<p>We use a bedspread and then have a comforter folded across the bed for colder weather. I like the way it looks. Comforters always look too messy to me. </p>
<p>I use a down blanket - it’s like a very lightweight down comforter, with a bedspread on top. The bedspread is made of a heavier upholstery type fabric - I fold it down to the foot of the bed before I go to sleep. it makes the room look finished and coordinated. This is the traditional way of making a bed, but it’s not common anymore.</p>
<p>One of my sons has a duvet cover - it’s heavy and a big job to fluff up…he likes it but I’m glad I don’t have it on my bed. The fabric is beautiful - a French toile with cording, but it always looks a little messy. It’s dry clean only, which I haven’t had to do yet. He uses a sheet, so it shouldn’t get dirty for a long time.</p>
<p>I bought a duvet and now can’t find a cover I like. Ugh.
We have used just a sheet and quilt for years but dh said he loves the hotel beds so I bought the duvet. It’s boring white w/ subtle stripes but like I said, i can’t find a cover I like. I like very traditional, not contemporary.</p>
<p>@VaBluebird - don’t get the wrong impression, because I’m really not very crafty, but when we were redecorating D2’s room when she hit high school, she couldn’t find a cover she liked either, but she did find some fabric at IKEA, so I made a duvet cover. If you can sew a straight stitch on a sewing machine, you can do it.</p>
<p>We have a matelasse spread with a down coverlet at the foot that we use in the winter. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine wrestling with a duvet. It’s so easy to make the bed with the spread on it. </p>
<p>I am very much in favor of bedspreads (didn’t make my bed when I was single and living alone, but that was many decades ago). It is harder to find them now than in years past. I suppose a quilt or comforter would work with a bedskirt to cover the box spring but that’s not my style. Here in Florida, and in Wisconsin as well, we use a blanket on top of the top sheet in warm weather and switch to a down alternative comforter (lighter than down and as warm) for cool/cold weather. In transitional weather we add a second blanket that can be shed easily. A bedspread is an easy way to cover either each day. Once upon a time I had a white down comforter with a duvet- hard to remove and replace when washed (also unwieldy for washing), and added weight. I once had a bedspread I discovered was dry clean only that I washed- it became too short on the sides. </p>
<p>Bedspreads are practical for all seasons. btw- I don’t understand the myriads of fancy pillows marketed now. Who wants to go to the trouble of removing and placing them on the bed each day??? Plus figuring out where to put them at night? A bedspread can be folded down from the top and dropped at the end of the bed easily. </p>
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<p>Up until this summer when we got our Sleep Number bed with adjustable head and feet, I used several pillows when I slept - if my GERD was acting up, I’d use them to prop myself up to sleep. When I lay on my side, I put one between my knees to help keep my back in alignment. Come morning, I use the smaller ones to place one over my head so H’s showering and getting ready for work don’t keep me up. I don’t use them all, but I do use several. </p>
<p>I’m not talking about pillows used for sleeping but rather those fancy, small pillows used to decorate with. Typically I would not want their rough surfaces next to me.</p>
<p>@VaBluebird, I guess everyone has a different idea of what qualifies as “very traditional”, but I think Pottery Barn has a number of duvet covers that could fall in that category.</p>
<p>We don’t have decorative pillows…we have bed pillows. We each have two just in cases, and a third in shams that match the quilt. Looks very nice. And good for reading in bed!</p>
<p>If you make a bedspread with a heavy fabric, would you also use a heavy fabric for the backside?</p>
<p>We use a light quilt in the summer and a cozy comforter in the winter and it is getting time to change to the comforter. </p>
<p>teri, thank you for the pineconehill link. What beautiful bedding they have! I love the candlewick bedspread. I may just have to redecorate so I can buy one of those!</p>
<p>Iglooo - I had my bedspread made with a complementary fabric on the backside - the top is a muted plaid, and the backside is a solid in the dominant color. When I fold the bedspread down, I do it accordion style, so that the top still shows, and I can just pull it up easily in the morning.</p>
<p>@VaBluebird - don’t get the wrong impression, because I’m really not very crafty, but when we were redecorating D2’s room when she hit high school, she couldn’t find a cover she liked either, but she did find some fabric at IKEA, so I made a duvet cover. If you can sew a straight stitch on a sewing machine, you can do it.>>>>>>>>></p>
<p>Well, that IS a very good point. Thanks. </p>
<p>MommJ thank you! Beautiful sets but alas the one I love is not available in king. Phooey.</p>
Resurrecting this so I can thank teriwtt once again! I bought the candlewick bedspread, shams and throw, and absolutely LOVE them. It is a pleasure to make the bed every morning and it puts a smile on my face just looking at them. 
Glad to hear it. What color did you end up going with? I’ve been very happy with everything I’ve ordered from them. Too bad I’ve run out of beds to make up now! And I like what I have, so no reason to change them. But I do still look at the emails I get from them (and occasionally the website in detail in case I’m missing something).
We have a fitted sheet , followed by a covered duvet ( flannel all around in the cold months ) and a quilt to cover in neatly, with matching shams , but pillow cases in the seasonal fabric of choice to actually sleep on. I cannot have a bed that isn’t made, no bunchy, ill fitting sheets.No flat sheet, and no blanket. The bands are either Garnet Hill or LL Bean for the flannel and quilts…Wamsutta egyptian cotton in the warm months. Our bed is our sanctuary and we are hung up on comfort
As the tagline for a print ad read many years ago: After all, it’s a third of your life.
OK, that assumes anyone gets eight hours of sleep…but worth making the bed appealing.
Fitted sheet, flat sheet, silk/cotton lightweight fitted blanket, and duvet cover that I had made up from upholstery weight fabric, so it is just too heavy…but fabric coordinates nicely with those used for padded headboard, bed skirt, drapes, and arm chair. Had summer duvet lined in silk and that was also a mistake as it slides off the bed while sleeping.
Duvet contents all end up shifting too much to bottom of duvet. Impossible to redistribute w/o removing duvet from its cover. Had decorative pillows made up and never use them. Only two large shams to be removed each night, so remaking bed is easy.
Oh, and a heated mattress pad is the best invention for anyone who likes cold air temps for sleeping but does not like to get into a freezing bed.