Lustful Linens

For a little while now I’ve had my eye on many different 100% linen (French most often) bedding – you know, the actual linen-y kind – the kind that looks perfectly muzzed up + “Sunday morning lived in” all the time!  I could probably admit to having procrastinated for over 6 months, ogling over various naturally hued colour combo’s, massively varying price brackets + the all important customer review (comfort rating).  But, now that I have finally made my purchase, I don’t want all this carefully scoured (borderline obsessional) information going to waste – so you, my lucky followers, can also get lost in my world of actual linen bed linen!

Image credits: Cultiver & H&M

Whilst on my pilgrimage for the holy grail of linen sheets, which I’ll admit started (+ really ended) with only aesthetics in mind, I also gleaned some other rather handy info about my literie du jour:

• 100% Natural. Flax needs no irrigation, rainwater is enough for it to grow so growers use less fertilisers/pesticides.
• Truly Healthy. Linen fibres are naturally hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial + anti-mycotic. It has a natural pH balance which helps to soften + preserve the skin (the biggest bonus so far!!).
• Eco-Friendly. Linen requires less water to grow, fewer resources to process + has more uses for its by-products. It also has a chemical-free finishing compared to cotton, all the reasons why linen is the greener fabric by far to other materials.
• So Comfortable. Breathable like a second skin, Linen can help to regulate your temperature. It absorbs moisture in the heat + retains body heat in the cold. Cotton sheets tend to break down after a few years whereas linen actually only starts to shine after 3 years!

Along the way I have come across some great linen duvet sets, which I haven’t opted for for various reasons:

Firstly, The Linen Works – absolutely stunning muted tones – pure white, a delicious dark grey + a dusty pink.  The fact all their linen is pre-washed, basically means they fast forward to year 3 of the linen life span, giving you super soft bedding from day one.  This was all fab, but with the gorgeous colour combos + the fact we have 6 six pillows + a super king duvet, this brought the basket cost to just under £400 (that was before I even started layering my look with a flat sheet!). So for my first foire into linen bedding, I chose to move onto a less costly option.

The Linen Works, Lens Charcoal Collection.

Next up came a recommendation from my uber-stylish, Scandi-style cool mother – pointing me in the direction of H&M.  She’s been a advocate of their linen bedding for over a year + swears by the layered colours + rather soft texture – that said, this works for her as she’s lucky enough to fall into the single-king sized options they offer, *sad face*, alas I do not! Whilst the thought of squishing our super king duvet into the king size cover did occur to me, this would just be a compromise too far (in addition to the fact you have to be like Usain Bolt out the starting blocks when they re-stock on their king sized beauties!).

So, finally (ok, I skipped a few!) I made my purchase from Soak & Sleep – the price was comfortable (just over £120 for all the bits I wanted), the reviewers seemed happy + I’m a sucker for a well branded company with a quirky name (they seem to have come from the same nouveau generic brands such as Loaf & Sofa.com). I opted for a clean + simple white duvet cover with a mixture of white + grey oxford pillow cases (I might just add a cheeky The Linen Works pink pair in there too at a later date!) + of course, on the parcel’s arrival, everything else was dropped + bed sheets were changed! They look the part (suitably muzzed + layered), the price was spot on, however, I’m going to have to do some intense washing to get them a little less scratchy! All in all, I’m rather happy, as is someone else…

Starring Marley the Beagle

Author: Jess Warner, The Only Girl in the House