Comfort(er) me, please!

April 13, 2015 11:47 AM

I'm looking for the softest, most luxurious comforter available under $500. What factors do I need to consider when looking for one, and do you have any specific recommendations?

I currently own a down comforter bought at IKEA (about six months old), together with a soft cotton comforter cover (IKEA seems to have different types of cotton fabric covers, and I bought what I felt was the softest). Not sure if it's my imagination, but I've slept in other people's guest beds or at hotels, and most comforters seem softer than mine. No matter how many times I wash the cover to soften it out, or fluff the comforter, it just doesn't have that super-luxe feel. I want to be able to snuggle under a satiny-soft, cool, cotton or cotton-blend comforter. My budget for this is $500. Sleep is really, really important to me, so I'm willing to splurge.

Some other things:
1. I live in San Diego, so medium-warmth or lightweight comforters.
2. My sheets and pillowcases are high-thread count Egyptian cotton, so they aren't the problem.
3. I have a queen-size bed.
4. Mattress is a new pillowtop, so it's pretty soft as well.

Ideally I'd like to buy something in-store so I know what it feels like before I buy. Is down the softest/ warmest filling available? Which comforters stay fluffy for a long time? Do I need to buy multiple comforters for different times of year (yes, I know I'm in San Diego, but "summer" nights are much warmer than "winter" nights!)? Is there anything I'm missing in identifying a super-luxe comforter? Thank you for enhancing my sleeps, MeFi!

posted by Everydayville to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

I highly recommend a European-style duvet like http://www.oldeuropeduvet.com/. They ship to the US and we've been super happy with ours. We are in the Bay Area and went with the Bavarian/medium level. We do add a blanket to the bed in winter, but it is a good year-round option, and summers we just use it and a sheet.
posted by handful of rain at 12:48 PM on April 13, 2015

Sweethome has a duvet review.
posted by srboisvert at 1:12 PM on April 13, 2015

For me, the luxury feel comes from heavyweight down. Lightweight comforters are just too thin and light to give me the feeling of being surrounded in a fluffy, slightly heavy, cloud. I also like sateen cotton duvets for silky and soft cottony feel. I have always been happy with comforters bought at The Company Store.
posted by quince at 1:50 PM on April 13, 2015

I bought the Woolrich non down comforter, and the "blanket", which is also a square waffle item, just lighter. I have had them for years. I bought king size, The comforter is warm, and with an "almost suede feeling" cotton duvet cover it would be great. I take them both for cold.camping in my van. I use the blanket for.the extra cover in winter.

Woolrich makes down too, but I don't like feathers. These items are luxrious but not expensive, warm, but not heavy. The crisp cotton covers make a nice sound. They wash up easily. They compress for easy storage in a north face, sleeping bag cover.
posted by Oyéah at 1:50 PM on April 13, 2015

Cuddledown! My comforter is going on 10 years old and still going pretty strong.
posted by freyley at 2:16 PM on April 13, 2015

Huge fan of The Company Store especially because their things are made in the US and they have a guarantee. You definitely would want lighter weight covers for the hotter months. I like to sleep in a cold room and I have one that is heavyweight for winter but it's oppressive in the summer months. Other important things are the baffling (so the down stays where it's supposed to be) and making sure you rotate them and dry them properly when you wash them. Also you may want to get a size slightly larger than your bed to get more of the surround feeling.
posted by jessamyn at 2:32 PM on April 13, 2015

By far the nicest duvets are high-quality goose down - it's pricey and might exceed your budget, but wonderful. Cheap down doesn't last long.

jessamyn mentions the baffling, and it's a very important detail especially if you go for goose down After nearly fifty years of using European and US style duvets my strong preference is for longitudinal, closed channels rather than any other arrangement. With longitudinal channels it's much easier to adjust the position of the down by shaking, so you get whatever level of thickness and warmth is right for the current temperature.
posted by anadem at 3:10 PM on April 13, 2015

I find Garnet Hill's Jersey Knit duvet/comforter covers incredibly soft. The options from Ikea aren't even comparable. Our cats agree too; they used to sleep on a blanket at the foot of the bed but now they're most often found directly on the comforter cover.
posted by mountmccabe at 3:25 PM on April 13, 2015

One thing I wanted to mention: I strongly endorse the duvet + duvet cover method. It's a lot easier to wash the cover a few times a year than the down-filled comforter itself.
posted by handful of rain at 3:31 PM on April 13, 2015

Just FYI, I was also looking for a comforter/duvet solution and just bought one from The Company Store based on this thread. They have free shipping plus 20% off right now, and I got a king down-alternative comforter and a flannel duvet cover for ~$270.
posted by Huck500 at 3:45 PM on April 13, 2015

Another vote for the Company Store. I just have a classic down Lacrosse comforter, not one of the "luxury" models, but it's approaching its tenth birthday and still feels amazing.
posted by ktkt at 4:36 PM on April 13, 2015

Thanks everyone! Based on consensus I checked out The Company Store, and they seem to have exactly what I'm looking for - ended up going over my budget slightly but I think it will be worth it. Those Hungarian geese must be pretty damn special!

The Sweethome review was also quite useful.
posted by Everydayville at 10:26 AM on April 14, 2015