Seeking high-quality bedding

December 3, 2012 11:27 AM

Seeking suggestions for high-quality bedding (sheets, linens, blankets, etc). I don't care at all about name brands/designer brands, etc. if that makes any difference—just want something of very good quality. In NYC, but online works, too. Thanks!
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to Shopping (19 answers total)

I can't claim to own any, but I can tell you from going to the brick & mortar store (in PDX) and touching things that anything from French Quarter Linens is amazing.
posted by clavicle at 11:48 AM on December 3, 2012

So I've said this before on AskMetafilter, but I LOVE Garnet Hill sheets (I've only tried their sheets, but I'm sure the rest of their bedding is just as good). I, too, don't care about brand names, so my recommendation comes only from the quality of their items. I have found them to be extremely comfortable, durable, and nice-looking. Their fitted sheets, of which I have about 10, are elasticated all the way around for easy on, don't need to be ironed really (the jersey ones at least), haven't faded much at all for me in several years, and are extremely comfortable to sleep on for me - in fact, it's all that I sleep on nowadays. I can personally recommend their jersey (t-shirt knit) sheets and their flannel. I don't like percale (I find it too stiff/scratchy) and I don't like wrinkle-free (too gummy), but if you like those two, you'll probably like theirs too. Plus, their customer service and return policy is one of the best I've ever come across. I seriously don't work for them - just a super picky person really impressed with their products.
posted by UniversityNomad at 12:23 PM on December 3, 2012

Forgot - here's the link! Also, meant to mention that they're somewhat pricey, but I find that the durability makes up for this in the economic calculus, at least for me. They also have occasional 25% off sales or free shipping (like today).
posted by UniversityNomad at 12:26 PM on December 3, 2012

Things I learned about linens: The higher the thread count, the better. 100% cotton all the way. Do not buy Sateen! These are the things I look for in the department stores in the way of Marshalls, Ross and TJ Maxx. It never has mattered what brand, I just stick by those criteria and I love my sheets.
posted by PJMoore at 12:28 PM on December 3, 2012

Sorry - last comment, I promise! I wanted to say that the sheets I was talking about previously are Garnet Hill's own line; but the Eileen Fisher line of sheets, carried by Garnet Hill, get really excellent reviews too, especially the linen ones. I've been lusting after a set for a long time, and will probably eventually purchase one when I'm no longer on a grad student salary. If you enjoy wearing linen, might be something to look into if you can afford the splurge.
posted by UniversityNomad at 12:31 PM on December 3, 2012

So that UniversityNomad isn't self-conscious about Garnet Hill love, I will weigh in and say I love them too! Most things they carry are really awesome. You can actually buy some nice quality bedding from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware as well.
posted by ersatzkat at 1:07 PM on December 3, 2012

You're going to think I'm weird, but Target has awesome linens, and they are soft and suggly from the get go.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:28 PM on December 3, 2012

If you like flannel sheets, I just received these as a gift and they are amazingly soft.
posted by JoanArkham at 1:42 PM on December 3, 2012

I've gotten some nice sheets at overstock.com before.
I look for "long staple cotton" and a high threadcount (over 350).
When you are looking at sateen, divide the threadcount in half to get the real number.
If I were looking right now, I'd buy these since they are long staple and 1000/2 = 500 TC which is still high.
posted by rmless at 2:41 PM on December 3, 2012

Nearly all of our bedding is from The Company Store. The oldest set we purchased is still going strong nearly 10 year's later*, and my partner's mother has some sheet sets from them that are much older than that. Their stuff can be a little pricey, but they often have sales, and if you end up on their mailing list they send out a couple nice coupons a year.

*Minus my partner's pillowcases being bleached in spots from the strong benzoyl peroxide treatment he uses on his face, but that's going to happen with sheets of any quality.
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:02 PM on December 3, 2012

I do like percale (I find it crisp!) and can confirm that the Garnet Hill own-brand percale sheets are very pleasing. My daughter sleeps on their jersey sheets and I agree that they are good too -- nice bright colors where that is called for, and they have held up well so far to lots and lots of washing.
posted by redfoxtail at 5:56 PM on December 3, 2012

I can't give you specific brands (because I'm in Australia), but I just last week spent nearly a full day online-researching the hell out of quality linen (for Christmas presents). Here's what I learned:

- thread count is what most people care about, but it's only really a valid measure up to around 500 - over that and the manufacturer probably cheated in various ways to get the number up and it's not necessarily better.

- get Egyptian cotton, or American pima cotton.

- but get sheets woven in Italy. If you can afford it. I couldn't.

- linen is love or hate. If it's for a gift, don't risk it. Likewise sateen is hated by many people.

- if you get Egyptian cotton, Italian woven, 400-500TC sheets, you will be very happy, but you will pay several hundred dollars PER SHEET. (Not per sheet set).
posted by lollusc at 10:32 PM on December 3, 2012

(And if you or your gift recipient has rough soles of the feet or rough-clipped toenails, your expensive sheets are still not going to last more than a couple of months, so don't bother.)
posted by lollusc at 10:34 PM on December 3, 2012

lollusc: I'm kind of confused. You describe these Italian/Egyptian sheets as being of the highest quality... yet prone to failure in just a matter of months if not immaculately cared for! Can you clarify a bit? I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars just to have this stuff go to ruin.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:23 PM on December 3, 2012

I'm a big fan of Muji jersey bedding. Soft and durable! Not cheap but also not very expensive. There's a store in Chelsea and another one in Soho.
posted by jetsetlag at 1:06 PM on December 4, 2012

No, my point is that ANY sheet is prone to failure in a couple of months if your feet are rough, so if that's the case, stick with the cheap stuff so at least you don't have to cry when you tear it.
posted by lollusc at 6:53 PM on December 4, 2012

(At least that's what reading reviews and stuff taught me. My own experience has been that sheets all last about the same amount of time no matter the quality, but it's years in my case, as my feet are silky smooth :) )
posted by lollusc at 6:54 PM on December 4, 2012

Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, rough feet are fortunately not a problem in my household! Will report back on what we decide to buy soon.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 8:44 PM on December 9, 2012

We decided to purchase bedding from Restoration Hardware, which has a location in the Flatiron district. We purchased sheets, pillowcases, a bed skirt, and Euro sham covers in their Italian Hotel Satin Stitch collection, duvet covers and standard shams from their Garment-Dyed Textured Linen collection, this blanket, and this quilt to serve as a coverlet. We also bought some Euro pillow inserts, but for new regular pillows (figured we'd do the whole thing), we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond a few blocks away because you can't really try pillows at RH.

It'll be a week before we take delivery (and the duvet covers won't arrive until late April), but we'll report back with results (and pics) once we have everything. Thanks for all the help in this thread.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 12:06 AM on March 4, 2013