Anatomy of the Perfect Bed

May 24, 2010

A quick visual guide to what a “Perfect bed” should look like:

Perfect Luxury bedding

1. SHEETS > A bed sheets set is made of a flat top sheet, a fitted bottom sheets and a pair of pillow cases. It’s the basic bedding item to actually sleep in.

2. DUVET COVER > A duvet or comforter cover is a giant pillow case that hold inside a down comforter. It is usually sold as a standalone product or packaged as a set with a pair of accent pillow shams. It can be used either with or without a flat sheet.

3. ACCENT PILLOWS > Additional decorative pillow shams to match. They have a flange around the four sides or some kind of embellished border. Available in several different sizes from small Boudoir pillows to Standard/Queen size to Euro squares (a.k.a. Continental shams) up to the large King shams used on King sized beds.

4. QUILTED > A Quilt is a bed cover made of two layers of fabric stitched together, with an interior padding held in place by decorative intersecting seams. A Coverlet is a decorative, top of the bed cover that does not cover the pillows. Matching quilted pillows shams, usually in the Euro square size, are placed on top of the coverlet against the headboard to beautifully frame the bed.

5. BEDSKIRT > A bedskirt is used when the boxspring of the bed is showing or when the top of the bed cover, like a bedspread or comforter, does not extend all the way down to the floor. Bedskirts fit under the mattress and on top of the boxspring and decorate with fabric to the floor.

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Top 3 reasons to shop for Luxury Linens

April 18, 2010

What Luxury Linens really mean?

It’s not just any overpriced, designer branded sheets you may find at high-end malls.

Real Luxury linens stand out for their exceptional quality with unique technical features that translate into actual benefits, making Your housekeeping easier and Your home more comfortable and good-looking.

That said, here are 3 very good reasons to only shop for luxury linens:

1. More comfort makes You feel better

High quality bedding can make a big impact on how well you sleep at night. Soft-as-butter snuggly sheets will greatly enhance you sleeping habits and cuddle you lovingly all night long. You will wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated with the right mood to start a new day.

Just like having at hand plush towels and bathrobes can set you up for a true spa experience every time you step into your bathroom.

2. Make your Home beautiful

Linens are a great accent to enhance your interior decor.

Much of the focus in your bedroom is on the bed itself and you can spruce up the whole room with a fabulous bedding ensemble and a vibrant quilted coverlet to match. Make your bedroom a special place to get away from it all!

You can easily revamp your bathroom as well, with just some attractive towels hanging on your rack or neatly folded and piled on the vanity top.

As a perfectly well dressed table with a great looking tablecloth and matching napkins will make a stunning dining room to really enchant your guests.

3. Get more value for your money

Household Linens are heavy-duty stuff subject to a hard physical stress in their daily usage as well as in their maintenance/care.  Beside being used on a daily basis your linens should be machine washed, tumble dried and ironed over and over again.  Quality is really a top priority if you don’t want them to be piling and look worn right after the first wash. 

When you take into account the fact that high quality linens are so well made that they last for a decade or more , you can see that luxury linens is always a worthwhile investment, especially when you also consider that poor quality goods can easily wear out after 3 washings or less.

That makes quite clear that even if it costs more to buy luxury linens you will have more bang for your bucks later on. It’s a high R.O.I. investment that will pay you back again and again with spectacular comfort for years to come.

Luxury Linens is an Investment to improve the Quality of Your life.

Trading down here is definitely not a good option!

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Luxury Bedding : Egyptian cotton sateen or Pima cotton percale?

March 15, 2010

When choosing for some new luxury linens one of  the very first thing to consider should be the type of weave of the fabric. This is the actual way each and every single thread is woven into a fabric fine texture. It is an often overlooked feature that can make a big difference on the way made up luxury bedding products look and feel.

Percale and Sateen weaves are the most common type of weaves  and are the two main options  available in the luxury linens market.

Sateen weave add luster and drape to luxury bedding  for a soft silky hand. The fabric has a lustrous and smooth surface, with a luminous sheen, while the back side shows  a slightly rugged texture.

Percale is a plain weave with a matte finish and a supple lofty hand. Percale cotton luxury linens are light and crisp yet incredibly soft. Both the top and back sides of the fabric look and feel exactly the same showing a textured surface.

The choice depends basically on the individual preference for luxury bedding  with a soft-as-silk touch and a luminous shine or rather a crisp hand with a matte surface.  Percale fabric is also lighter in weight and more breathable making it suitable for the summertime or the hot climate. Sateen is usually a little thicker and more tightly woven showing the highest thread counts. 

While 100% cotton luxury bedding is mostly recommended for the understated quality of a natural fiber, still not all cottons are created equal.

Among the finest quality available worldwide are Egyptian cotton, mostly woven into Sateen, and Pima cotton for Percale weave.

Egypt produces the best quality, longest fiber and most valued raw cotton worldwide. It is grown and hand harvested along the fertile banks of the Nile river delta where unique climatic conditions give rise to the finest long staple and extra long staple cotton fibers that are woven into world’s softest luxury linens.

Sea Island or American Pima cotton is a very strong, high-grade, long staple cotton quality developed from selected Egyptian cotton crops in the southwest of the United States. Because of the fineness of Pima cotton, more fibers can be spun into a yarn of a given count, which will enhance the feel, softness, drape and brilliance of a luxury bedding fabric. It is named after Pima County in southern Arizona, location of the experimental farm on which it was developed in the early 1900s. It now accounts for only 3% of US annual cotton production and is mainly cultivated in the San Joaquin Valley, California.

There’s not really one best choice in luxury bedding between Sateen or Percale as it is left to the personal preference of the individual shopper. It’s  important here to be aware of the substantial difference among  the two types of weave to get the maximum return on the investment in high quality luxury linens.

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Egyptian Cotton Sheets : Truth & Lies about World’s finest Luxury Linens

March 5, 2010

When it comes to Luxury Linens the first thought that pops up in everyone’s mind is “high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets”.
That’s for a good reason as Egyptian cotton is indeed world’s finest cotton quality available. There are some truly unique technical specs that set Egyptian cotton apart from other natural fibers:
- The humid conditions and rich soil in Egypt along the Nile River banks create the perfect conditions to grow long cotton fibers (also known as staples).
- The staples of Egyptian cotton can range from 1 1/2 inches to 2 1/4 inches. Their long length is about twice the size of other cotton fibers.
- The length of the fiber makes it possible to spin the finest yarns without sacrificing the strength of the yarn itself.
- The strength of the fiber makes fabrics more durable and resistant to stress.
- Its ability to absorb liquids gives Egyptian cotton sheets deeper, brighter and more resistant colors.
- The yarns are smooth and lustrous and the softness of the woven fabric feels like nothing else, crafted in world’s finest luxury linens.
- Egyptian cotton is hand picked which guarantees the highest levels of purity. In addition, hand picking puts no stress on the fibers – as opposed to mechanical picking – leaving the fibers straight and intact.
- The particular care in terms of the cultivation process, and the hand harvesting, ensures that the cotton is perfectly clean at every stage of the growth cycle. The cotton is gathered by hand at 5 specific stages of its life in order to select only fully ripe seeds. This meticulousness yields a perfect quality yarn: its long and ripe fibers give exceptionally soft and silky luxury linens with a truly outstanding quality.
All these factors have resulted in Egyptian cotton being by far the best cotton in the world. Fabrics made of Egyptian Cotton are softer, finer, last longer than any other cotton in the world and are crafted into exquisite luxury linens.
If all this is true for sure about Egyptian cotton sheets, there is also a dark side of misleading information (a.k.a. lies) that should be properly taken into account before making any luxury linens purchasing decision:
- “Made in Egypt” bed linens does not mean Egyptian cotton sheets. On the contrary most of the Egyptian made bedding products are not likely to be made of Egyptian cotton at all since premium Egyptian cotton fibers are available in scarce quantity and grown in small lots for export use only.
- Egyptian cotton, due to its high cost, is often mixed and woven with lower cotton qualities that somehow undermine all of its fabulous characteristics. More often Egyptian cotton is only used in a very small percentage not clearly specified on products label. Only true 100% Egyptian cotton sheets would deliver those great benefits making really outstanding luxury linens.
- Egyptian cotton is not directly related to very high thread count as 1000TC and above. It is true on one hand that only very fine gauge yarn such as Extra long staple Egyptian cotton fibers can be tightly woven into high thread count luxury linens fabrics. Still on the other hand such densely woven fabrics may result in heavy and thick bed sheets while a lighter and more breathable texture could be more comfortable. Usually 300TC and 400TC Egyptian cotton sheets are finer and softer than many other super high thread count luxury linens.
- It can be misleading to evaluate Egyptian Cotton luxury linens just by touching and feeling a sample cloth of fabric in a store as there are many other cotton qualities that can be nice and soft as well (such as Pima). Egyptian cotton though deploys most of its great characteristics in the long run after year of use and endless washings. It even gets smoother and softer with time while the other linens just get ripped off and must be thrown away.
- Egyptian cotton luxury linens are expensive. It costs money to achieve the greatest quality and that’s what a higher price tag stands for.
In the end luxury linens shall be considered as any other investment in durable assets. The R.O.I. will outstrip the initial cost with spectacular comfort for years to come.
Egyptian cotton sheets are luxury linens perfection!

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The + 1000 Thread Count scam

January 12, 2010

Since thread count gained  popularity as the most widely recognized quality factor for fine bedding, it has been used wildly as the main marketing tool for advertising luxury linens.

The rush to the highest thread count took the whole industry by storm with figures climbing rapidly from 600 to 1000 to 1200, 1500 up to an astonishing 1800 thread count !

An excellent 300 TC bed sheets of a few years ago will almost sound ridiculous compared to the sky high thread count available today.

Has really quality improved that much in just a few years?

Not at all !

First and foremost the highest thread count that can be technically achieved for sheeting fabrics is 1.000. Period!

Secondly, such an high thread count can only be produced out of premium quality extra long staple Egyptian Cotton fibers  spun into super fine gauge yarns, twisted and woven into the finest fabrics with advanced textile machinery and state of the art technology only developed at a few top rated mills located in Italy, France or Germany.  As a result those fine fabrics , produced in limited quantities, have very high production costs and become very expensive, retailing for $1.000 and more for a plain sheets set.

So what about all the 1.000’s and more thread count sheets we can see advertised anywhere at any sort of low to medium price? Well, it’s most likely one of the two options below:

  1. The thread count is true but it has been achieved using poor quality raw cotton fibers, thus giving thick uneven yarns that are woven into heavy fabrics manufactured into blanket-weight sheets. Not nice to sleep in! Moreover this kind of inexpensive sheets tend to pill, showing those annoying little balls on the fabric surface after a few washings.
  2. The thread count is somehow misrepresented referring to a  metric system figure rather than to the actual number of threads woven into an American square inch or even worse  it’s fraudulently listed a thread count that is not true and honest.  Scam!

Last but not least I have to say out of my experience on the field that even an expert would barely notice any difference between  a  600-700TC and a 1.000TC. Overall fabric quality and performance upon usage are about the same while price can be double, triple or even quadruple for a real 1.000TC.

Personally, I wouldn’t break the bank for a true 1.000TC sheets. It’s not really worth all that money!

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Does Thread Count really count?

November 12, 2009

Thread count is the most widely used indicator for quality of fine fabrics. That’s for a good reason. It is a concise, straightforward figure that give you a reliable quality grade.

Thread Count is still pretty good to give you a rough idea of quality yet it is not enough in itself to determine a purchasing decision.

Many other factors  should be taken into account such as raw cotton origin, gauge of spun yarns, weaving techniques and quality of all the necessary finishing processes to get fabrics ready for manufacturing. Learn more about luxury linens quality.

In general higher thread counts are achieved spinning premium long staple raw cotton fibers into the finest cotton yarns then woven in outstanding quality fabrics. Sounds good right?

Still very often a high thread count is achieved weaving thick yarns made out of impure raw cotton fibers resulting in a heavyweight, rough, pilling likely fabric. Definitely a poor quality.

For an easy reference when it comes to choose your bed linens :

Below 180TC is poor quality > It can be even uncomfortable –  I suggest to avoid this.

180TC to 300TC is good quality > Best choice for value bedding.

300TC to 500TC is luxury quality > Verify cotton quality. It should be only Long staple Egyptian or Pima cotton.

500TC to 700TC  is superior luxury quality > Verify cotton quality as it can only be made out of Extra Long staple Egyptian cotton yarns. Verify country of production as only premium manufacturing countries such as Italy, France and Germany have developed state of the art technology to weave such fine fabrics.

More than 700TC > It’s a waste of money as price grow exponentially for such a high thread count and quality performance is not really improving. This is the range of thread count where we see the highest scam density.  Be very careful before purchasing bed linens in this thread count range especially when it goes over 1000TC. You should only purchase this linens from reputable, well known vendors that give you full guarantees  or risk to get hurt.

Those are the only real information you can gather  from thread count figures. We assume of course that thread count listed in the product features is true and honest. It might not always be the case but that’s  just another story. it’s consumer fraud!

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Beware! “Imported” Linens

October 26, 2009

We have seen this quite often especially online:

“…..Italian luxury bed sheets set. Imported”

Imported from Italy right?

Wrong!

Here is the scam: the word “Italian” is used as an adjective to mean Italian looking or Italian style inspired linens. “ Imported” just means goods are coming from outside the US without indicating the actual country of origin.

Premium manufacturing countries like Italy, France or Germany are always clearly identified in the product features as “Made in ……….”. The generic “Imported” word is only used for low labor cost manufacturing Countries  such as China, India, Pakistan or Vietnam.

Be also aware of the fact that US Federal Law requires all imported textile products to clearly specify on the label the country of origin of raw material and manufacturing. The missing indication of the “Made in “ Country is a violation to fair trade and should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Learn more at FTC website.

Don’t be fooled again by this tricky advertising. You won’t get cheap Italian linens anywhere either online or in store. As a rule of thumb any bed linen set that retail below $200/$250 is very unlikely to be really made in Italy.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

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New Luxury!

October 11, 2009

What is luxury?

It’s anything coming at a premium price compared to mass market products or services.

Luxury markets have been growing exponentially in the past decades together with the wealth/GDP of all Western and Far Eastern countries. We have seen a worldwide proliferation of “self assessed” luxury brands like never before. It happened in any kind of Industry, from pet food to sportswear, from shoes to fine linens.

Overcrowded and supercompetitive markets moved businesses focus from the product itself to marketing. The one able to scream its message louder stood out of the crowd and won the consumer. Marketing counted up to 80% of the price tag.  A lot of sizzle and no steak!

That’s the way it used to be!

Tha global downturn that slashed US economy into the worst recession since 1929 was not only evil. Strange as it seems there is also a good side of it.  The Great recession brought people back to reality, easy and quick money was over and the idea of an eternal growth at the same pace as the past decades has been replaced by the concept of sustainable growth.

This changed consumer attitude forever. Focus is back again on the value of  actual product. 

A brand name alone is not enough anymore to justify a premium price tag and luxury doesn’t mean just to show off wealth and social status accomplishment.

New Luxury stands in a product’s superior key features that translate into actual benefits to the user. It’s that simple!

The winner in today’s economy is the one able to deliver that luxury product to consumers in the most efficient/cost effective way leveraging the power of the internet and the new media. The internet make it possible to reach a target audience in a much more effective way than traditional advertising thus shortening the value chain and giving value back to consumers.

Many traditional luxury brands still don’t get it. All that they do is making product more affordable by lowering quality thus not changing the way they deliver value. This is actually a runway to hell since poor quality will kill the perceived value of the brand itself in the long run.

Only those businesses able to justify a premium price tag with real, tangible value will prosper and be the winners in the New luxury markets. All the others are condemned to decline and will strive to survive.

New Luxury is good and is here to stay.

No more sizzle please, just the steak !

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Hello world!

September 21, 2009

Please see “About” and “What’s in it for me” pages fo more information.

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