I have two thin pillows in a pillow case for sleeping, and 2 thick pillows in shams.
The shams are perfect for supporting my back when sitting up in bed. I do move them out of the way to sleep.
In the guest room we have a couple smaller decorative pillows that look nice & probably annoy guests. 
I use one very flat sleeping pillow in a pillowcase. H uses 2 thick sleeping pillows in cases supported by a husband. No decorative pillows or shams and I don’t make my bed except if a contractor or someone is going into the bedroom. I use a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and then a blanket whose weight/texture varies by season.
Both H and I must have the bed made as soon as practical. I did it for years. H took it over a few years ago. He is super anal about everything being perfect. Fine by me if he does it!
And all of our shams and decorative pillows came with the $75-100 comforter set from Target. I don’t go out and buy anything extra.
I can’t do white sheets. I’d worry about them looking icky. They don’t feel comfortable to me because of that reason. We have Star Wars sheets instead! Flannel and regular. We do also have generic ones too, but the Star Wars ones seem to make their way on the bed most often. And our second sleeping pillowcase is something odd as well. I currently have a Little Mermaid one. I’m not sure about H - some super hero one I think.
Adorably nerdalicious! Love it! 
I make the bed daily but not always as soon as I get up. I like white sheets because they can be bleached. Same reason I like white towels.
@Hoggirl - we have a compromise. I put two of our six sleeping pillows in a nicer sham-like pillowcase. Those are dual-purpose pillows. But no tchotchkes pillows on our bed. Our house does not have a whole lot of decor going on. In the bedroom, we have only one picture on the wall. I still can’t find a picture to put over the bed that would satisfy Mr.’s safety criteria. ‘Cause earthquakes.
Totally agree. I’ve been a white sheets and towels person for decades.
If there is dirt, I want to see it.
One of the great surprises as I got older was that I CAN take care of white towels and sheets. I’d always avoided them. For me, it’s using Clorox brand (nothing else) and their bleach pen plus occasionally hanging whites out in the sun.
Bigger issue is the dog sleeps on the far corner. I fret her nails might damage a delicate topper. I regret allowing her.
Right now, the bed is not artfully made daily. New mattress comes Wed and I’ll pull out the bedding I bought a few years ago, down to a new skirt, I think I have 4 pillows, 2 each side. Because I love Marriott bedding, I got that. No, it’s not as high as one can go, if you want to sleep like a princess. But it’s what I like.
We used to have lots, but over the last few years we’ve pared down. Bottom sheet, soft cotton blanket that gets washed weekly, five or six identical down pillows in white pillowcases. In winter the cotton blanket gets replaced by down comforter in duvet cover that gets washed weekly. Gave up on a top sheet because it just gets tangled up.
There’s a couple of accent pillows on the love seat and the housekeeper puts them on the bed, then I move them back.
My empty nest house has luxurious white bed linens and towels.
However, the guest house has dark sheets available to make up the bed a dog regularly co-sleeps in, and color coded towels on monogrammed hooks for kids and grandkids.
Just practical. imho.
eta… adult guests without small children or co-sleeping dogs get the same luxurious white sheets and towels we use daily.
eta 2… five room main house, and two room guest house. (original kitchen house) So not as fancy as it might sound.
I am also a big fan of a coverlet/quilt for a bed cover.
I’ll have a duvet. One comforter is year 'round. I find many New England friends crank up the bedroom AC and use a warm cover in summer.
Don’t like bedspreads, like to see the bed skirt. Plus that extra side length is just so much heavier.
Two pillows each, both for sleeping. I make my own pillowcases so high quality fabric and nice looking. We use a down comforter in a cover in winter and a quilt of my making in summer. The cats approve.
We discussed pillows on this thread, but always an important topic:
As I posted there, I love decorative pillows. Our king bed has two regular, two shams, and four decorative across the front. All eight of the pillows are covered/cased to reflect the decor of the room. Our other bedrooms follow a similar pattern. I enjoy making the beds and the time it takes to make them perfect (see duvet thread). Our bedroom is lovely and the bed is heaven. It pleases me to walk into our bedroom every night and enjoy that little bit of luxury.
I’m also an absolute freak about keeping the bedroom (whole house actually) spotlessly put together, so I make the bed immediately each morning, ensuring everything is square, tight, and all eight pillows perfectly upright. I agree with Admiral McRaven that, “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed:”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmFwRkl-TTc
(Sorry, @doschicos, I know you don’t agree. 
)
@ChoatieMom - thanks for linking that other thread! I’ll have a look through it after dinner!
No wonder your son wound up at West Point. 
You and the Admiral and I will just have to disagree, though. 
My adjustable bed is always in a raised position. So, just two king size pillows for a queen bed. My puppy has one. For the rare time I’m entertaining, the silk pillows that match the window treatments can be pulled off the dresser top. The Ralph Lauren off white coverlet and pillow squares easily added. Daily use is simplicity and ease.
For Florida, I also use a matelasse spread with cool, crisp, cotton sheets. No decorative pillows. Pillows are flat on the bed and sometimes I cover them with the spread, sometimes I do not. Bed is made everyday. In guest room, also the same type sheets and cover. I put the guest pillows in plastic on a closet shelf and do have 2 queen pillows covered with shams that match the spread. When company comes, I put the pillows out from the closet and put the sham covered pillows in the closet. If they need extra pillows, they can use them.
Haha! I even replied to that thread! The bed I referenced in that thread (and its bedding and accompanying pillows) is now in our guest room. Which is why I am having to start over with bedding for our bedroom. And how dh and I got on the pillow discussion.
Someone on that thread mentioned using two king shams, two standard shams, and one square in front of those. That would equal five decorative pillows, but I do like the ideal of larger and fewer decorative pillows instead of more small ones. Seems as though they would be easier to arrange.
I did love seeing the ceramic pineapple reference in that thread!
Dh and I keep the pillows we sleep with (1 for me and 2 for him) on our bed all the time. We’re supposed to keep two European shams with down inserts in them on the bed too but that seems to only happen when the housekeeper comes. I like to sit/work/read on my bed so I keep mine there during the week as a backrest but dh’s is relegated to the corner most of the time.
Our guest rooms are always made up and each have two sleeping pillows covered by two shams and one has a little rectangular pillow that goes in the middle. So, now that I think about it, all of our rooms generally have 3 pillows (main) or 4-5 (guest rooms).
We pull up our covers each day but don’t make the bed perfectly. Neither dh nor I seem to value it all that much.
I’m all about the cotton bedding though: white cotton sheets (and towels) along with a cotton duvet or comforter.
I do find it an interesting challenge when I spend the night somewhere and need to figure out where to pile up all the decorative pillows covering the bed.