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The Best Bedsheets: Expensive and High Tech Options

January 7, 2013 by Admin

If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive luxury upgrade to your bed or mattress, consider getting yourself a high end set of bedsheets.

Luxury sheets can come in many forms, and it’s often difficult to judge what is going to be the most comfortable. Sheets come in different materials like cotton, cotton and polyester, polyester, bamboo, Egyptian cotton, cotton and linen, silk, satin, flannel, and so on.

Here’s a selection of bedsheets that some would consider the best sheets that money can buy.

Written up in GQ Magazine and other blogs devoted to luxury items, Olatz makes high end cotton and linen sheets. We’re talking $800 for a single flat queen sized sheet, in some models. You can buy them at an Olatz store, or online.

If you’ve ever stayed at a fancy hotel like the Savoy in London or the Ritz in Paris, then you might have experienced these high end sheets from Frette. Established in France in the 1860s, Frette is a luxury brand with staying power. Thankfully, the sheets are relatively moderate in price. An entire king sized set of Egyptian cotton sheets is under $400 for some models.

Want to go completely high tech, and use the types of modern fabrics that have completely taken over sports for your bedding? Take a look at the Sheex brand. The manufacturer claims that they breathe 50 percent better than cotton, they transfer heat two times better, they are more durable, feel softer, and won’t wrinkle or shrink. A queen set of luxury performance sheets goes for around $199.

sateencompanystore

The best sheets don’t always have to be expensive at all. Good Housekeeping Magazine in its March 2012 issue chose a 450 thread count sheet set from The Company Store as the best sateen sheets on the market. A set of king sheets with two pillowcases goes for around $237.

Written up in Real Simple magazine and picked as one of their top choices for the best bed sheets are these sheets from Sferra. Sferra is an Italian brand launched in Venice in 1891, and its sheets have been used in the Vatican and the White House, and by many celebrities, according to the manufacturer. A queen set will cost you just over $500.

Several blogs have written up the $2,400 bespoke Egyptian cotton sheets from Charlotte Thomas, a boutique luxury bedding brand in the UK. But I couldn’t find any way to buy them in the United States, or a manufacturer photo.

D. Porthault is a luxury brand out of Paris, started in the 1920s. Primarily available as very colorful, “girly” types of linens, a king sheet set goes in the range of around $1,900. These sheets are so expensive that they don’t even tell you the thread count, or even give you details about the fabric!

Sefte is an American luxury brand, but the sheets they make are woven in Italy, and hand embroidered by artisans in Vietnam. They sell for a reasonable $585 per queen set. They are 100 percent organic cotton, in a 400 thread count percale.

Esquire magazine listed Thomas Lee sheets as one of their top picks in the pima cotton sheet category. Thomas Lee only sells direct and keeps prices low. A queen set will cost $199, with a true 500 thread count in the percale style.

Additional reading on the best bedsheets:

Esquire magazine selects their picks for the best sheets.

GQ magazine covers the subject of sheets from a male perspective.

Real Simple writes about bedsheets in several different price categories.

Consumer Reports warns about thread count and material issues with sheets.

Do you have an opinion about the best sheets available, at any cost? Leave a comment and let us know.

best bedsheets made list

Gel Memory Foam vs. Memory Foam: What’s the Difference?

January 4, 2013 by Admin

It wasn’t long ago that memory foam mattresses like the TempurPedic were at the very top when it came to mattress comfort technology. NASA developed the original technology for viscoelastic memory foam to cushion and support astronauts during blastoff.

In the early 1990s that NASA developed technology became available for commercial products. A Swedish company acquired the rights from NASA to this technology, and then perfected it. This led to the TempurPedic brand, which pretty much dominated the memory foam market for almost two decades.

Gel memory foam has more of an earth-based origin. It was developed in the hospital bed / medical setting, to reduce pressure points for bedridden patients. It became quickly clear that the same technology could be tweaked to make an ideal regular mattress for consumers at home, and mattress manufacturers begin to introduce various gel memory foam models.

Gel memory foam mattresses really started to take off in 2011 with the introduction of the Serta iComfort gel mattress in 2011. Serta is one of the big names in mattresses, with wide distribution, making gel memory foam available just about everywhere. And the iComfort line has been a huge hit, launching Serta into the top selling position in the market in 2011.

The only real disadvantage of regular viscoelastic memory foam mattresses is that they can sometimes feel hotter to some people. Gel memory foam mattresses reportedly solve this issue.

Some argue that there is very little difference between gel memory foam and regular memory foam. And let’s face it, traditional memory foam gets very high customer satisfaction ratings. The latest 2012 Consumer Reports guide to mattresses wrote that TempurPedic had the highest satisfaction rating of all types of mattresses, including memory foam and traditional innerspring.

But don’t write off gel memory foam as a gimmick just yet! They don’t tend to use something in a medical setting unless it works.

Many of the gel memory foam mattresses use the same gels developed for hospital beds to avoid or overcome bedsores and alleviate pain from pressure points. Some of them even use a patented “buckling column gel” system that must be licensed out to a mattress manufacturer.

Whether you go with a traditional memory foam mattress or a gel memory foam, one thing you can look forward to is a longer mattress life. Both types of mattresses tend to outlast innerspring mattresses, which typically wear out in 5 to 7 years. Many memory foam brands have 20 year warranties. (My own standard TempurPedic is still going strong after a full decade. I’ve passed it down to my kid because we went from Queen to King and bought an Intellibed gel.)

Got an opinion? Leave a comment and share it. Feel free to mention brands that you like or dislike!

Additional reading:

Memory Foam Mattress? That’s So Last Night from the Los Angeles Times.

Looking for a good gel or memory foam mattress that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg? Amazon has some good options to consider at surprising low prices.

gel vs memory foam differences

Pillowtop vs. Eurotop Mattress – What is the difference?

April 14, 2011 by Admin

What’s the difference between a pillowtop mattress and a Eurotop mattress?

There was a time when buying a mattress for your bed was a simple process. This is not the case anymore. There are so many different types of mattresses on the market today that it is hard to even know how to buy a mattress. The two more sought after mattress types are the pillowtop mattress and the eurotop mattress. Both mattresses seem to have some sort of pillow on top but what is the real difference between these mattresses you might wonder? Find it out here.

Pillowtop mattresses are different from your standard style mattress in that they have an extra layer of padding added to the top of the mattress. When looking at the mattress you can see where the pillowtop has been added to what was once a standard mattress. The pillow has been sewn on to give the mattress that added comfort and it allows mattress companies to increase the price.

Almost every mattress company in the world today offers a mattress with some sort of pillowtop added. This makes buying this type of mattress very hard as there are so many to choose from. Knowing how to buy a mattress with a pillowtop will ensure that you choose the right one. It is important to keep in mind that the pillowtop is not the same as adding a mattress pad. The mattress pad is not sewn to the mattress as is the case with a pillowtop mattress and it does not offer the same amount of comfort.

There is another type of mattresses on the market today called the eurotop mattress. In the eurotop mattress there is an extra layer of padding added to the mattress to create the illusion of sleeping on a cloud but instead of being sewn onto the mattress so that a gap is present between the mattress and the pillow, the padding is attached directly to the top of the mattress, so there is no gap. The euro top mattress is a great choice because you are getting a larger surface to sleep on and there is less risk of rolling off as you sink into the bed when you are sleeping.

When people are thinking about buying a mattress that has this added layer of padding, they often wonder what the difference is between a pillowtop and a eurotop mattress. They believe that knowing the difference will help them to know how to buy a mattress that is perfect. Essentially there is no major difference in both types of mattresses in regards to their function and benefits. Both mattresses offer sleepers added comfort with the extra padding.

The eurotop has been found to be slightly larger than the pillowtop and people have reported that it does offer more comfort in the long run as the pillowtop mattress tends to flatten out over a period of time, whereas the Eurotop seems to be more durable. Other than those two basic differences, when choosing between the two it will just have to come down to personal preferences.

Don’t Go Too Cheap on a Mattress

March 10, 2011 by Admin

You want a cheap mattress because you think they’re too expensive and you want to save some money, right?

Consider this. One third of your life is spent sleeping or lying in bed. That seems like a lot of time and this is why it is important to have a good mattress on your bed. If you are spending almost one hundred and twenty hours a year in your bed then you need to avoid buying a cheap mattress. The best mattresses will cost a little more but in the long run you will be assured a good night’s sleep and you will not have to replace the mattress every couple of years.

Knowing how to buy a mattress and knowing what the best mattresses are will help you to find a great mattress that will last a long time. Trying to avoid buying a cheap mattress can mean several different things. People often think of cheap as being something that does not cost a great deal of money while other people think of the quality of the product rather than the price. When it comes to mattresses, the best mattress may cost a bit more than you originally planned to pay for it but it will definitely prove to be worth it.

Knowing How to Buy a Mattress Will Guarantee That You are Getting a Great Mattress

People often think of a mattress as an unnecessary expense and that their money could be better spent somewhere else. However, when you think about how you spend your money, cutting back on some things and saving a little here and there will allow you to buy one of the best mattresses on the market.

Think of how you spend your money, how much money do you spend on coffee each day, or how much money do you spend on eating out or even how much did you spend on your television set? None of these things are as important as the quality of mattress that you have on your bed. If you are willing to spend money on many things that are passing by then why not spend a little more to ensure that you are getting a good night’s sleep.

There are ways to avoid paying a great deal for a mattress and still get a good quality mattress, this is where knowing how to buy a mattress comes into play. Many people don’t realize that it is possible to negotiate the price of a mattress before buying it. It is just assumed that the price is fixed but buying a mattress can be similar to buying a car; you have a price in mind that you are willing to pay and you don’t go over.

This will ensure you that you are getting a great mattress. Factory outlets often sell high quality mattresses at lower prices. You can check online to see if there are any online stores that have good mattresses for sale, however it is always a good idea to see the mattress and at least lay on it before buying it.

So convinced that you’re ready to throw your wallet on the table? If so, check out our Luxury Mattress page and prepare to be blown away!

Other Resources for Buying a Mattress Cheap without Getting a Cheap Mattress

The Better Sleep Council offers this guide to buying a mattress.

Consumer Reports has a very thorough and realistic guide to getting a cheaper price on a mattress purchase. They also have a good blog post about it.

Any problems with this page? If so, leave a comment and let us know so we can improve it, please!

Pillowtop and Eurotop mattresses and Deep Pocket Sheets

March 1, 2011 by Admin

The pillowtop mattress and the eurotop mattress are among the top mattress types on the market today. They are being made in all sizes from twin to king and people are enjoying the added comfort that they offer. Knowing how to buy a mattress of this type will ensure that you are getting the best night’s sleep possible.

However, there are things that people are not aware of when they buy a pillowtop mattress or a eurotop mattress. One problem that people are running into is finding sheets that fit these mattresses perfectly. People are reporting that their sheets do not fit down over the corner of the mattress and adjustment of the fitted sheet is needed. What you need with a pillowtop or eurotop mattress are deep pocket sheets.

Deep pocket sheets are sheets that have been designed to fit over mattresses like the pillowtop mattress and the eurotop mattress that are thicker or higher than the standard mattress. The extra padding that has been added to the mattress is making it harder to find sheets that fit nicely. This is why bed sheet manufacturers have created the deep pocket sheets.

People who buy deep pocket sheets will find that not only are they buying a sheet that will now fit their bed but they are finding that the quality of the sheet is better too. The thread count in these sheets is typically higher than standard bed sheets.

Knowing how to buy a mattress and the sheets that fit nicely is being made easier every day. When shopping for deep pocket sheets you will find that they are being marked to show which exact type of mattress they fit on. In most cases however, they will be grouped together under the pillowtop heading. By reading the packaging you will have no problem finding the sheets that you want.

Measuring your bed can also help you find the perfect sheets. Some mattresses have extra padding when compared on others and not all pillow or eurotop mattresses are the same. Deep pocket sheets vary in size but they can be found from sixteen inches up to twenty-two inches in depth. Again, the packaging will be labeled to tell you how large they are; therefore reading the packaging is extremely important.

When deep pocket sheets first came on the market the patterns and prints were very basic. However, today there is a high demand for this type of bed sheet and designers are working hard to make their prints and patterns the best. The material used for these sheets is also changing. As said earlier, the thread count is often higher and the quality is better.

You can now find deep pocket sheets made out of silk, satin and even flannel. There is something for everyone in the world of deep pocket sheets. Knowing how to buy a mattress was once considered a simple thing, today however there is so much more to consider, right down to the type of sheets that will be needed to fit the bed.

Amazon has a wide selection of deep pocket sheets, sortable by color, style, size and material.

Did we miss anything with this article? Were you expecting to learn something that you didn’t find? If so, please leave a comment so that we can continue to improve this page.