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A great night's sleep starts with a great mattress, natch. Our fave designer has suggestions and a ton of design tips for you.

After almost three decades working as an interior designer, Nate Berkus knows how to build a great bedroom. At the top of the list is comfortable bedding, a pillow you love, and, unsurprisingly, a high-quality mattress. It was a no-brainer for him, then, to partner with Beautyrest for a limited edition collection of mattresses, pillows, and mattress protectors.

“I’ve always believed that there are places to invest and places where you don’t have to,” Berkus says. “As a designer, a dad, a husband, and a professional with a very busy life, there’s no substitute for a good night’s sleep.” He was one of the first to try out one of the new Beautyrest mattresses in his Manhattan home, but that’s not the only thing that’s evolving in Berkus’ interior style—he’s also leaning away from a minimalist color palette. “I'm at a bit of a standstill because I'm really tired of an all-white interior,” he says. “It's interesting to be pulling away from what I've always gravitated towards.”

While his previous home in Los Angeles had been filled with natural elements and tones like cream, iron, wood, and stone, Berkus is now feeling richer shades like oxblood, cordovan, and army green. Below, Berkus shares more about his ideal bedroom, how he designs a serene sleeping space for clients, and his number one pet peeve when it comes to mattresses.

“I've always put almost 80 percent vintage or antique finds in every space I've ever designed, because I think that every home should tell a story and feel assembled and collected,” Berkus says. It’s all about finding the pieces and palettes that speak to you. For Berkus, that means his bedroom needs to be calm and chill. “I'm constantly inspired by the energy of Manhattan and I crave that, but when I walk through my bedroom door at night, I don't want any of that noise. I want a serene space,” he says.

Some people may prefer that clean, streamlined design, while others will enjoy adding framed family photos and other personal touches. “It’s worth it to stop and ask yourself those questions before you start a bedroom redesign,” Berkus says.

As for color, it’s important to look for shades that bring you joy rather than opting for whatever’s trending. “Color is so deeply personal,” Berkus says. “Open your closet—what colors tell your story?”

“In terms of getting a good night’s sleep, mattress is obviously number one,” Berkus says. That’s closely followed by pillows and a mattress protector. “I’m obsessive about using a mattress protector because why wouldn’t you protect something that you’ve invested in?” Berkus says. Plus, with two kids under 10 in his household, it’s a smart step in cleanliness.

Once you’ve handled the bases of your bed, two areas to upgrade are bedding and lighting. “You should have bedside lamps or sconces and a floor lamp somewhere,” Berkus says, which will allow you to control the brightness in your room and have some mood lighting when needed. As for bedding, Berkus is all about his own bedding line, which he’ll be relaunching next year, but he’s currently sleeping on sheets from Restoration Hardware. He also looks for something all-purpose: “I don’t change my bedding seasonally, but I will change the decorative moments on top of the bed or add a blanket in winter.”

After that, Berkus adds other design touches like an inexpensive rug (“you do not need to spend every nickel on a rug—I actually think that’s a bad plan”) and a comfortable seat that’s an alternative to your bed. “I love a bench at the end of the bed,” Berkus says.

“From my earliest days on The Oprah Show, I've always been obsessive about quality,” Berkus says. That was why he was drawn to partnering with Beautyrest. “Even if you buy the most expensive, magnificent sheets in the world that Gayle King would sing to the public about or that Adam Glassman would wear on his head like a hat—it doesn't matter if you have a bad mattress.”

Berkus takes sustainability seriously, too, so the Beautyrest mattresses use a material made from recycled plastic bottles that have been removed from the ocean. “I don't think anybody should be buying anything without asking the question of how it's impacting the environment anymore,” Berkus says. But his favorite design touch is a small yet important one: He designed each mattress in an all-white herringbone pattern rather than with the florals that so many mattresses have. “Most people sleep with white sheets. I cannot stand seeing a huge blue flower through the sheet. It drives me crazy.” Sweet dreams indeed.

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