The Anatomy of a Well Made Bed
Bedding by author Meghan Carter
- The mini-guide for bedding.
- Each type of bedding defined.
Knowing the basic bedding terms comes in handy when shopping for new bedding sets for your bed. I learned that firsthand when studying abroad in Wales. To keep my luggage light, I opted to purchase my bedding when I got there. Not knowing the city of Swansea well, I wandered into the first home goods store I saw and quickly found the bedding section. The only problem was all the bedding was white and made of scratchy material. Desperate, I bought it thinking that the comforters in Wales were very weird. It wasn't until a month into my trip that someone asked me why I had the inside stuffing of a duvet on my bed.
To this day, I have never forgotten the difference between a comforter and a duvet. Being humiliated normally does that. But it's not just comforters and duvets when you go shopping for bedding. The sales people will bombard you with a multitude of choices each bearing a confusing name.
To put an end to that madness and the humiliation I've carried with me for years, I visited Anichini's showroom in New York City to meet with Susan Monk who gave me a crash course in the anatomy of a bed.
We started first with the base of the bedding: the sheets. I felt fairly confident that I knew what sheets were, but quickly realized that the each type had a specific name. Yes, I had much to learn.
After discussing the sheets, we moved onto the different types of bed coverings. Being naïve, I figured I had that category covered. After all, that's what my humiliating experience in Wales was all about. But again I was wrong. There are definitely more than two options when it comes to bed coverings.
Moving into the pillow portion of my crash course, I was feeling a bit low. I knew far less about bedding than I thought, and I figured that Monk was starting to think I was a bit of an idiot. Luckily, another less than smooth situation in my past had taught me the difference between normal and Euro pillow sizes, and I was able to slightly redeem myself.
With just one last piece of bedding to cover in our crash course, I figured there was no way that I would ever know it. But Monk was much nicer than that. She ended the day with a bedding term I was very familiar with: the bed skirt.
It's always better to leave on a high note, and having finished my bedding crash course with a term I knew, I felt much more confident to stick around and look at all of the beautiful bedding in the Anichini showroom. And if you review the list of bedding terms one more time, you'll feel just as confident the next time you go shopping for new bedding sets.
To this day, I have never forgotten the difference between a comforter and a duvet. Being humiliated normally does that. But it's not just comforters and duvets when you go shopping for bedding. The sales people will bombard you with a multitude of choices each bearing a confusing name.
To put an end to that madness and the humiliation I've carried with me for years, I visited Anichini's showroom in New York City to meet with Susan Monk who gave me a crash course in the anatomy of a bed.
We started first with the base of the bedding: the sheets. I felt fairly confident that I knew what sheets were, but quickly realized that the each type had a specific name. Yes, I had much to learn.
A top sheet is the easy-to-fold sheet in the sheet set. It lies flat on top of the bottom sheet. Sometimes the top sheet is left out of a bedding ensemble that includes a duvet cover because the side of the duvet cover that faces your body is made of a sheet fabric, which makes the top sheet unnecessary.
A bottom sheet is what I had formerly known as the elastic-edged sheet that is really hard to fold. It's easy to recognize and fits around your mattress forming the bottom layer of the bedding - hence the name bottom sheet.
A bottom sheet is what I had formerly known as the elastic-edged sheet that is really hard to fold. It's easy to recognize and fits around your mattress forming the bottom layer of the bedding - hence the name bottom sheet.
After discussing the sheets, we moved onto the different types of bed coverings. Being naïve, I figured I had that category covered. After all, that's what my humiliating experience in Wales was all about. But again I was wrong. There are definitely more than two options when it comes to bed coverings.
A coverlet is a thin decorative bed cover that does not hang to the floor and typically doesn't cover the pillows. Coverlets are used because they give a bed a very polished, smooth look.
A bedspread is very similar to a coverlet. It is a thin, decorative bed cover that gives a bed a polished, smooth look. Unlike a coverlet, a bedspread extends all the way to the floor and typically covers the pillows.
A blanket or throw is normally smaller than the other types of bed coverings and is used as a decorative accent or to add extra warmth if needed during the night. Typically, you'll find blankets or throws at the foot of beds.
A comforter is a bed cover stuffed with fiber and sewn together on all four sides. The fabric on the outside of a comforter is decorative, which adds color and texture to the bed.
A duvet cover is a decorative covering that goes around a comforter or fiber filled object that looks like a comforter. A duvet cover is much like a pillowcase, except that it normally has buttons on the end to close it off and keep the comforter from coming out. A duvet cover can easily be taken off, which makes it convenient to clean. Some duvet covers have the side facing the body made of sheet fabric. That way you do not need to use a top sheet on your bed, which is a bonus when making your bed. There's no need to tuck in any sheets.
A bedspread is very similar to a coverlet. It is a thin, decorative bed cover that gives a bed a polished, smooth look. Unlike a coverlet, a bedspread extends all the way to the floor and typically covers the pillows.
A blanket or throw is normally smaller than the other types of bed coverings and is used as a decorative accent or to add extra warmth if needed during the night. Typically, you'll find blankets or throws at the foot of beds.
A comforter is a bed cover stuffed with fiber and sewn together on all four sides. The fabric on the outside of a comforter is decorative, which adds color and texture to the bed.
A duvet cover is a decorative covering that goes around a comforter or fiber filled object that looks like a comforter. A duvet cover is much like a pillowcase, except that it normally has buttons on the end to close it off and keep the comforter from coming out. A duvet cover can easily be taken off, which makes it convenient to clean. Some duvet covers have the side facing the body made of sheet fabric. That way you do not need to use a top sheet on your bed, which is a bonus when making your bed. There's no need to tuck in any sheets.
Moving into the pillow portion of my crash course, I was feeling a bit low. I knew far less about bedding than I thought, and I figured that Monk was starting to think I was a bit of an idiot. Luckily, another less than smooth situation in my past had taught me the difference between normal and Euro pillow sizes, and I was able to slightly redeem myself.
A Euro or Continental pillow is a large square pillow. It typically is put behind other pillows on the bed and is used as decoration or to sit back against.
A sleeping pillow is medium rectangular pillow that is used to rest your head on when sleeping.
A decorative pillow is normally small in size. It can come in a variety of different shapes and is used to add color and interest to a bed.
A bolster is a tubular pillow that can range in size. Some bolster pillows are very small while others span the entire width of a bed. A bolster is typically used to look beautiful on a bed, but some can be used to lean bask against.
A pillowcase is a covering for a pillow that is open at one end. The opening is positioned on the smaller side of the rectangle.
A pillow sham is much like a pillowcase in that it is a covering for a pillow. The difference is that a pillow sham does not have an opening on one side and it has a flange, which is an extra piece of fabric that extends from where the pillow sham is sewn on each edge. Pillow shams give a pillow a more finished, polished look, which is why they are often used instead of pillowcases.
A sleeping pillow is medium rectangular pillow that is used to rest your head on when sleeping.
A decorative pillow is normally small in size. It can come in a variety of different shapes and is used to add color and interest to a bed.
A bolster is a tubular pillow that can range in size. Some bolster pillows are very small while others span the entire width of a bed. A bolster is typically used to look beautiful on a bed, but some can be used to lean bask against.
A pillowcase is a covering for a pillow that is open at one end. The opening is positioned on the smaller side of the rectangle.
A pillow sham is much like a pillowcase in that it is a covering for a pillow. The difference is that a pillow sham does not have an opening on one side and it has a flange, which is an extra piece of fabric that extends from where the pillow sham is sewn on each edge. Pillow shams give a pillow a more finished, polished look, which is why they are often used instead of pillowcases.
With just one last piece of bedding to cover in our crash course, I figured there was no way that I would ever know it. But Monk was much nicer than that. She ended the day with a bedding term I was very familiar with: the bed skirt.
A bed skirt is a decorative piece of bedding that is placed between the mattress and box springs. The bed skirt covers the box springs and extends to the floor. It is used in conjunction with coverlets, duvets and comforters, which are bed coverings that do not extend to the floor.
It's always better to leave on a high note, and having finished my bedding crash course with a term I knew, I felt much more confident to stick around and look at all of the beautiful bedding in the Anichini showroom. And if you review the list of bedding terms one more time, you'll feel just as confident the next time you go shopping for new bedding sets.
Sheets Video
The Six Tests for Finding the Perfect Sheets
Washing Bed Sheets Video
10 Sheet Washing Tips Everyone Should Know
Linens Video
The 8 Linens Every Home Should Have (And the Other 4 We Wish We Did)
Bedding Video
The Anatomy of a Well Made Bed
©2006-2008 AsktheDecorator.com
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