Domestic Science With Margot Guralnick
New York–based Swedish designer Anki Spets has been making luxuriously minimalist bed linens for the past 25 years. I discovered her company Area via my favorite cotton blanket, the herringbone-patterned Harry, which has long been synonymous with summer in my house. More recently, I've met Anki in person at design shows, and each time we cross paths, I ask her for insider tips on linens care. After several of these discussions, she presented me with her How Best to Wash Bedding primer.
Above: Anki makes her daughter Selma's bed with Area's signature muted linens, including Parallel Pillowcases in blue and the Heather Duvet Cover in gray. Anki grew up in Stockholm and studied fashion at the Beckmans College of Design before she segued into bed linens in 1990: "At the time, there was a huge void in easy-going, good-quality bedding. And someone needed to dismantle the traditional bedroom: Out with curtains and carpets and in with Scandinavian flair."
Washing Rules
1. Remove any spots before the textile goes in the washer—once they've been cooked and baked, they're permanent. Oily grease stains from body lotion, etc., are common on sheets. Remove them with dish soap: Wet the spot, apply soap, and, if the fabric isn't fragile, massage in or scrub with a nail brush before washing.
2. Prepping the laundry is important: Button buttons, close Velcro (so it doesn't get stuck on other things), and turn patterned or decorated fabrics inside out.
Above: A linen-cloaked bed in a mix of pastels and bolds in France. "Linen is a good environmental choice," says Anki, "It doesn't require fancy equipment to process, and uses fewer chemicals (and is also stronger) than cotton." Photograph by Romain Ricard.
3. Do not mix bedding with clothes that have metal zippers or a rough texture—they can cause pilling and abrasion.
4. Use less detergent than the manufacturer recommends: Too much detergent weakens fibers over time. I like Ecover from the supermarket and I've been thinking about splurging on Swedish natural laundry soap lines L:A Bruket and Tangent.
Above: Tangent "textile shampoo"—read about the company in our post Natural Laundry Potions from Sweden. (It can be sourced in the US via Sweet Bella; email to inquire about retailers.)
5. Fill the washer with water and detergent before adding laundry, so that the detergent is diluted when clothes are added. Do not put detergent directly on fabrics; straight detergent can cause discoloration.
6. Do not use fabric softeners; they coat the natural fibers and break them down. The same goes for dryer sheets: Lint sticks to them and causes abrasion inside the dryer that can create pilling.
7. Bleach is not allowed, even so-called "safe bleach." And some personal care products, such as acne medications and toothpastes that contain oxidizing agents, can discolor pillowcases and sheets with bleach spots. So can accidental splatters and sprays of floor polishing liquid.
8. Wash in warm or cold water—lower temperatures are good for the environment and detergents work well these days, so less hot water is needed. In Sweden, you can set your washing machine temperature at 30, 40, 60, and 90 degrees Celsius—90 is close to boiling and these days to save energy, whites typically go in at 60 and most other stuff at 40.
Drying Rules
1. Line dry sheets and duvet covers if you can. (Out the window and across the street isn't an option on 21st Street, where I live, but I wish it were.)
Above: Kevin's Quality Clothespins are made of maple (a Set of 10 Clothespins is $17.25). See 5 Favorites: Classic Made-in-the-USA Wooden Clothespins and find more accoutrements in Gardenista's Reasons to Dry Laundry Outdoors and Object Lessons: The Sheila Maid Clothes Airer.
2. If using a dryer, take the sheets out before they're completely dry. Drape them on a drying rack and then just stretch out and fold: This is a two-person job, and the stretching is nearly as effective as ironing.
3. For cotton blankets, the dryer is also the way to go—air dried they can feel crusty and lose their fluff. But be sure to use a low setting and take them out before they're completely dry.
4. A too-hot dryer is what ruins most fabrics. Hot water is not a problem, but a hot dryer weakens and breaks natural fibers. The last minutes of the dryer cycle are when fabric overheats, making it brittle and faded over time. Overheating also makes fabrics staticky, which attracts dust.
5. Cleaning the lint filter is a must for blankets and other soft surface textiles. If allowed to accumulate, lint creates a type of pilling on surfaces.
Above: Merci, our favorite Paris shop, recently held an Easy Laundry exhibit.
Above: French Linen Pillowcases, $50 each, from Alder & Co. in Portland, OR.
The Case for Ironing
1. Linen gets softer with ironing and I find ironing sheets therapeutic—try it and I think you'll agree, but if you don't have time, just iron the pillowcases. Linen is best ironed when damp.
2. For the ultimate pressed sheets, consider an old-fashioned mangle. Apartment buildings in Stockholm have them in the laundry rooms: You fold the sheet lengthwise and guide it between two rollers. Owning one is on my wish list.
Above: Anki has branched out to bedroom furniture design; shown here, Area's made-in-the-US Bruno Bed in whitewashed ash, $3,500, with Jewel sheets and duvet cover in gray and the Liam blanket of baby alpaca in graphite, $550. The soft gray throw is also from the Liam collection, $165—85 percent of Area's designs are made in Europe and the alpaca is from Peru. To see more, go to Area.
Other Tips
• These days, most linen on the market is prewashed for a more lived-in feel and appearance; it can be dried in the dryer. But traditional, untreated linen should never go in the dryer—the heat causes the fiber to close up and lose its luster.
• Wool blankets and throws should be periodically aired outdoors if possible or in an open window. This keeps them fresh. Wool should be hand-washed (but not too often). Lie flat to dry, and to iron, cover with a moist cotton or linen cloth (this presses the wool without harming it or creating a shine). Any other fabric you're not sure of can be successfully pressed with this technique.
• Storing linens in plastic can result in yellowing and should be avoided. Natural fibers need to be able to breathe.
• Consider double pillowcases: I keep a basic white cotton cover over my down pillows as extra protection for both pillow and pillowcase.
• Skip the top sheet. Instead do what we do in Sweden and use a cotton or linen duvet cover in place of a top sheet. (In cold weather, a down- or wool-filled comforter is great. When it gets warm out, we swap in a lightweight quilt or cotton blanket inside the duvet cover.) Think of it: All you have to do is unfurl the duvet and your bed is made.
Above: Garnet Hill's Signature Channeled White Goose Down Comforter starts at $398.
Take a look at Laundry Rooms—we have a lot of favorites, including Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen's State-of-the-Art LA Laundry Room.
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Bedrooms With Meredith Swinehart
Last month we told you about seven mattress startup companies aiming to take a bite out of the multibillion-dollar American mattress trade. (See The Sleep Disrupters.) The next industry in the crosshairs? Luxury bedding.
The founders of the following six companies noticed that linens tend to fall into two categories: sheets that are cheap in price and quality, and well-made, high-end linens at astronomical prices. Says Fast Company: "The cost of luxury linens is nothing less than exorbitant, driven higher by bloated supply chains and expensive designer licensing fees passed on to the consumer." Sensing an opportunity, several startups are out to remove as much as possible between manufacturer and consumer, slashing costs along the way.
Note: All prices are for queen sizing.
Brooklinen
Above: Williamsburg, Brooklyn–based Brooklinen wins the prize for going into the most detail about cotton fibers, yarn ply, and thread thickness, making a case for quality bedding that goes far beyond thread count. (See Anatomy of a Brooklinen Sheet.) The company uses the same overseas manufacturers as the large luxury companies, and claims that the same set of sheets that it sells for around $100 would cost three times as much in a traditional retail model. Brooklinen offers two bedding standards—Classic and Luxe—each available in five colorways. A Classic Core Sheet Set in queen is $90. A complete bed set with sheet set plus duvet cover and two shams—called the Classic Hardcore Bundle—is $179.25. One thing to note: Brooklinen's return policy is stingy for a startup: only unused, unwashed sheets are accepted back within 30 days of purchase.
Parachute
Above: Ariel Kaye of LA founded Parachute after falling in love with her hotel bedding on a trip to Italy: see Eat, Pray, Love: Luxury Linens for Less. Her company offers a pleasantly pared-down menu of choices and is the only brand of this bunch that sells made-in-Europe sheets (Parachute linens are produced by a family-owned factory in Tuscany). Parachute's standard queen Sheet Set—a flat sheet and two pillowcases in either percale or sateen cotton—comes in five good-looking neutrals for $129. Complete bed set Venice comes with sheets and duvet cover for $269. Parachute is currently offering a limited-edition Linen Blend Duvet Set with duvet cover and two shams in one of two striped designs for $249.
Crane & Canopy
Above: The Bay Area's Crane & Canopy was founded by Karin Shieh and Christopher Sun, a couple who met at Harvard Business School. They use the same overseas manufacturers as the high-end department store brands, but cut out the middleman to bring lower prices direct to consumers. There's a lot of variety in the collection, and many of the patterns don't speak to us. But simpler options can be found, such as the basic 400-Thread-Count Sheet Set, $149, and the Hayes Nova duvet, shown above in soft white with dark gray piping; $209 for a queen duvet and two shams.
Boll & Branch
Above: Boll & Branch founders Missy and Scott Tannen say, "When we learned the story of our sheets, we were compelled to rewrite it." Their bedding is all organic and Fair Trade certified, and what they sell for $250, they say a department store would charge $500-plus for. Boll & Branch offers sheet sets in four styles priced at $240 each (including the Trimmed Sheet Set shown here). Queen Duvet Covers range from $185 to $225. The return policy is fitting for a startup: Sleep on the sheets for 30 nights; if you don't like them, Boll & Branch will take them back.
Smart Bedding
Above: "Never make your bed again" is Smart Bedding's tagline. The St. Louis company's specialty item is a flat sheet that snaps onto a duvet cover, so that the two are connected and the bed-making process is reduced to a simple flick of the quilt each morning. Smart Bedding's sheets are all cotton and 300 thread count, but you won't find treatises about quality on the site—and that's likely because the brand is still in the getting-ready-to-launch phase. You can preorder a complete Bed Set—including flat and fitted sheet, snap-to duvet cover, two pillowcases, and two shams, all available in six colors—for $189.
Ettitude
Above: Melbourne startup Ettitude focuses on eco-friendliness: Its sheets are made of organic bamboo, which according to the company is just as soft as fine Egyptian cotton but uses one-third less water and no harmful chemicals to manufacture. Ettitude has four bedding collections, each of which come in several colors. The Bamboo Daydream Sheet Set, a flat and fitted sheet and two pillowcases, is $150. Queen duvet sets range from $120 to $170. And the Bamboo Bondi Duvet Cover Set, shown here, is $130 with two shams included.
We've done the bedding research, so you don't have to:
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Outdoor Spaces With Remodelista Team
What could be better than a beach getaway, garden (and crushed seashell path) included? Follow the Gardenista team this week as they gallop from South Africa to Sweden—and Cape Cod, too.
Above: A Romantic Swedish Seaside Villa. Like the look of the driveway? See Hardscaping 101: Seashell Paths and Driveways.
Above: Top 10 Picks for Gardeners on Etsy's 10th Anniversary.
Above: Rose of Sweden: An Enchanted Seaside Spread in Gotland (with Rental Apartments).
Above: DIY Climbing Roses: From Trellis to Vase on Cape Cod.
Above: 11 Garden Ideas to Steal from South Africa. Number one: the see-through security screen.
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Bedrooms With Margot Guralnick
Of course there's always the worry that idyllic guest quarters will turn you into an unpaid hotelier. But kindhearted souls with room to spare, take note: Not all guest rooms are equal. Here are 10 filled with simple, serene comforts worth replicating.
Above: Quilts made from Vintage Marimekko on Charles P. Rogers Cottage Beds in the glam guest wing of fashion stylist/shopkeeper Tiina Laakonen's Hamptons compound. Tour her house in Rhapsody in Blue, and see more Marimekko in Steal This Look: Tiina's Summer Tabletop Setting. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
Above: A shed converted into a guest room in interiors stylist Twig Hutchinson's London garden—see The Lorn Road Summerhouse. Photograph via Light Locations.
Above: The guest room in Remodelista contributor Justine Hand's Old Cape Cod Cottage has its original wallpaper and a vintage iron bed that Justine tracked down to match. Join us for an exploration of the house in the Remodelista book. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
Above: In her all-white Pasadena bungalow, LA interior designer Michaela Scherrer keeps a guest room with built-in cabinets that offer so much storage that nothing needs to be left in the open except by choice. The bed is draped in Scherrer's signature white leather, which she points out, is dog-proof and easy to wipe down. See the companion postage-stamp spa bath in A Grecian-Inspired Guest Suite. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
Above: This seaside guest room by Hyde Evans Design of Seattle won the 2014 Remodelista Considered Design Award for Best Professionally Designed Bedroom. "This aerie manages to channel a nautical vibe without veering into twee territory," said Julie in her judge's comments.
Above: An under-the-eaves guest room with a DIY bed made from recycled wooden pallets. For striped fabric to make your own pom-pom-adorned quilt, see Object Lessons: Classic Mattress Ticking. Photograph via French by Design.
Above: For shoppers who never want to leave? This tranquil bedroom at the Father Rabbit store in Auckland, New Zealand, is kitted out with a shallow open closet, an idea worth stealing.
Above: In her compact London quarters, stylist Sara Emslie, author of Beautifully Small, has a cottage-style guest room with baskets under the bed for storage. Photograph by Rachel Whiting. See more from Emslie's book in our Required Reading column.
Above: In her Sydney apartment, Cassandra Karinsky furnishes her guest room with designs from her Moroccan import house Kulchi, hanging rattan lamp and Tuareg mat included. The bedside table is a Beetle Track Stool by Greg Hatton. Photograph by Sean Fennessy via The Design Files.
Above: Architects Stefanie Brechbuehler and Robert Highsmith of Workstead overhauled their farmhouse in Upstate New York themselves. Their guest room is furnished with spool beds that belonged to Robert's grandparents in North Carolina: "You can see the worn spot where my grandmother held the post as she was getting out of the bed every morning." The patterned pillows are by Akin & Suri. See their DIY Partner's Desk and tour the rest of the house in the Remodelista book. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
Looking for more ideas? Find hundreds of inspiring Bedrooms in our archive, plus design details and advice, including:
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