Creating a designated place to lie down for a comfortable night’s sleep is nothing new. Humans around the world have spent millennia designing and refining what we can recognize as beds.
Amazing examples of our search for the perfect resting place range from the prehistoric beds made from “cold, hard stone” found in the dwellings at Skara Brae, in the far north of Scotland, to the unique folding bed made from “a wooden frame with a woven base of reeds or string” that was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, according to “Sleep tight: A curious history of beds through the centuries.” King Tut’s three-fold camping bed was “revolutionary,” designed for travel the young king may never have had the opportunity to take. We’ve certainly come a long way from hard stone to today’s adjustable and motorized beds.
The Elements of a Cozy Bed
Nowadays, beyond the bed frame and mattress, we want our beds to be beautiful, comfortable, and hygienic. We want them to offer an invitation to relax and to provide us with a cozy oasis to which we can escape at the end of the day. This is particularly true as we begin the holiday season in which our days become even busier with work and family obligations. We thought this was the perfect time of year to share some of the things we’ve found that can help to create a sleep haven.
A Good Foundation
Like the bed frames on which they rest, our mattresses have evolved over the centuries, from simple sacks made of fabric and filled with everything from leaves to feathers, to the “first coil-sprung mattress” patented in the late 1800s. Now, we can choose from a plethora of high-tech mattresses that synch with our phones to keep us cool and adjust to our movements throughout the night.
A good mattress is an investment in your sleep health, which is critical to your overall health and wellness. You may keep your mattress for seven to ten years, so it’s worth doing some testing.
Once you’ve made your selection, protect your investment with a quality mattress pad. To provide the best base for sleep, a bed should be kept clean and hygienic and that begins with the mattress. We all drool and sweat when we sleep, and a mattress can be ruined by accidents and spills. It’s far easier to remove and launder a mattress pad than it is to attempt to clean a mattress. Our Lily Pads® waterproof mattress has a cotton twill top layer that provides the proper base for your beautiful linens.
If now is not the right time to explore or invest in a new mattress, there are other options to create comfortable sleep. One of our favorites is a feather bed, which goes on top of the mattress to provide additional cushion and comfort. The mattress pad would go on top of the feather bed. These form the foundational elements of your bed on which you can build your bedding.
Layers of Linens
The choice of sheets can be overwhelming with all the information offered in marketing descriptions, from fiber to thread count to weave. We suggest you begin with the material. Although we’re fans of silk pillowcases for their benefits to skin and hair, our sheet sets are created from 100% cotton. They’re breathable, comfortably cool, durable, and easy to launder. White sheets are expected in hotels as they provide guests with a sense of confidence in the hygiene of the bed. Our sheet sets come in a variety of white-on-white patterns to work with your bedroom’s aesthetics, from the crisp white sateen of our classic fresh sheet set to the elegant paisley jacquard of our tuxedo sheet set.
Nothing will make your bed look as cozy and inviting as fluffy comforter. You should pick a comforter based upon how hot you sleep, which might depend on your location, the season, and how you keep your thermostat set. If you’re not sure, we suggest starting with our all-seasons-weight down comforters.
We highly recommend keeping your comforter covered as it’s far easier to launder a removable protector than an entire comforter. You can also choose a comforter cover as part of your sheet set to coordinate with the design of your bedroom.
Piles of Pillows
You don't necessarily need a mountain of pillows to make your bed cozy, but you should have an assortment for the sake of comfort. Start with your sleeping pillow. It’s important to find the one that works best for your needs. Check out previous blogs in which we give you tips for picking the perfect sleeping pillow. The most important factor in choosing a pillow is firmness, which typically depends upon your sleeping position. We recommend our softest white goose down pillows for stomach sleepers, our rhapsody wrap down and feather pillows for side sleepers, and our 25/75 or 50/50 down and feather pillows for back sleepers. The goal is to find the pillow or pillows that let you sleep with your head and neck in proper alignment.
Our customer favorite 25%/75% white goose down and feather pillow combines the softness of down and the loft of feathers to make it a favorite of back or side sleepers and provides a good place to start. If you prefer a down alternative, our aquaplush® down alternative polyester pillow is a favorite of our hotel clients, offering the same softness and plush feel without the down and feathers.
Whether you choose a natural fill pillow (down or feather) or a down alternative, having a variety of shapes and sizes will ensure you have all the cushioning you need to get comfortable for reading, relaxing, and sleeping in bed. A body pillow can provide the extra support and cushioning you need to rest comfortably on your side, particularly if you like to hug a pillow while you sleep.
Decorative Touches
Since your bed is typically the largest piece of furniture in your bedroom, we think of it as the star of the show and like to dress it accordingly. That means adorning it with the finishing touches that provide an extra bit of coziness or a pop of seasonal color.
Add a throw blanket to the foot of the bed like they do in many hotels to add a pop of fall color and to place an extra layer within easy reach during the night. Throws are also perfect to cuddle under while reading or watching television when you’re not quite ready to climb under the covers. Seasonal throw pillows like our velvet decorative feather pillows offer the opportunity to change your room with the seasons or your mood with minimal effort.
You can also place throws, and coordinated throw pillows, in places where you and your guests sit—in the living room, den, or in front of the fireplace—for easy access. Our throws and throw pillow covers are removable and machine washable so you can maintain the freshness throughout the season.
Soothing Scents
Consider natural and organic room sprays with no chemicals to spray on your sheets in scents like lavender to calm or jasmine to excite. Pillow sachets like those included with our aromatherapy pillows and pillowcases are perfect to provide a light and soothing scent when you lie down. Let relaxing aromatherapy pillows be part of your bedtime routine.
We wish you the warm, embrace of sliding into your cozy bed at night.
-Team at down etc
Read more:
What Is the Difference Between Silk and Satin Pillowcases?
Bedding Buying Guide: The Right Sleeping Pillow for Your Head and Your Bed
