Bed Linen Quality

Nothing beats jumping into a comfortable bed after a hard day's work for a good night's sleep. With all the luxury bed linen options available, it is difficult to single out the best bed linens to buy for that perfect rest.

Kelly Driscoll, an interior decorator and budding bed linens manufacturer, explains what you should look for when purchasing luxury bed linens.

"You get what you pay for in terms of quality," Driscoll said. "Don't be misled by sky high thread counts for bed linens. They may or may not translate into beautiful long lasting bed sheeting.

"The key is the quality of the cotton used for the bed linens," she added. "Fine bed sheets are made of long staple Egyptian cotton. It is durable and the bed sheets feel luxurious to the touch."

While thread count is an important indicator of the quality when it comes to bed linens, it can indeed be misleading. Thread count refers to the number of threads per square inch on the bed linens. The higher the thread count, the softer and lighter the bed sheets feel. Bed sheets with a thread count of 200 to 300 will feel crisp and cool on your body compared to luxury bed linens with a 600 thread count, which will be soft and silky.

However, some discount bed sheeting manufacturers will make inexpensive high thread count bed sheets by splitting the single ply cotton threads that are not long staple Egyptian cotton. This will double the thread count of the luxury bed linens, but significantly reduce the quality of the bed sheets. Within a few washings, you will have pilling and the edges will start to fray on the bed linens.

If you purchase 400 thread count bed sheets for $80, you are likely purchasing inferior quality bed sheets and will be forced to buy replacement bed linens in the near future because they will simply not last.

"Great quality bed sheeting, if cared for properly, will last for several years," Driscoll said.

Taking care of your luxury bed linens is very important in order to keep your bed linens feeling great for years to come.

"Wash the luxury bed linens with plenty of water on the delicate cycle and use either a detergent made especially for bed linens or a detergent for delicates," she said. "The luxury bed linens won't take very long to dry so pull them out when they're slightly damp, make your bed. The luxury bed linens will have fewer wrinkles."

Driscoll also said that it is ideal to give your luxury bed linens a rest by having two sets and rotating them every week.

If you like soft and silky bed sheets, she recommends sateen finish, high thread count Egyptian cotton luxury bed linens. This type of quality will cost at least $200 or $300 and will increase in price with the increase in thread count in the luxury bed linens.

This spring, Driscoll will launch her own line of luxury bed linens called Les Jours Fine Linens. Her luxury bed linens will be available online at www.lesjoursfinelinens.com.

She will be offer 10 collections that will include duvet covers, shams, throw pillows and luxurious yet cozy velvet coverlets. Driscoll will also sell coordinating bed sheeting for these collections and, not surprisingly, they will be made of two-ply, long staple 600 thread count Egyptian cotton with a sateen finish.

Les Jours Fine Linens are luxurious and practical. The velvet coverlets are washable and have cotton bed sheeting backing that stays nicely pressed on your bed while you tuck your wrinkly bed sheets under the shams and throw pillows. Driscoll?s poly-silk duvet covers have the look and feel of silk, but they are washable.

"We look forward to new choices in luxury bed linens," she said.