The best places to buy bedding in 2023, tried and tested

What’s the best bedding to buy?

Bedding, and the best sheets to buy, depend largely on the time of year. Seasonality hugely affects your sleep, so it’s a good idea to have a well-stocked linen cupboard so you can sleep comfortably no matter the time of year. In the summer, a flat sheet is a lovely choice instead of a duvet for sleepers who run hot (we also recommend a good cooling pillow and mattress combination), though if you can’t live without the latter we have a round-up of the best duvets here. This gives you the comfort of coverage whilst remaining lightweight. We think high-quality linen, Egyptian cotton, or cotton percale are the best materials for this. If you don’t want to have endless sheet sets in your house, then you always have the option to add a throw or blanket, in cashmere or wool, over the top of your flat sheet. If you’re seeking comfort and a good night’s sleep over all else, we do recommend buying good quality bedding for the softest finish.

Best luxury bedding brand: Soho Home

What is the best quality bedding?
When buying bedding, the key advice to always follow is to opt for the highest thread count you can afford. As our resident decoration expert, Rita Konig says, ‘Getting into bed at the end of the day is made so much better if you are climbing between really soft, crisp sheets.’ We spend more of our time up close and personal with our bedding than anything else in our houses, so investing some time in choosing it will really pay off.

What is the most comfortable type of bedding?
Preferences vary widely on the best finish for sheets. If you particularly like a crisp feel, opt for ‘percale’ fabrics – these are traditionally woven with a one-yarn-over, one-yarn-under method for a lightweight, matte finish. ‘Sateen’ fabrics expose more of the surface of the thread, with a three-yarn-over, three-yarn-under technique; this makes the sheets feel softer and silkier to the touch. Sateen bedding is also less likely to crease than percale sheets.

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The top places to buy crisp, white sheets for a hotel-worthy bed
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By Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes And Arabella Bowes

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If you prefer an informal look, linen is the way to go. Made from the fibres of the flax plant, linen is stiffer in texture, though over time linen bedding will become incredibly soft. Linen bedding tends to be more breathable than most cotton weaves, so it’s a popular choice for summer. It does crease very easily, but we think in a very attractive way. If you’re thinking seasonally, you could opt for linen sheets in the warmer months, and then flannel bedding in the cooler ones. Flannel bedding is brushed on one or both sides of the surface to create a soft, cosy feel.

What style of bedding is best?
And of course, don’t forget to consider how you want your bedding to look. There’s a huge variety of colours and detailing out there to choose from. If your bedroom is quite masculine, soften it up with scallop-edged or frilly cotton sheets. If you want a super-feminine feel then patterned bedding or a floral eiderdown will have a great effect. A classic pintuck Oxford border, or an embroidered line around the edge, will create that sophisticated hotel look, or opt for rumpled linen in a soft pastel shade if you prefer a more rustic look.