8 Great Bedside Tables

And the 1 reason that makes them all terrific.

Most of us will agree that a bed needs a bedside table. We need a place for a lamp, a book, the remote. A really great bedside table needs just one thing (besides style) to meet my requirements. It needs a drawer. At least one. Perhaps more, but at least one.

You need a drawer to stash those private things that we all need handy at night. Medication and condoms are obvious. Your dog-eared copy of Lovely Lying Lips might be less so. At any rate, you need a drawer. Here are 8 styles that fill the bill for me.

1. Wm. Sonoma’s Hudson Table

This lovely style from, Wiliam Sonoma, also comes in a dark stain ($895). I like its simple lines.

2. Ethan Allen’s Maison Chest

A chest of drawers is terrific, if you have the space. This is from Ethan Allen ($949).

3. De La Espada’s Weekender

De La Espada’s 643 Weekender bedside unit is low and chunky. Perfect to partner with a platform bed.

4. Wisteria’s Moorish Chest

At 34.5″ high, I think this beautifully inlaid chest from Wisteria ($2,999) would look great with a tall bed, like the one I’m lying on right now. The mattress has to be high enough so you’re not reaching up too high to access the hot oil.

5. Tealan’s Chinese Antique Table

This is a steal. Tealan sells Asian cabinets that are perfect for by the bed. The even have a drawer. This one sells for $375. You can find some in pairs.

6. Max Alto’s Thronos table

This is lovely in its simplicity. Designed for the Max Alto division of B&B Italia (one of y super faves), Thronos even has a drawer, believe it or not.

7. Shine Home’s Bing Table

I like the Bing side table – a colorful option. I see it in a dramatic bedroom with some large lamps. It’s from Shine Home where it comes in 3 colors.

8. Horchow’s Deco Side Table

For an eclectic, feminine touch, Horchow’s Deco Table is a good choice ($1,199).

My favorites are the William Sonoma table and the Moorish chest from Wisteria. One plain, one fancy. Which one is yours?

Interior Designer, Fiona Davies, Fixes a Bedroom Design Gone Wrong

British interior designer, Fiona Davies is my guest blogger today. Fiona trained as an Interior Spatial Designer, and set up her own interior design business, Flame Interiors, 2 years ago. Like me, she’s passionate about all things Interior Design. She works in both residential and commercial projects – especially hospitality (hotel, etc.) design. She’s an approachable designer who creates detailed, bespoke and colorful concepts, designed with enthusiasm and likes a quirky twist. In other words, Fiona is my kind of designer.

Take it away Fiona!

I love to design bedrooms! People really want to get involved in the design and are much more open to expressing their personality in the bedroom. As a designer I love the challenge of meeting the design brief as well as getting the mood and ambience right.

For example, a couple who needed my help approached me. They‚Äôd spent a lot of money on built-ins. Their beautiful Victorian, double aspect bedroom was packed to the brim with wooden furniture and looked like a room in Travel Lodge. They hated it and were devastated. We decided to keep the wood. They couldn’t justify the cost, and I couldn’t justify ripping out brand new furniture. My plan was to work with the existing space by softening the rest of the room so that the wood would blend in and look less harsh.

It was a pretty simple fix. I created a feature wall out of the chimneybreast, fireplace and the two new fitted wardrobes either side using bold wallpaper we chose together. My clients went for a hot pink color. We added gold to the color mix and chose new fabrics for a bed throw, cushions, a window seat and curtains. The warm tones complemented the wood tones, which softened the look of the built-ins.

To finish off, we choose a beautiful chandelier, bedside lamps and mirror to create the right kind of lighting within the room. I also wanted to add something feminine to counteract the masculine feel of all the built-ins. It was amazing how different their room felt when it was done. Best of all, the clients were incredibly happy with the result – and so was I!

Thanks Fiona! The end result does look amazing. To hire Fiona, visit her website. Or follow her on Twitter.

How To Shop for and Wash Sheets with SFERRA’s Paul Hooker

Welcome to Part III of my three-part (obviously) interview with SFERRA president, Paul Hooker. This is a man who knows his yarn. You can read Part I, in which we discuss the whole thread-count issue, by following this link.  Read Part II, all about style here.

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. Read More…

How To Make the Bed with SFERRA President, Paul Hooker

Welcome back to the second part of my interview with Paul Hooker, president of SFERRA, a premier linen and beddings company. You can read the first part here. Today we’re discussing sheets and how to dress the bed.

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.

An Inside Look at Luxury Sheets with SFERRA President, Paul Hooker

I had the chance to discuss luxury sheets with Paul Hooker, the President of SFERRA, one of the oldest linen producers in business today. I was curious to know the reality behind the mystique. After hearing Paul’s thoughts I think you’ll agree that it’s time to overcome our intimidation about considering a high quality sheet for your bed. After all, as Paul says, we spend a third of our lives between the sheets.

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.