How six House & Garden editors dress their beds (2024)

When it comes to bedding, our ethos is that it is not something to skimp on. The bed linen you choose impacts the feel of a room, but it's also a crucial factor in how to sleep.

What's the best bedding to buy?

Bedding, and the best sheets to buy, depends largely on the time of year. Seasonality hugely affects your sleep, so it's a good idea to have a well stocked linen cupboard so you can sleep comfortably no matter the time of year. In the summer, a flat sheet is a lovely choice instead of a duvet for sleepers who run hot (we also recommend a good cooling pillow and mattress combination), though if you can't live without the latter we have a round up of the best duvets here. This gives you the comfort of coverage whilst remaining lightweight. We think high-quality linen, Egyptian cotton, or cotton percale are the best materials for this. If you don't want to have endless sheet sets in your house, then you always have the option to add a throw or blanket, in cashmere or wool, over the top of your flat sheet. If you're seeking comfort and a good night's sleep over all else, we do recommend buying good quality bedding for the softest finish.

House & Garden editors' top picks

Arabella Bowes, Commerce Editor

When I moved into my rented flat in London, the first thing I purchased was a custom made headboard for the bedroom. Something about knowing I was going to have to wake up and see walls washed in ‘landlord white’ was too depressing to bear, and I knew my tired eyes would be seeking relief. I settled on a classic William Morris fabric called ‘Little Chintz’ for the upholstery. It's a beautiful print, rich in greens and oranges and full of colours - subtle yellows and blues - to pull from. These became the basis for the rest of my bed.

My pillowcases and duvet cover are Rebecca Udall's ‘Annabelle Scalloped Bed Linen’, crisp white bedding with a green trim that subtly connects the green in the headboard without being too matchy-matchy. It probably should be ironed after washing, but I prefer a low maintenance approach and it still looks lovely straight out the dryer. My top pillows are Loaf's ‘Easy Kip' which are pleasingly puffy and upright. I confess I don't actually sleep on them because I like to sleep on an ancient pillow that's flatter than Stanley, but they look lovely and plump on a made bed.

David Nicholls, Deputy Editor

I was once on a photoshootof the home a veryfamous male celebrity and when it came to taking the picture of his bed (which did not have freshly laundered sheets), the photographer and I decided to remove some of cushions that were lined up in very neat formation. When the barefoot 'sleb discovered our edit, he had a complete meltdown. 'Put the cushions back!,' he hissed. 'They make it look cosy. I'M ALL ABOUT COSY!!' As such, I'm slightly allergic to unnecessary cushions on a bed.

My bed? The mattress is Vispring which I've had for about 15 years and it's still in great condition. There are two pillows on my side, and two on my partner's. One firm (from Vispring), one soft (from Naturalmat). I've never been one to spend big bucks on bedlinen. And to be honest, I really love the relatively inexpensive washed linen from H&M home. It's super soft, washes like a dream and has a casual and relaxed feel to it. It's makes the room feel cosy - and that's all any of us really want, isn't it?

Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes, Deputy Digital Editor

I am a huge fan of my bed and love any opportunity to discuss it, having done all the necessary upgrades to make it (almost) perfect. The bed frame itself is a Loaf ‘Tight Space’ kingsize with four drawers in the base that house clothes, bedding and towels. We opted for the most neutral beige linen for it as there's a lot going on elsewhere but I do regret that choice and may add a valance (perfection is never truly reached). However, it is paired with a custom headboard we had made bespoke, covered in Romo's Kemble fabric in a cheery yellow colourway which works so well with our ‘Cromarty’ walls and the blue of our Pooky lampshades.

As for the main event of any bed, we have an amazing mattress from Simba – the Hybrid Ultra Mattress – which is so incredibly deep that we need to buy special deep fitted sheets to fit it. It's worth the effort as it's like sleeping on a cloud with support that has completely abated some hip pain I used to get in bed from being mostly a side sleeper. I am beyond thrilled with it, even a year on. On top of that, two pillows on each side and I am still looking for the perfect pair to be honest. Our duvet, on the other hand, can simply not be bettered and is a Naturalmat Goose Down duvet – it's the perfect squashy, malleable, pull-around-yourself in a cocoon of feathers duvet.

As for bedding, in the warmer months, I favour a crisp white cotton and shuffle between The White Company and Soak & Sleep for that, having discovered the latter in a brilliant rental in the Cotswolds and been pleasantly surprised by the cost and quality. However when it gets cold, our bedroom – which has too many external walls – is completely freezing and to avoid the damp sheet feeling, we switch to brushed cotton sheets from Piglet in Bed.

Rémy Mishon, Decoration Editor

My bed set up would probably be likened to Princess and the Pea. Six pillows in total, two toppers, blankets upon blankets and sometimes in deepest darkest winter, two duvets; for I am a nester, easily mistaken for a woodland creature. Contrary to assumption, I don’t over egg the cushions. I like two chunkers that I can comfortably read against and remove before bed in two swift movements. We have airy feathered pillows that make a ‘sssssss’ when you sink in–these are all duck down, some new-ish from The White Company alongside some embarrassingly old ones from Marks and Spencer that eventually need replacing, but gosh have they have had a good innings!

We have a rotation of bed linen: a few kind press gifts from over the years, vintage French white cotton bed linen picked up at markets and on eBay, along with trad sets I’ve had forever that haven’t dated. I mix and match all of these and it works. Our blankets are a melange of vintage market finds and reliable classics which change throughout the year. I won’t properly invest in a headboard until we’ve found somewhere more permanent to live, so for now I have a simple headboard (this easy headboard from Dunelm is great for DIY upholstery) covered with a great Merchant & Mills ticking stripe in brown (the brown is out of stock currently), which I can easily remove and repurpose when the time comes. The majority of things I’ve acquired over the years are obviously no longer in stock, or one offs, however I’ve tried to find things with a similar spirit..

Everyone is particular with their bedding cornerstones. I want to sink into pillows, feel marshmallow-ed by a duvet and supported by mattress toppers.

Christabel Chubb, News Editor

When I moved into my flat — having already spent my furniture budget — I opted for a very reasonably priced bed from Dusk which I erroneously assumed, given its favourable price, might not be quite as sturdy as a more upmarket alternative. How wrong I was. It is a brilliant bed, with masses of storage underneath and a solid frame (though I admit it would have been better if there had been a greater range of colours and fabrics for the cover, though I am reasonably happy with the dark grey I landed on). Atop the frame sits the ‘Premier Hybrid Mattress’ from Nectar sleep - a wonderful, cushiony yet just-firm-enough thing that I can’t speak highly enough of. My cushions — two memory foam ones also from Nectar (called the ‘Premium Pillows’) offer great support for my weary neck. When making the bed, I lie these flat on top of the duvet (not leaning up against the headboard) and top them with two wonderful down pillows from John Lewis, which I use to prop me up while I am reading. They aren’t actually used for sleeping, but look wonderfully plump on top of therather flat-looking memory foam ones, which on their own might be a bit sad.

Completing the whole thing is a very light, 4 tog feather duvet, also from the trusty John Lewis. The whole package is wrapped up in a set of The White Company’s beautifully simple Egyptiancotton sheets (I am quite a firm believer in non-patterned bedsheets), and once made, the icing on the cake comes in the form of two linen cushions with a pretty black piping from H&M home and a long, tubular cushion covered in a vintage silk ikat fabric which stretches across the width of the bed. In the cold months I layer on a very precious cashmere blanket from Begg & Co: a gift given to me some years ago that I have treasured ever since. The combination of the throw and the cushion, with their electric colours, add a little zest to the otherwise rather neutral, but incredibly comfortable situation.

Virginia Clark, Digital Director

After a misspent youth buying very loudly patterned bedding sets, I have converted in the last decade or so to clean, crisp white sheets. It may not be original, but there's something so lovely about expanses of snowy linen, whether you're viewing your bed from within or without. My favourite duvet and pillowcase set is from The White Company – it's a sadly discontinued collection called ‘Cadiz’ with the most beautiful embroidered border inspired by Moorish designs. I do need a new set though, and since I can't resist a bit of embroidery, I've got my eye on their pretty ‘Adeline’ collection. I cover the bottom half of the bed with a lovely thick pink wodge of fabric whose provenance I now cannot remember, but it looks like a Welsh tapestry blanket and it absolutely makes the bed from an aesthetic point of view. This antique blanket from specialist dealer Jane Beck is similar.