Luxury Sheet Guide. Choosing the right sheet for you.Luxury Sheet Guide. How to choose the right sheets for your
needs. J Renee offers a very wide range
of designer luxury sheets in many colors and styles, but we often find that many people want to
know the basics about the different types of sheets available to help them in
deciding what is right for them. We make
recommendations for certain sheet fabrics or styles based on personal
experience and preferences, however the recommendations by no means cover all
of the exceptional quality offerings that are available to you. J Renee encourages you to explore all the
sheet options available to you, click on the link to see all of our luxury sheet offerings. Important information on Sheet Durability. We get asked this often, so we put together some basic ideas to consider when choosing sheets. It's best to alternate sets of sheets at least weekly, the rule of thumb for how many sheet sets to own for a bed that is used regularly is 3 sets - One on the bed, one in the linen closet, and one in the laundry, this will help your sheets last longer and you will always have a fresh set to put on the bed. Pillowcases will get the most wear and we recommend getting extra sets. Cosmetics, perfume, body oils, body hair and sharp nails will also cause wear and tear and will affect the longevity of your sheets.
You sleep on your sheets approximately 8 hours a night. If you only have one sheet set and wash them weekly, in two years you would have washed them 104 times, and spent a total of 5840 hours in them. Now imagine if you wore your favorite dress or shirt that much, and washed it that often, it probably would be worn out regardless of how much you paid for it, and the same may apply to your sheets. What we would expect is that a more expensive sheet would retain it's qualities (softness, color, luster, etc) significantly longer than an inexpensive sheet, and that seams and the elastic on the fitted sheets would be more durable. An inexpensive/inferior quality sheet will also tend to pill much quicker and breakdown faster due to the inferior quality cotton used to create the threads.
A large factor in the durability of sheets is the material used, as well as the weave of the fabric. In general you could expect a pure Linen Sheet to be the most durable (but they are generally the roughest starting out), a Cotton Percale Weave to be more durable than a Cotton Sateen weave (this is one reason many hotels use Cotton Percale as they are laundered frequently), and Cotton sheets in general to be more durable than a Modal, Bamboo or Silk sheets, however Modal, Bamboo & Silk sheets have properties that for many customers greatly outweigh any durability concerns such as wicking properties, incredible softness, and excellent colorfastness.
Cotton Sheets:
Sateen Cotton Sheets: Sateen refers to the method of weaving the
fibers, not what makes up the fibers as often is believed (people often confuse Sateen with Satin). Because
of the method of weaving, Sateen woven cotton fabric typically has a lustrous,
smooth surface and a softer feel (aka hand). Sateen sheets also tend to have more
color options available and are usually easier care than Percale sheets, however they may not be as durable
as Percale woven cotton.
Some recommended Sateen
Cotton Sheets: SDH Solid Sateen Sheets Schlossberg Sateen Sheets - 60 colors Sferra Giotto Sateen Sheets (a favorite for those that don't wish to splurge on the Milos or Giza)
Matouk Nocturne Sateen Sheets
SFERRA Giza 45 Sateen Sheets (The ultimate sateen, these are so, so soft)
Percale Cotton Sheets: Percale sheets are for those that love crisp,
ironed sheets like those found in many quality hotels. Percale refers to the method of weaving the
fabric, and this method is what gives the finished sheets that crisp
feeling. In many cases, because of this
weaving method, Percale cotton sheets tend to be more durable than Sateen
cottons, however they also tend to need more ironing if you are a perfectionist
and have to have that perfect look. Percale sheets also tend to not have as many color options available as Sateen sheets.
Some recommended Percale
Cotton Sheets: Matouk Ansonia Percale Sheets (very nice and crisp)
Peacock Alley Lyric Percale Sheets (another nice and crisp sheet)
SFERRA Celeste Percale Sheets (A Best Seller-great colors. Be sure to see SFERRA's other great styles based on the Celeste such as Saxon, Phoebe & Anna)
SFERRA Grande Hotel Percale Sheets. (Great sheet value, probably the finest 200 thread count percale we have run across) SFERRA Giza 45 Percale Sheets (The ultimate percale-very lightweight and fine)
Jacquard Cotton Sheets: Jacquard is any fabric woven on a jacquard loom, which creates intricate and complex
designs. Damasks, brocades and tapestries are all created this way. It is also
the name of a specific weave. Jacquard sheeting has a quiet shimmer, rich texture and silken touch
because its pattern is woven directly into the fabric. Many people prefer to use Jacquard fabrics as top sheets, duvet covers and shams as there can be a texture to them, and then using a coordinating solid sateen sheet for fitted sheets and pillowcases.
Some recommended Jacquard Cotton Sheets:
SFERRA Giza 45 Jacquard Sheets (amazingly soft & beautiful)
SDH Ming Jacquard Sheets
SDH Jasmine Sheets
Flannel Sheets:
Flannel sheets are wonderfully cozy, however
the bargain bin ones tend to pill very quickly and usually arent up to par for
long. We have two suggestions for some
really comfortable flannel sheets that come recommended by our resident flannel
snob.
Flannel Sheet
Recommendations:
Scandia Down Cotton & Silk Flannel Sheets SDH The Purists Flannel Sheets
Pine Cone Hill Ruffle Flannel Sheets
Knit Sheets:
Like your favorite T-shirt, Knit sheets are
typically a very comfortable, soft and cozy way to go. Like Flannel, inferior Knit sheets tend to
pill quickly and quickly lose that super soft quality. Two recommendations we have for luxury knit
sheets are from SDH Legna Knit Sheets and Schlossbergs Knit Sheets.
Knit Sheet Recommendations: SDH Legna Knit Beechwood Lyocell Sheets Schlossberg Solid Jersey Knit Sheets
Beechwood, Modal, Lyocell
Sheets:
Sheets and bedding derived from
wood pulp will often be found with these names.
We wont go into great detail on the differences here, as they are
covered in more detail in our other tutorials, however sheets from quality
luxury lines such as SDHs Legna, St. Geneve, Schlossberg and Sferra are wonderful sheets and great for use year round.
Modal, Lyocell Sheet
Recommendations: Schlossberg Solid Beechwood Sheets (a very soft and popular sheet)
SDH Legna Classic Lyocell Sheets (a best selling sheet)
SFERRA Manor Modal Sheets St. Geneve Ostina Modal Sheets
Bamboo Sheets:
Bamboo fabrics are typically made
from pure bamboo fiber yarns which have excellent wet permeability, moisture
vapor transmission property, strength and durability over time, soft and
comfortable hand, nice drape, easy dyeing, and splendid colors. We have noticed that bamboo pillowcases tend to wrinkle more than cotton ones, but they also press out really easily so not a major concern in our view.
Bamboo
Sheet Recommendations: Dreamsack 100% Bamboo Sheet Sets HSI's 100% Bamboo Sheets, 9 Colors
Linen sheets:
Woven from flax, linen is considered to be
the finest material for table linens, and to many people for sheets as well.
Linen sheets are a long held secret of many world class hotels as linen is extremely durable, yet soft and lustrous, and it only gets better with
age and washing. Linen's ability to "breathe" and absorb moisture,
and its cool, smooth finish makes it particularly appealing in summer. Linen is
also non-allergenic and non-static. Sure, it wrinkles, but we think that is part of the charm.
Linen Sheet Recommendations:
Bella Notte Linen Sheets (loads of colors and quite soft right from the start)
SDH Cantebury Linen Sateen Sheets
SFERRA Classico Linen Sheets (the classic linen sheet, very popular)
Cotton/Poly Blend Easy
Care or Wrinkle Free Sheets:
We get asked about wrinkle free sheets fairly often. Usually wrinkle free sheets have a coating, a process, or a mixture of materials that 1) makes them feel not so wonderful to sleep in, and 2) wears out, and what is left is, well, not pleasant. In our experience, anything that is worth sleeping on is going to wrinkle to some extent as all natural fibers do wrinkle, but you can minimize wrinkles with proper laundering techniques. If you just have to have easy care sheets & bedding, we
will make an exception in Matouks case, as their easy care sheets are actually
quite nice, and if you just have to have easy care sheets you would do well to
look at their offerings.
Cotton/Poly Blend Easy Care
Sheet Recommendations: Matouk Key Largo Sheets
Matouk Portofino Sheets Sferra Maid Easy Sheets
Silk Sheets: Good silk sheets are wonderfully luxurious. Silk is also amazingly strong and light. That's why they make parachutes and
printer ribbons out of it, apart from many other things. However, it
does need particular care to maintain its beauty and strength.
Dreamsack Silk Sheet Sets
St. Geneve Mikado Silk Sheets
St. Geneve Chale Silk Sheets
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