheeting, but the bottom, or what you see on the turn back, is a quilted cotton and that's where the weight comes from. Live & learn. It's sitting in the linen closet, barely used.

Two king size pillows. 3 standard pillows in a different, but coordinating case in front. Down comforter with duvet. Used a fitted sheet as the skirt. Four dogs. Two cats.

That is my king sized bed.

We bought just the mattress and bed frame. I've read some interesting online tutorials on making a king-size headboard out of a door, and I'm keeping my eye out now for the right type door. Remember I mentioned the budget? I think I could manage a DIY headboard, but can't see how to make a matching foot board or where it would attach to the bed frame. Without a foot board, which I'm used to on the old bed, there is nothing to keep the extra coverlet/ blanket on the bed and it always slips onto the floor. Any tips on that?

There are kits to convert your frame to accommodate a footboard. I'm assuming you have a metal frame?

The link below shows one brand but I've read reviews where some people have trouble getting some extensions to fit their frame or existing holes on the footboard.
I would first talk to the salespeople where you bought your bed/frame and see if they stock the attachment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Attachment

Sonicmom, we love our CalKing field, a TempurPedic so if one of us tosses and turns the other never knows it. We have two sleeping pilloows, two King pillows with shams that match the spread, three medium square pillows tossed in the middle in front of those, and then a very small rectangle in the middle of the three. We have no footboard, a homemade headboard, and don't have any problem with covers slipping off, although we do have a cedar chest at the foot of the bed that I guess would impede cover slippage somewhat. Good luck with your DIY headboard. We fastened ours to the wall and it looks "real"; no problems.

I don't have a king, I have an Olympic Queen. We love it; just the right size (no soccer field) and I could use my queen bed frame.

I'm no help - we don't dress our (king) bed any more. We have two king pillows at the back, with two pairs of standard sleeping pillows in front, no top sheet, no bedspread - just a big foofy down comforter with covers that get changed when the sheets are changed. Making the bed involves fluffing the pillows, giving the duvet a mighty shake or two, and I'm done. I do iron my pillowcases, so they look fairly presentable.

I changed my ways when we went to see the Harrison Ford & Annette Bening movie about the aggressive finance lawyer who was changed when a robber shot him in the head. When he came home from rehab to his gorgeous bedroom (Mica Ertegun did the apartment for the movie), looked at all the layered pillows, sighed, and flung them all on the floor so he could lie down, every man in the house (my DH included) just burst out laughing.

Now the only challenge about the bed is finding room. Two sleeping cats can completely fill a king sized bed.

I struggled to find something that was within my budget, that I liked and that didn't have a dust ruffle. I ended up with a king size bedspread. Had every intention of just tucking it around our sleeping pillows but it just so happened to come with 2 king shams.

So my field has two body pillows, like Chibimimi, and 2 king pillows in the shams. I am definitely trying to go minimalistic.

Don't know how it happened or why, but I am just yearning for clean lines, lighter colors, less furniture per room and much, much less clutter.

Rack'em or Stack'em style

Pt. 1: http://designwotcha.com/design-basics/how-to-friday-fundamentals/how-to-arrange-pillows-on-a-king-bed-part-1

Here is a link that might be useful: Arranging pillows on King size bed

Brownwynsmom, I have two questions : 1.) do you change your bed yourself? There must be a trick I've not learned to inserting comforter into the duvet. It's a job I'd not like to tackle weekly. Hmmm, most Europeans do, though, so got to be an easier way. Guess I should google.
2.). Unless you sleep in an air conditioned room, do you not want a lighter cover , or just a top sheet in summer? Here in Ca. Nights are usually cool enough for our light weight down. It does get tossed off some nights, though, and I'm glad for the sheet. BMW...you have some splainin' to do"! :>) marti

I'm also a two king pillows with cases and two king pillows with shams user. Everything is white cotton or white matelasse, with a solid yellow quilt folded across the bottom. Our walls are yellow and the bed is against the wall. We have no headboard or footboard. Kitty cat sleeps on the yellow quilt every night.

I also relate to your disappointment! I literally cried when my bed was delivered and set up, and called my sister on the phone I was so beside myself! I thought it looked so big and awkward and awful. I concluded I'd made one big honkin' mistake, and couldn't imagine *how* I could make such a thing actually look attractive.

A little over six years later now, and I regard our king-sized bed as one of the best purchases we've ever made! Within a few months of living with it and adjusting my eye to it, I loved it, both in terms of how it looked in the room and how it functioned as a wonderful, dreamy place to sleep! I hope you find yourself with a transformed perspective too, Sonicmom.

Sadly, yes, I change the bed myself. Where is that durn staff, anyway...?

Let me see if I can explain my duvet cover method...

Standing at at the foot of the bed, I shake the cover out onto the bed with the buttoned edge (unbuttoned, of course) near the foot. We don't have a footboard, so that's easy. If you have one, you can work from the side.

I put the comforter on the bed, and fold the top down toward me so I can get at the top corners. I take the top right corner of the duvet with my left hand, and run it up to the top right corner of the cover, pulling the cover down over it with my right hand as I go. Then I grab the corner from the outside with my right hand, and pull the cover down over it a bit more. Repeat from the left, everything reversed. Tuck the bottom duvet corners into their corners of the cover, shake it out to settle it in, and button it up.

Sounds very involved, but it's really just like putting on a big, unwieldy pillowcase, and takes about five minutes.

That's a better way...thank you! Now, as for warm nights.... You sleep n air cond. always so do not miss a sheet? Almost never use air here, so guess I must stick with the old way. Still, good to,have better way with duvet Virginia has been extra toasty this summer...cool nights are coming, though.

marti, I just turn the duvet inside out, reach in and grab the comforter from the bottom corners, shake the cover down. Of course, I do stand on the bed to get the height I need to shake the comforter down. Easy peasy.

Yes! ....the inside out works well for me....thanks, cyn.

Inside out is a great method - I do it the other way because we have a Tempur-pedic, and you have to be a Flying Wallenda to stand on one without tipping over...