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Last updated: August 25. 2006 2:35PM
In Style
Bedding and Beyond
A comfortable night's sleep is closer than you think with these great additions. So what are you waiting for? Get ready for bed.
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Sure, you want to create a place that’s comfortable for you – but also for your family, friends and everyone you invite into your home. There is, however, one notable exception: your bedroom. That’s the place just for you (and perhaps that special someone).
“I think the bedroom should be the most comfortable place in the house. It’s a retreat,” says Susan Underwood, with Interior by Design in Carolina Beach.
The bed is a place to rest and recharge. It’s where we unwind at night, and it symbolizes how we greet each new day. It’s the place we often go to read or watch TV. It’s where we love. It’s where we go when we’re sick or need comfort.
“There are so many emotions that go into your bed,” says Jenifer Gausman, owner of Tranquility Inn in downtown Wilmington. “It’s the epitome of chicken soup.”
That said, it’s often difficult to translate the perfect, luxurious bedroom of imagination into an attainable reality.
Experts suggest starting with an inspiration. It helps to gather lots of ideas – from magazines, showrooms, catalogues and even hotels – to find what appeals to you. That might mean decorating in a particular style, from the soft colors and painted wood look of cottage style, or the clean, simple lines of a contemporary look.
Underwood suggests starting with a main color, what she calls “your neutral,” even if it’s a grassy green or a cool blue. After that selection, you begin building and adding complementary fabrics and furnishings.
For Gausman, the inspirations for the bedrooms at Tranquility Inn were exotic locales. “Morocco is spicy to me,” she says. “It’s spicy as a flavor, as a texture and a feeling.” Her Moroccan room is red and purple to reflect that rich, sexy vibe. The Tuscany room, on the other hand, is warm with golds and bronzes.
“Like a sunset,” she says.
Once you have an idea, it’s time to shop, which can be both fun and intimidating. Interior decorators and designers stress there are lots of viable purchasing options. “It can be done two ways, or really three ways,” Underwood says. “High end, medium end and low end.”
In the Wilmington area, you can find bedding at discount stores such as Target, Marshalls, Linens-N-Things or Bed Bath & Beyond, or department stores such as Dillard’s, Belk or Hecht’s, or specialty shops such as The Stellar Collection on Wrightsville Avenue, which offers mostly European linens. Although the bedroom is no place to scrimp, “it’s all about shopping and looking and finding pieces that will coordinate” Underwood says. “I love mixing styles. You could walk into Target and find a lamp that will look great on an expensive table.”
The combination of crisp cotton sheets, a satin duvet and quilts or fuzzy, soft throws creates a look of luxury. Don’t be afraid to try crochets, silks or touches of crushed velvet, such as the duvets at Tranquility Inn.
In sheet shopping, there has been a lot of talk about thread count, which tells the number of vertical and horizontal threads in a square inch of fabric. And higher thread counts translate to higher quality.
Experts will advise you to buy higher quality cottons, such as Egyptian or Pima cotton, with thread counts of at least 300. “Higher thread counts are very luxurious,” Underwood says. “But they don’t launder well. I can tell you that from personal experience.”
Gausman, who buys from Linens-N-Things, always opts for white sheets, because they feel clean. Guests often call her after their stay to ask where she gets her sheets. If you’re sharing your bed with someone else, remember that simple makes a better, and more dramatic presentation, than those beds covered with flower prints and fussy patterns. “A lot of men hate florals,” Underwood says. “But there are compromises.”
Finish the bedroom with thoughts to what else you use the room for. You might want to have a television or home entertainment center, but enclosing the system in a chest allows you to shut out intrusions when you want. A nice cozy reading corner, with good lighting and a comfortable chair, is also a welcome addition to a retreat.
So while the rest of your home may be done for other people to enjoy, make sure your bedroom is just right for you.
Getting to know your bed: The details
What You need for a great bed
* Flat and fitted sheets: Because these are next to your skin, pay special attention to quality.
* Feather bed: A mostly feather-filled mattress meant to be used on top of the mattress for sleeping upon. Always use with a protective feather bed cover.
* Standard shams: Pillows in decorative covers.
* European shams: These larger square pillows and shams have become popular because the shape provides another opportunity for layer and contrast.
* Pillowcases: Cover the pillows you actually sleep on.
* Throw pillows, boudoir pillows: Smaller accent pillows to decorate the bed. Although you may be tempted to add lots, Tranquility Inn’s Jenifer Gausman suggests restraint. “The first thing you have to do when you get in the bed is take off the pillows. Too many may spoil the mood.”
* Bolster: A long narrow pillow meant to support and prop up.
* Comforter: Two layers of cloth filled with stuffing stitched together.
* Duvet: A soft flat bag traditionally filled with down, which is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It may also be filled with wool or artificial fibers.
* Duvet Cover: This (hopefully) washable cover contains the duvet.
* Bed skirt/ Dust ruffle: Typically, it covers the top of the box spring and drops to the floor. Try layering two skirts for a more luxurious look.
* Blanket: May go under a comforter for an additional layer of warmth.
* Throw: Another opportunity to layer and add a touch of extravagance.
Laundering the linen
Before you buy, look at the care instructions for sheets and bedding. Avoid any with “dry clean only” labels. Some experts suggest washing sheets twice – once with soap and once with water. Gausman recommends using both non-allergenic Downy detergent and a fabric softener. She swears by Snuggle Blue Sparkle and will often drive to 10 stores to find it. Linen spray gives another layer of scent and freshness.
A word about mattresses
Consumer Reports gets more inquires about mattresses than any other product, except cars. Here are a few tips for buying:
* There is no best bed for everyone. Spend time researching and deciding what is the best mattress for you.
* Test it. Test mattress for 15 minutes in stores, in your usual sleeping positions. High end beds, some costing $1,500 or more, aren’t best for everyone.
* When buying inexpensive mattresses, though, make sure the padding is substantial and that you can’t feel the springs.
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