Bed linen is a broad term that refers to all the textiles used to dress a bed. This includes not only bed sheets, but also pillowcases, duvet covers, bedspreads, and other decorative elements like throw pillows and blankets. These textiles play an important role in enhancing the comfort, functionality, and aesthetics of your sleep space.
It was during the Renaissance Period when bedding as we know it today was designed. Whilst the poor continued to sleep on hay-covered platforms, the wealthy owned mattresses stuffed with down and wrapped in luxurious materials. Their four-poster beds were covered in embroidered canopies and contained pull-out trundles for maids and personal valets to sleep on. Mattresses were suspended from the bedframes using ropes or straps. They were covered by smart linen sheets and wool blankets. The beds grew more and more lavish for the most wealthy. They became so expensive they were passed down through the family for generations. Reported to spend most of his day in bed, Louis XIV became so obsessed with bedding that he bought 413 beds for the Palace of Versailles. It is understood that he held court daily from his bed.
If you compare linen vs cotton sheets in terms of breathability, another major difference emerges — linen will keep you much cooler at night because of its longer fibers and, therefore, looser weave. Air can pass through linen more easily, keeping your body cool. Cotton, as previously discussed, can also be perfect for warm sleepers (in the case of percale bedding), but linen definitely has the edge over it.
Move over sheets and blankets. Your days are over. The duvet is the people’s choice in northern Europe now.