Brides USA

“Doppio Ajour”

sheet sets, $1,100

each for queen,

Frette; frette.com.

DETAILS BEDDING

T

he first thing to deter-

mine is how much

firmness you need.

Spend nights facing up? Go

for medium support to keep

your head and neck in line. If

you lie on your side, tr y firm,

so your head rests above

your shoulder. Belly sleepers

should look for a thin pillow

to avoid straining their neck.

As for filling, down and

polyester are the most popu-

lar because they’re soft and

maintain their shape. Natu-

ral latex foam and 100 per-

cent silk are lightweight but

supportive. Allerg y sufferers

should look for hypoaller-

genic down (which has been

scrubbed of any irritants),

polyurethane “memory” foam,

or protective pillow covers in

natural fabrics. (Tr y National

Allerg y Supply or Mission:

Allergy.)

THREE WAYS

TO GET A LUXE

HOTEL-STYLE BED

1. Create a super-lofty
   look by buying a
   comforter that’s larger
   than your duvet (i.e.,
   a queen comforter
   for a full duvet).


2. Ease up on the
   pillows. “Stack two
   European squares
   against the headboard
   with two standard
   pillows in front,” says
   L.A. interior designer
   Mary McDonald. If
   you need an accent,
   “prop a small roll
   against the stack.”


3. Stick to an all-white
   color scheme. Classic,
   clean, and chic wins
   every time.

W

hat is thread count

anyway? Technically,

it refers to the num-

ber of threads woven together

per square inch of fabric, and

higher doesn’t always mean bet-

ter: A 1,000-thread-count sheet

is probably made with multi-ply

yarn (many threads wrapped

together), which isn’t

as smooth as a single-

ply 300-count sheet.

“A n y t h i n g o ve r 4 0 0

means you’re paying

more for something

that isn’t that soft,”

says Pat Slaven, textile engineer

at Consumer Reports. Focus

instead on these elements:

Fabric “When it comes to ever y-

day sheets, the gold standard is

still 100 percent cotton,” says

Slaven. It’s smooth, strong, and

more moisture absorbing than

any synthetic. Polyester-blend

sheets are durable, and its color

fades less quickly than cotton’s.

But any thing with a high percent-

age of synthetic fibers won’t

breathe in warm weather, and

even if they’re marked “wrinkle-

free” they will crease after a cer-

tain number of washings. (Read

the fine print to find out how

many.) Seasonal alternatives

like winter flannel and summer

linen are great too, but for year-

round use, cotton’s our winner.

Weave The most popular are

percale and sateen. “Percale is a

plain weave that has a

light, crisp feel, while

sateen has a silky fin-

ish,” says Dean Gabri,

founder of the bedding

company Nile Threads.

This comes down to

preference; give the fabrics a feel

and decide what you like.

Fiber Look for pima or supima

cotton sheets, which are made

with long- or extra-long staple

fibers (a textile designation

that basically ensures fabric

will be soft and luxurious and

that it will pill and produce

lint far less than those woven

with shorter fibers). The best

ones will be Eg y ptian varieties,

of which Giza 45 and Giza

86 are particularly lush,

says Gabri.

PILLOWS ARE

PERSONAL

THREAD COUNT

ISN’T EVERYTHING

FAVORITE

SHEET BRANDS

SPLURGE Frette,

Sferra, Matouk

SAVE Garnet Hill,

Land’s End

SPRUCE UP YOUR

NIGHTSTAND

A few things to keep

handy to create a

chic and sexy mood

“Beat Table Brass”

lamp, $795, Tom

Dixon; tomdixon.net.

Tom Ford Jasmin

Rouge Eau de Parfum,

$220 for 1.7 oz.

“Roses” candle,

$62, Diptyque;

diptyqueparis.com.

162 JUNE/JULY 2016 BRIDES.COM

COURTESY OF THE VENDORS