Here’s what’s included:

• One awesome twin comforter
• One rockin’ set of XL twin-sized sheets and pillowcase
• One swingin’ standard sham
• Two smokin’ decorative pillows
• A whole bunch of good karma – free!

Totally Rad, But How Do I Enter?

Fire up the Jack Johnson, Phish, and Grateful Dead, kick back and enter to win. Here’s how. Leave a comment explaining how groovy you are. And become a fan of Design Hole on Facebook. The giveaway runs through Friday of next week. That means it ends on August 20th at midnight, EST. The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Monday, August 23rd. The contest is open to anyone living in the contiguous United States.

Dude.

Love this scalloped edging on this skirt. The ribbon is a beautiful touch.

They do a good job of mixing and matching sheets with pillows, etc. Again, the detailing is original.

The extra wide lumbar pillow looks great here. And it’s a nice change from the 3 pillows you typically see. Love the ribbon edge on the pillow cases and sheet, too.

I like the idea of mixing up the pillowcases. Buy two sets – each in a different pattern and put them together on the bed. I saw this at IKEA last weekend, too.

I really love a well-made bed. They’re lots of fun to play with.

Do you have a favorite way to make the bed? Share!

Paul and I ended out discussion with some dirty talk. How to wash the sheets, that is. He’s got a few tips on shopping as well.

DH: Is it important to wash linens with special detergent?

PH: What you have to watch for in detergent is chlorine bleach.  Chlorine bleach kills cotton fabric.  It not only yellows the fabric, but it breaks down the fibers, causing the sheets to have a shorter life. They pill and rip more easily. There are many good detergents on the market. Just avoid any that contain chlorine bleach. Use an oxygen bleach instead. We have a page on our site dedicated to this subject.

DH: I iron my sheets, which has spoiled me forever. What makes an ironed sheets feel so much better?

PH: It brings out the crispness of the cotton or linen of the sheet.  The same way a nicely pressed piece of clothing becomes the person, the nicely pressed cotton or linen makes one feel “extra special” when crawling into bed.  It could also have something to do with the fact that extra attention was given to get this fabric just right.

Paul’s Tips on How to Buy and Wash Bed Linens

• Educate yourself about the various types of sheets. Do you want percale or sateen?¬† A specialty store can tell and show you the difference.
• Know and trust the merchant who is selling you the sheets.¬† If it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.¬† Will they stand behind their product?¬† Have they been in business a long time?¬† Will they be there tomorrow?¬† Those who have a long history tend to take the business more seriously, and offer better quality than others.¬† Sometimes price leads the way. If it doesn’t, shop at a specialty store that carries the best quality possible.

More shopping tips and all about washing after the jump.

• Forget about thread count. It is not an indicator of quality. It used to be, when all yarns were the same, but no longer.¬† A higher thread count today has nothing to do with the quality. You have to know the manufacturer (we‚Äôve been at it for 118 years). The best Egyptian cotton yarns are used.

• Jennifer’s shopping tip: If you’re like me and buy white sheets, buy 2 sets and rotate them. They’ll last longer and you’ll always have a fresh set.
• Launder your sheets in warm water. Make sure you sort the colors. [Jennifer here: I wash my sheets separately]
• Never use chlorine bleach. Pre-treat and use an oxygen bleach instead.
• Yes, sheets can go in the dryer. But don‚Äôt bake them! A hot dryer is the worst thing you can do to fine linens.¬† The heat breaks down the fine fibers.
• Dry sheets in a cool dryer for about 15 minutes, then check on them.¬† It is okay to remove them while slightly damp. If you have the space, dry them until they’re “just” dry and hang them to dry the rest of the way.
• Never dry clean sheets – always have them laundered.
• Jennifer’s last word. If you don’t have time to iron your sheets, at least iron the cases. It wouldn’t take that much longer to iron the first 2 feet of the top sheet. Your bed will look really great.

Thanks, Paul for a great interview!

Have any questions about what to look for when buying and/or laundering sheets? Put your question in the Comments Box and your answer will be revealed.

DH: What are the benefits of purchasing from SFERRA. Do your products last longer?

PH: People spend a third of our lives between the sheets.  Shouldn’t that be a wonderful experience?  Of course, the mattress makes a huge difference, but next comes what is next to your body. And those are the sheets.  For over 118 years, we have worked with the world’s best textile artisans to create the very finished sheets in the world.

DH: What are your personal choices when it comes to making up the bed? Do you think white rules? Is there a special color or style combination that you especially like?

PH: I am from the Midwest, and I guess I like things rather basic.  My favorite sheet is our white Celeste, which dollar for dollar is The best Italian percale in the world.  It is chamois soft to the touch, and launders beautifully, and you just cannot get out of bed when sleeping in Celeste.  It is the largest selling item in our company, and has been since I created it in 1980.

DH: Getting a little personal here, do you prefer a top sheet or just a duvet?

SH: I prefer to sleep with a bottom fitted sheet and a duvet only, no top sheet.  The top of the duvet cover generally has some texture (matelasse for example) and the bottom is our Celeste percale.  I don’t use a top sheet, preferring the freedom of just a duvet. It is what you find in most hotels in Europe.

DH: What’s your favorite way to style a bed? For example, decorative pillows in front of sleeping pillows, with a folded duvet?

PH: There are so many ways, and none are wrong.  It totally depends on what the person likes. Generally though, you’ll sleep with a blanket and a blanket cover. Or, with a duvet and a duvet cover Рunless the duvet is folded at the end of the bed. You generally use a top sheet with both.
For pillows on a king bed, for example, we like to put 2 king pillow shams across the top, with 3 Euro shams in front of them, and then decorative pillows to accent the bed.

Tomorrow, we rounf things up with Paul’s laundry tips! Be sure to stay tuned for that. Questions for Paul? Leave them right here.

DH: Why are sheets in general so expensive?

PH: Well, in general, most sheets are not that expensive. The better ones are.  As with all other products, you truly get what you pay for.  The price, if considered high, may reflect the quality of the yarns used, the quality of the bleaching, dying, and washing. Also, it may reflect the quality of the cutting and sewing. As with a very fine automobile, some are better than others, and you often pay for that quality.

DH: Where do most people purchase their sheets – Target, K-Mart, department store?

PH: Yes, I would say the majority of Americans buy their bed linens from the stores you mention, but of course, these are not where the luxury sheets are offered.

DH: SFERRA has a reputation, among the general public, of being very expensive. Are your linens actually more expensive? If so, what makes them worth the extra price?

PH: Actually, that is not the reputation that we should have, because we are not the most expensive. The best? Yes. The most expensive? No. We have always considered SFERRA as affordable luxury for we source better than anyone else in the industry.

We are textile people; we design and construct all of our own creations. We buy directly from the best weaving mills in the world. We bleach, dye, wash, and finish directly. We also cut and sew directly.  We go directly to the source on all aspects of our creation, so we feel we can buy the best and create it for a very fair price.

Perhaps the perception that we are expensive comes from the fact that we don’t sell to any big box stores, or any stores that ends in “mart.” We sell to the finest specialty stores in the world, and perhaps therein lies the perception.

DH: So I guess that means we need to get over our intimidation and start shopping in those specialty shops. What is the difference between a 300 thread count sheet from Target, Restoration Hardware and SFERRA?

PH: Generally, there are 3 things that differentiate us from our competitors.

1. The yarns we use for the weaving.
2. The finishing recipe that we use on the fabric to make it silky-soft, smooth, never pilling. And…
3. The detailing we use in our sewing of the product.  We source our entire SFERRA collection in Italy, where we can work with mills that have been doing this for hundreds of years.  Keep in mind we have been doing this continually since 1891.

DH: How important is the thread count when it comes to linens?

PH: Thread count, as a guide to judge quality, is meaningless. The length of the staple (or fiber) is really the most important aspect. The longer the staple, the better the cloth will be. Long staple Egyptian cotton can only be grown in certain regions of the Nile, and of course, SFERRA buys the very best of the Egyptian cotton available.

DH: So it’s true that Egyptian cotton is the best?

PH: Egyptian cotton, as a whole, is considered the best in the world.  It is grown along the very fertile Nile River where the soil and climate is unlike any other in the world.  But like all things, there is good, better, and best when it comes to Egyptian cotton.

In addition, the longer threads are much finer than cotton grown elsewhere. Combine the length of the staple (over 30 mm is considered a long staple cotton) with the fineness of the yarn, and the soil from whence it came, and there you have the best cotton available.

Part Two of my interview will post tomorrow. Do you questions for Paul? Leave them here.

I’m asking all my readers to help me out. What questions do you have about decorating bedrooms? Trendy and soothing color palettes? Storage? Small spaces? How to add a little romance? Let me know what’s on your mind and all questions will be answered. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• An interview with SFerra, a premier linen company. Their sheets are a dream to sleep on.
• My take on decorating for teen and children’s rooms.
• How to dress the bed.
• Color and lighting to add softness and drama
• And lots and lots of bedroom photos to inspire you.

Take a moment to think about your own bedroom. Is there room for improvement? Are there products you’re searching for? Or, is your bedroom design perfection? Send me a photo or a bedroom design dilemma . Ask me a question. Let’s make August what it ought to be -¬† a restful and relaxing month.

This bedroom, from Domino Magazine, features the suzani used as a coverlet, with another blanket folded at the end of the bed. A variety of pillowcases give the room a Bohemian look.

The same suzani is used as a tablecloth in this dining room from Elle Decor. I love the mix of color and pattern – green on the windows, Chinese wallpaper on the wall, leopard print on the chairs and suzani on the table. Would you have thought to add blue and pink to this room? I think the stylist brought it along.

I think this room is also from Elle Decor. It’s been in my image file for a while. This time, the suzani is a bedspread, teamed with Moroccan details.

After a little more searching, I found the resource for this particular suzani. Circa Trade offers it in various sizes, along with a wide variety of other vintage suzanis.

I think my favorite of these three is the first. Which one is yours?

image: Sam Simon Upton

Restoration Hardware’s Italian Sheets

I knew that SFERRA was also having a sale offering 10% off (same trade discount deal there). Even so, SFERRA is better quality, therefore I assumed their prices would be higher. Since Scandia Down is just across the street (the mall street), I figured it was worth a quick jaunt to check. I was glad I did.

Will someone wait on me please?

First, the saleswomen at Scandia Down are salespeople – not clerks. They know their products. And they sell a lot of different brands, so that’s saying something. They once helped me pull a difficult look together. It took a considerable amount of time to do. But they were happy to do it, and, in fact, had fun trying different things. This time was no different. Knowing that price was important, the saleswoman suggested SFERRA’s Grande Hotel sheets (details to come) and pulled out the samples. Having the color I wanted in hand, she took me and the sample back to Restoration for a comparison. Which brings me to Point A.

SFERRA’s Grande Hotel Sheets

I really don’t like shopping at Restoration because, if you can actually get someone to wait on you, they behave as if they’d rather not. They only thing they seem to know is the location of objects in the store. Help me mix and match things to create a look? FAIL.

The quality face-off

On to Point B – the quality and price comparison. Both brands were soft, but the stiching on the SFERRA sheets was superior. And the embroidered edging was fuller and more even. SFERRA wins on quality. Restoration’s sheets are sold as a set with pillowcases. I never use those, so I also buy shams ($79 each). Since SFERRA’s sheets are sold separately, they were the winner here as well – the prices were actually just about the same, but I’m not stuck with 2 pillowcases I’ll never use.

This is the end of my story. The moral is don’t make assumptions on price. And, be a salesperson, not a clerk.

Thoughts?