Essential Bedroom Pieces You’ll Want to Invest In
A bedding pro gives her top 3 bedding must-haves to help you get a better night’s sleep
Joanna Goodman
31 October 2017
Houzz Contributor. 5-time published author and CEO of Au Lit Fine Linens (www.aulitfinelinens.com). My husband and I run the business my mom started in 1981. If I'm not in the office, I'm travelling throughout Europe and the U.S. sourcing linens, planning and designing new collections, tweeting, blogging, creating and changing the way people sleep.
Houzz Contributor. 5-time published author and CEO of Au Lit Fine Linens.... More
Let’s start with the facts: We spend about one-third of our lives in bed, and sleep has been inextricably linked with mood, productivity, health, fitness, alertness and even appearance. With this in mind, it seems a no-brainer to invest in the bedroom; after all, it’s bound to be a large part of your daily life forever. There are a lot of nuances to the world of bedding, but it’s certainly not a world out of reach. Here are three key bedroom pieces to invest in to ensure your soundest sleep.
1. Duvet and Duvet Cover
Your duvet itself is going to be a make-or-break element for a quality night’s sleep. Barring any allergies, goose down fill is the gold standard in terms of lightness, breathability and temperature regulation.
Long story short: A goose down duvet is almost invariably going to equate to better sleep. These duvets come in a range of weights from ultralight to winter weight, so you can go warmer or cooler depending on how your temperature tends to run while you sleep.
Coverlet, Duvet, Quilt, Comforter: What’s the Difference?
Your duvet itself is going to be a make-or-break element for a quality night’s sleep. Barring any allergies, goose down fill is the gold standard in terms of lightness, breathability and temperature regulation.
Long story short: A goose down duvet is almost invariably going to equate to better sleep. These duvets come in a range of weights from ultralight to winter weight, so you can go warmer or cooler depending on how your temperature tends to run while you sleep.
Coverlet, Duvet, Quilt, Comforter: What’s the Difference?
If a down fill is out the of question for you, other options such as a raw silk or quality synthetic fill may be excellent alternatives. Silk tends to be quite cool because of the material’s natural moisture-wicking properties. Synthetic fills don’t have as much breathability as all-natural options.
Regardless of the fill, it’s important for your duvet to have a high-quality, natural-fiber shell, to ensure breathability and eliminate the potential of crinkling or scratching within the duvet cover (yuck!).
Regardless of the fill, it’s important for your duvet to have a high-quality, natural-fiber shell, to ensure breathability and eliminate the potential of crinkling or scratching within the duvet cover (yuck!).
Your duvet is more or less the centerpiece of the bedroom, so you’ll want to pick a quality duvet cover that really speaks to your design sensibilities. Washed linen is a wonderful option if you tend to lean toward the casual and relaxed, while a 100 percent cotton satin jacquard weave will bring a bit more classic elegance into the space. You can never go wrong with classic white, but pattern or color is a welcome addition for many (just make sure you won’t grow bored with it for years to come).
The Pros and Cons of Making Your Bed Every Day
The Pros and Cons of Making Your Bed Every Day
In terms of bedroom design, I always recommend starting with a duvet cover you love and working from there; it is much easier to find accessories, decor, even a wall color to match the duvet cover rather than the other way around.
Find duvet covers and sets
Find duvet covers and sets
2. The Perfect Pillow
Finding the right pillow can be a process of trial and error, but it is absolutely worth the hunt when you finally find “the one.”
As with duvets, a quality goose down fill is going to offer the most comfortable support. While folks will often refer to sleeping position (back sleeper, stomach sleeper or side sleeper) to guide the pillow-buying process, I would argue that personal preference is much more important at the end of the day. Start by nailing down what you like in a pillow — soft and squishy or firm support — and narrow down your options from there.
Your first pick may not turn out to be the be-all and end-all, but after a bit of trial and error you’ll figure out exactly what you’re looking for and be sleeping better than ever.
Finding the right pillow can be a process of trial and error, but it is absolutely worth the hunt when you finally find “the one.”
As with duvets, a quality goose down fill is going to offer the most comfortable support. While folks will often refer to sleeping position (back sleeper, stomach sleeper or side sleeper) to guide the pillow-buying process, I would argue that personal preference is much more important at the end of the day. Start by nailing down what you like in a pillow — soft and squishy or firm support — and narrow down your options from there.
Your first pick may not turn out to be the be-all and end-all, but after a bit of trial and error you’ll figure out exactly what you’re looking for and be sleeping better than ever.
3. Quality Sheets
As if I even need to say it, investing in quality sheets is essential to creating a well-rounded bedroom (not to mention a well-rounded sleep). And there’s a lot more to quality sheets than just thread count (seriously!).
Before even factoring in thread count, you’ll want to make sure you’re starting off with an excellent-quality fiber (you cannot go wrong with long-staple Egyptian or Pima cotton) and a quality weave (Italy houses some of the best weavers in the world).
Once you’ve established quality on these two points, thread count is really just a matter of personal preference. Like a crisp, cool sheet? A 220-count percale will be the ticket for you. More interested in dense and silky? A 1,000-count cotton satin may be more your speed.
Browse sheet sets
As if I even need to say it, investing in quality sheets is essential to creating a well-rounded bedroom (not to mention a well-rounded sleep). And there’s a lot more to quality sheets than just thread count (seriously!).
Before even factoring in thread count, you’ll want to make sure you’re starting off with an excellent-quality fiber (you cannot go wrong with long-staple Egyptian or Pima cotton) and a quality weave (Italy houses some of the best weavers in the world).
Once you’ve established quality on these two points, thread count is really just a matter of personal preference. Like a crisp, cool sheet? A 220-count percale will be the ticket for you. More interested in dense and silky? A 1,000-count cotton satin may be more your speed.
Browse sheet sets
While cotton bedding is quite prevalent because of its strong fiber and soft hand, linen, bamboo or silk may be more your taste depending on what qualities you’re looking for.
While you cannot go wrong with a classic white, as mentioned, you’ll likely be rotating your sheet sets from week to week, so the bed is an excellent place to add a bit of variety with color and pattern.
Your turn: What are your non-negotiables for your bedding? Tell us in the Comments.
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Your turn: What are your non-negotiables for your bedding? Tell us in the Comments.
More
Why the Bedroom Is the New Living Room
11 Reasons to Love White Bedding
Find all types of bedding
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Thank you both for your detailed, informative replies. I am just under 5’ tall, so I don’t like being too high off the ground! I currently have a wooden slat system. It does have a centre support. I wish I had gone with the double wooden slats that the store also carried… and am considering getting that. I prefer firm support, and I don’t think my current mattress gives me that. If you push it down, it doesn’t spring back up, but stays down. Anyhow, you both have given me lots to check out.
I ONLY like foam mattresses, but not gel, not memory foam either. I stil have the original foam mattress we bought 40 years ago. It's perfect. We rotate it and/or flip it over once a year and it's still as awesome as the first day. Firm, not sagging anywhere. We always keep it covered with a good mattress protector which gets washed frequently.
My husband bought us a new bed so awesome! And I need all those pillows! Awesome story!