For most people, the bedding in your home accumulates. There's the heirloom quilt from your grandmother, the throw blanket you bought for that road trip, and half a dozen sets of sheets purchased at different times. Maybe you got the layers as a holiday gift, with a new mattress, or when you decorated your guest bedroom. But the truth is, almost no one has a truly coordinated set of bedding for each bed in their home. And don't you wish you did?

The Right Bedding for Every Season

Who doesn't want the perfect bedding for every season? If you've ever woken up sweating in the wrong sheets or reaching for an extra blanket that wasn't there, you know the value of having a perfectly made bed for your sleeping environment. There is something undeniably beautiful about smooth, cool percale sheets on a warm summer night or the cozy feel of flannel sheets in the icy winter. But is your linen closet equipped?

Today, we imagine something better than the hodge-podge of extra sheets that we live with right now. Here at Nest Bedding, we dare to imagine a world where homemakers plan their bedding sets from the fitted bottom sheet to the extra throw blanket and every layer in between. Not only can you build an ideal collection of bedding for a single bed, but you can also create a perfect year-round bedding set that will keep your whole family happily snuggling between the sheets every night of the year.

A Complete Year-Round Bedding Set:

• 2 Sets of Summer Sheets
• 2-8 Summer Pillowcases
• 2 Lightweight Quilts
• 1 Light Throw Blanket
• 2 Sets of Winter Sheets
• 2-8 Winter Pillowcases
• 1 Heavy Duvet
• 2 Duvet Covers
• 1 Heavy Throw Blanket

The Two-Set Rule

When building a complete set of sheets, it's important to remember one basic rule. You always want two sets for every configuration. It is for two reasons. First, you never want to leave your bed unmade. That's just inviting dust, crumbs, and debris to get into the inner layers where they could make trouble for your sleep in the future. If at all possible, you want to remake your mattress in fresh bedding immediately after stripping off the previous linen to be washed.

The second reason is that laundry doesn't always happen in a timely fashion. Interruptions and delays can mean that bedding you expected to have washed before bedtime is still waiting to dry when you need to sleep. Instead of settling for less-than-ideal bedding, a second set provides an easy solution and some time to finish doing laundry.

One Complete Bedding Set

Next, let's seriously consider the structure of an ideally made bed. Assuming you have a reasonable number of pillows (one or two per sleeper), putting together a complete bedding set is quite easy. But there are more pieces than you might think.

Basic Bedding Structure:

• Fitted Bottom Sheet
• Matching Top Sheet
• 1-4 Matching Pillowcases
• Seasonal Blanket (Quilt or Duvet)
• Throw Blanket

Fitted Bottom Sheet

Each piece of the basic structure has a part to play in your sleep experience. The fitted bottom sheet is the barrier between you and the rest of the world. Its job is to be smooth and clean for delight sleep. The bottom sheet also contributes to heat wicking, whether your body heat is insulated to keep you warm or if the sheet breathes to cool you during the night.

Matching Top Sheet

The top sheet, on the other hand, is there to soothe your skin and protect your blanket. The top sheet completes your physical sensation, matching top and bottom, so you feel the same smooth or cozy fabric wrapped around you. Without actually being tightly packed like a sleeping bag. The top sheet is also the reason blankets need to be washed less often because they don't make as much direct contact with your skin while you sleep.

Pillowcases

Your pillowcases are what you snuggle into at night. You nestle your head into them, cuddle them in your sleep, and breathe through them regularly. You want your pillowcases to be comfy, soothing, and frequently washed. Many people go through pillowcases faster than other bedding, so you might consider getting a source for additional pillowcases that you always enjoy.

Seasonal Blanket

Every bedding set needs a blanket. Sleeping just under a sheet doesn't feel right for most people, and the right blanket for the season creates the perfect balance between your body temperature and your bedroom environment. However, it's also important to choose when to switch out your blanket during the year. At some point, nights get cold enough that it's time to pull out the winter-weight bedding. Likewise, the spring nights eventually get warm enough that you only need a light-weight blanket to feel comfortable when sleeping.

Throw Blanket

Finally, a throw blanket is one of the most practical and often-forgotten aspects of a great bedding set. For those unusually chilly summer nights or unbelievably cold winter nights, it's always nice to be able to pile on an extra layer without having to get out of bed. The throw blanket, light or heavy, can be folded at the end of the bed. Most nights, it's an innocuous foot warmer. And when you need it, a well-placed clean throw is a delight.

Warm Weather Bedding

For our final set of tips, we'll offer some pointers on how to decide your warm and cold weather bedding To properly build and then luxuriate in the perfect bedding set for every season; you'll need to know what you like best.

For warm weather, percale is the ideal type of sheet. These are traditional sheets woven to be smooth, fresh, and breathable. Percale sheets are more likely to be heat and moisture wicking, helping you feel clean and dry on warm summer nights.

For your blanket, you'll want something that feels heavier than it is warm, like a lightweight quilt or even a sizeable woven throw. The heaviness will provide a comforting weight while you sleep.

Cold Weather Bedding

For cold weather, you'll want to optimize your bedding to insulate heat without sacrificing breathability. This way, you'll be nice and warm without waking up bothered by night sweats. We highly suggest either jersey sheets or flannel, depending on your environment and preference. Flannel sheets are fuzzy and breathable, great for icy regions where winter nights can get quite chilly. Jersey is soft and cozy but not as thick, great for cold nights of southern winters.

As for blankets, we suggest either heavy layered quilts or a fluffy duvet. Duvets are comforters inside a duvet cover which helps to keep them clean. With two duvet covers, you can enjoy a big fluffy comforter and can wash the blankets when it comes time to do bedding laundry.

For more great bedding tips on building the perfect year-round bedding set, contact us today!