7 Tips for Choosing Bed Linens

Bedroom Conundrum - How To Know Which Sheets Are Right For You

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

I just moved into my first apartment, and I'm decorating. The first thing I went to get --obviously-- were bed linens. All my life, I have slept on jersey sheets. Now, I got to the linen store and discover there are like 200 options for bedding! I have no idea what to get. What's the best bedding you can buy -- practical, economical and worthy of sleeping in all night?

Sincerely,

Baffled in the Bedroom

April Masini's advice:

Dear Baffled in the Bedroom,

Your bed is one of the most important places in your life. Whether you're having sex, making babies or spending that third of your life sleeping there, your bed is worth at least a second thought and at most an investment. After you've chosen the right size bed and the perfect mattress, next comes selecting your linens...

Here are some tips for figuring out which sheets are right for you:

1) High thread count linens are silky to the touch. However, if you're someone who washes your sheets often and doesn't have six sets of sheets that rotate on your bed, you may find that high thread count sheets become threadbare sheets. Because they are so thin, they tend to rip with lots of washing and wear. So unless you have a linen wardrobe you can rotate, you'd do better with a lower thread count. The difference between 300 and 600 is noticeable, but doable for most people.

2) Low thread count sheets are great for beds that no one really sleeps on. Guest room beds or beds for kids who are still in that stage between potty training and where they sometimes have accidents and the sheets are tossed, might be candidates for low thread count sheets.

3) Low thread count sheets can be rough on skin so if you or your family have sensitive skin, low thread count sheets are going to be uncomfortable.

4) Flannel sheets are wildly toasty and cozy in the winter. Stow them in the summer -- but don't forget to buy them on sale off season and store them for the winter.

5) Satin sheets are great for seduction. On an every day basis they can cause a sweaty sleep experience, so consider these for "date nights" and then when you need some serious sleep, switch to cotton sheets.

6) Silk sheets are a great luxury, but they're not practical because they need to be dry cleaned. These are great for guest bedrooms where the beds are mostly for show -- not serious sleep.

7) Make sure you mix of cotton to synthetic is higher towards cotton for comfort, and higher for synthetic for long life. If you can accept the facts that cotton sheets don't last forever, then I suggest you go for the most cotton and the least synthetic, but if you need your sheets to last, some synthetic in the mix will give your linens longer life.