This post is all about the best luxury bedding for your home!
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Want that hotel bed feel? Re-create it in your home with the best luxury bedding! Ever wonder how hotels create the most comfortable sleep experience? Sheets that are cool to the touch a pillow that cradles your head and an incredibly soft duvet. It can be easily replicated if you know what you’re looking for! It’s all in the quality of the fabrics and materials used.
Fabrics like cotton and linen are the best materials for sheets, duvet covers, and blankets, but you must know the right thread count, type of cotton, GSM, and more to get a quality product. For pillows and duvet inserts goose-down or down alternative are the best materials, but you need to ensure you get the right fill power, down type, and construction.
Who knew that creating a luxurious bed would be so complicated? Not to worry though! I break down the most important qualities to look for when searching for luxury bedding and offer a few cheaper Amazon alternatives that can save you money while still getting a quality product.
Best Luxury Bedding
The Best Types of Sheets
The right sheets make all the difference in how luxurious your bed feels! The best sheets for luxurious bedding use high-quality materials that keep the sleeper cool and comfortable. Since your skin directly touches the sheets, their quality determines the bed’s comfort. Cotton and linen are some of the best natural materials that are breathable and moisture-wicking, to keep you cool and dry.
Cotton Sheets
When shopping for luxurious cotton sheets you need to consider the weave, thread count, and type of cotton. All of these factors will make a difference in the feel and quality of your sheets.
Percale or Sateen Weave
Cotton sheets come in a percale or sateen weave, both make great quality sheets, but depending on your preferences you may favor one over the other. If you are looking for cool crisp sheets, percale would be ideal. Those who prefer a softer but warmer sheet should choose sateen. Keep in mind a percale weave is less likely to pill than sateen.
Thread Count
When searching for the perfect thread count you may be tempted to choose the highest one thinking it will result in a softer sheet, but you have to consider if the fabric is single-ply or muli. Ideally, look for a thread count between 200 – 400 as the higher thread counts can come from single or double-ply fabric. Unless it is specifically stated, it is hard to know if the fabric is double-ply therefore inflating the thread count.
Choosing single vs double-ply fabric is a matter of preference, but single-ply is generally of higher quality. Single-ply fabric is softer, cooler, lighter, and more durable, but the sheets are thinner and can be more transparent. Single-ply fabric uses long staple cotton which is superior to most double-ply fabrics that use shorter staple lengths and results in inferior quality. Double-ply fabric does have its benefits though. If you prefer a warmer fabric, wrinkle-resistant sheets, or an opaque look, you may inclined to choose a multi-ply sheet.
Types of Cotton
The quality, strength, and softness of cotton are determined by its staple length. Long staple cotton is resistant to pilling and tearing while becoming softer over time. Two extra-long staple cottons are Egyptian and Pima cotton. Choosing Egyptian or Pima cotton sheets with a 200 to 400 thread count, single-ply in a percale or sateen weave will result in a durable and comfortable luxury sheet.
Linen Sheets
A durable fabric that gets softer with each wash, linen sheets are a luxurious choice for your bed! Unlike cotton sheets, there are only a few factors to consider when shopping for good-quality linen. You’ll want to look at the grams per square meter or GSM, which measures the weight of the linen, which combined with where the flax was produced (flax is what linen is made from) are the two most important factors when shopping for linen.
Flax produced in Western Europe particularly France, Belgium, and the Netherlands is superior in quality, so you should look for linen sheets made from this flax (ideally the sheets should be made from 100% flax). Brands will normally market this information when selling sheets so it should be easy for you to find.
When evaluating the GSM of linen you want to look for linen that is between 150 – 300 GSM. A linen sheet that has a lower GSM will be a lighter material, and slightly less durable than a linen sheet with a higher GSM. A quality linen sheet will range somewhere between 150 – 200 GSM.
Linen is a durable material that can last you for years! For the first few uses you may find that the material is rough to the touch, but with each wash, the linen will get softer. Linen with a lower GSM will be initially softer than one with a higher GSM.
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The Best Luxury Pillows
The two types of pillows to consider for a luxurious sleep include a goose-down or down alternative pillow. Goose-down pillows are the gold standard for what you would consider a “luxury pillow”, but for people with allergies or who prefer non-animal products a down alternative pillow can be a great choice.
When shopping for a goose-down pillow you’ll want to evaluate the fill power, composition, and overall firmness to ensure that you purchase a quality pillow.
Fill Power
Fill power in a goose-down pillow refers to the quality of the down and the size of each individual cluster. The higher the fill power the higher the quality of down. A pillow with a fill power of 800 will loft higher, be softer, last longer, and be warmer than a pillow with a fill power of 650. For a quality down pillow look for one with a minimum of 650 fill power or more.
Many brands may list the fill weight of the pillow, but this is overall an insignificant factor when considering the quality of the pillow in comparison to the fill power. Fill weight is dependent on the pillow size, fill power and the breed of goose all of which are harder to determine quality compared to evaluating the fill power.
Composition
The composition of a goose-down pillow can be a mix of goose-down with other feathers or a pillow made of 100% down. The more down in your pillow the higher the price point, but the softer the pillow. A blend of feather and down is not necessarily bad as it can add firmness to a pillow and reduce the price, but feathers have a long quill that can poke out of the pillow, so you’ll want to look for a pillow with a higher percentage of down.
Duck down or a mix of goose and duck down can be a good lower-priced alternative. The issue with duck down is the down clusters are smaller than goose clusters meaning the pillow won’t loft as high, last as long, or be as soft.
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The Best Luxury Duvets And Covers
Duvets
Luxury duvets consist of the same materials as luxury pillows. Goose-down or down alternative duvets offer the most luxurious sleeping experience. Both types of duvets will be breathable, soft, and lightweight ensuring a comfortable sleep.
Similar to a down-filled pillow, down duvets have many of the same quality requirements. A luxury down duvet will require a fill power of 650 or more and ideally a baffle box construction.
With a baffle box construction, the duvet will look like it is separated into multiple squares. These squares separate the down and spread it evenly across the duvet ensuring that it does not clump over time.
Duvet Cover
A luxury duvet cover is similar to a luxury sheet. Shop for covers made of natural materials like cotton and linen, which are breathable, moisture-wicking, and soft. The same quality recommendations for the cotton and linen sheets outlined above will apply to a duvet cover.
A quick tip for styling your duvet to look luxurious is to size up your duvet insert. To give your bed that fluffy look, purchase a duvet cover the same size as your bed, but size up for the insert. For example, if you have a queen-sized bed, purchase a queen duvet cover with a king-sized duvet insert.
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The Best Luxury Bedspreads
Quilts & Coverlets
The rest of the bedding is more a matter of personal preference than shopping for specific materials. If you want quality bedspreads stick with high-quality fabrics like cotton, wool, flannel, etc. since the bedspreads are not directly on your skin, budget-friendly options or styles that you prefer may take precedence over the type of fabric.
Style a bed to look luxurious by using multiple layers and textures. Layers including sheets, a quilt, a duvet, and a coverlet allow the sleeper to customize the bed to their liking. Layers can be removed or added depending on whether the person prefers a warmer or cooler sleep. Adding various types of textures to the bed creates visual interest. Different fabrics have distinct finishes and patterns which adds a level of sophistication to the bed.
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Luxurious Throw Blankets
Throw blankets are great for adding to the bottom of a bed for a styled look. They can be used as an extra layer or just for show. There are dozens of different styles, colors, and materials to choose from when searching for the perfect throw. Faux fur, velvet, waffle blankets, or muslin all have a beautiful texture that can add to the appearance of your bed.
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Luxurious Throw Pillows
A luxury bed doesn’t look luxurious without throw pillows to complete the look! Using throw pillows with varying sizes, textures, patterns, and shapes gives the bed some visual interest and sophistication. Mix square and rectangular-shaped pillows while matching some of the bedding colors to your pillows to create a cohesive look.
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Luxurious Bed Trays And Accessories
A bed tray with some accessories can add to the style of your bed especially if it’s for a guest room. Bed trays come in all different designs and you can customize the tray with accessories like candles, books, misc decor, greenery, or flowers.
A guest bedroom could have a bed tray styled with items they may use such as bath slippers, books, chocolates, bath bombs, or even a bottle of wine. Although not necessary bed trays are a beautiful addition to any luxurious bed!
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Quick Styling Tips
- Chop throw pillows
- Lay patterned top sheets upside down so the design will show when pulled over the duvet
- Layer the bed for ultimate comfort and style – makes it easy to remove or add layers when in bed and too hot or cold
- Layer the bed in the following order: sheets, quilt, duvet, coverlet then the throw blanket
- Mix different patterns and textures for a styled look
- Stack your pillows instead of lying them against the headboard and use throw pillows in front
- Use different-sized and shaped throw pillows
- Change up the look of your bed with a duvet, quilt, and pillow covers or by styling the bedding in a different order
- To make your duvet look thick and fluffy size up for the duvet insert and purchase a regular-sized cover – For example, a queen-sized bed would use a king-sized duvet insert, and a queen-sized duvet cover
