Many people don’t realise the aesthetic importance of bedding when they are decorating their bedrooms, instead they focus on the colour of the walls and the position of the furniture. Whilst both these factors are important in getting your bedroom to look the way you want it to, it is the bedding that really brings the room together. The right bedding can make sure that your bedroom gives off the impression you want it to as well as being very comfortable too.

The range of bedding is massive, both in design and materials, so there is bedding available that can compliment any style of bedroom. You might want to go with the deliciously decadent Egyptian cotton or the modern Polycotton Percale, whatever your preference there are companies that can cater for you. The choice is not as varied on the high street as it is online however. To avoid being forced to compromise with bedding you don’t really want, it is recommended that you utilise online stores instead. Not only can they usually beat the price of the high street but the delivery can be as fast as the next working day!

When on the hunt for some new bedding you should make sure that you know exactly what you want your bedroom to look like when it’s finished. There’s no point buying bedding if it ends up clashing with the rest of your room.

People often forget just how much space their bed takes up. In the majority of cases the bed is very much the centrepiece of the room, so you need to make sure that the aesthetics are perfect. When you enter a bedroom your eyes are instinctively drawn to the bed and everyone knows that first impressions are everything!

Appearance is all well and good but it should never come at the cost of comfort. At the end of the day (literally!) you want to go home to a bed that feels as comfortable as a cloud and makes getting up in the morning really difficult!

There is lots of bedding that is perfect for children as well. These feature designs of their favourite toy or cartoon character and really help to personalise their bedrooms.

So if you are considering decorating or redecorating your bedroom then make sure that you don’t forget about bedding. There are a lot of online stores that cater for your every need whether you’re searching for duvet covers, pillow cases or bedspreads in whatever design or material.

I allow my two very large dogs (a total of 150 lbs!) to sleep in my bed so I tend to get very hot at night. I was thrilled to learn that the In Balance sheets are constructed out of a 50/50 blend of cotton and Outlast® Adaptive Comfort® Viscose fiber that combine to help balance out temperature swings. I am typically a 100% cotton kinda gal but am willing to give anything a try…especially sheets that adjust to your body temperature.

When my sheet set arrived I was pleasantly surprised. I had ordered the Sea Blue (thinking it would be a typical light blue color). These sheets are the most GORGEOUS deep teal/blue color! I also noticed that right out of the packaging they were super, super soft.

 I couldn’t wait to try them so I threw them in the washer and dryer and, to my delight, they came out just as soft as when I opened them. The construction of these sheets is superior. The fabric is more substantial that your ordinary cotton sheets and I do believe these will hold up wonderfully, wash after wash.

With my 15″ deep mattress plus an added 3″ memory foam topper, I often have a hard time finding sheets that will fit my bed. My sheets often slip off the corners of the mattress during the night and I end up with a less than smooth sleeping surface. The In Balance sheets fit PERFECTLY. They even have an added bonus of SmartFit™  - an added elastic band at each corner to keep fitted sheets in place.

My first night sleeping on the sheets was heavenly! I stayed completely cool – and didn’t even have to remove the top sheet (like I often do). When I woke up the sheets were exactly as I had put them on – no riding up at the corners! These sheets are a 10 in my book! The only downfall is that the set does not come with pillowcases. I want my head to be cool & comfy, too. So, I will, most likely, be purchasing the matching pillowcases.

Here’s the full low-down on these fabulous sheets:

• Adapt to swings in temperature during the night.
• Function as a “cooler” as it absorbs excessive heat. (Think of it as an air conditioner for your bed!)
• Come in a selection of four beautiful colors.
• Have Logic™ Labels (which means no more guess work on how to make your bed!)
• Come with a 10 year warranty, so it can take the daily wear and tear life has to give them.
•  350 thread count•   SmartFit™  (patented fitted sheet that guarantees no-slip and a smooth sleep surface)
• Extra-deep pocket fits beds up to 18 inches
• Set includes 1 flat sheet and 1 fitted sheet
• Machine washable

If you’re on a budget, like so many of us these days, you are most likely not going to be able to run out and buy a set of these luscious sheets….but…today is your lucky day!

YOU CAN WIN A SET OF SLEEP NUMBER IN BALANCE SHEETS!

(Retail Value $168.74-$206.24) 

Just fill out the entry form below and that’s it! Where it says “Referring Blog” please copy and paste my URL:

http://niftythriftygirl.com

Hurry and enter today! The Giveaway ends August 26th. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!!

As soon as her plane took off I scurried home and started tearing her room apart. I have no ‘before’ pictures because the mess that was her room was far too embarrassing to be published. Believe me when I say it looked like a tornado touched down. It took me an entire evening to box up all the things that were scattered around the room. I decided that I would do the decorating and when she got home she could do the sorting.

I knew at some point that I would be redecorating her room so I had previously purchased several pieces at yard sales, IKEA, etc. The major find was the IKEA Knappa pendant light – a mere $2 (!!!) at a yard sale last summer. Her metal swivel office chair was another great find – only $5 at a yard sale…and all I did was clean it up and recover the seat with some Ballard Designs fabric I bought on clearance.

Since a brand new desk was not in my budget I used a small drop-leaf table (that used to be my Mother’s kitchen table) and painted it white.  The one white wall in her room was begging for some decoration so I added a little artistic flair and painted a black floral design.

Desk accessories from IKEA and Walmart:

Next, her bed…

I used a previously purchased Ikea duvet that she had picked out, assorted pillowcases & blankets, an Ikea accent pillow and pink accent pillow that I made out of a recycled sweater. I hung artwork/photos (including the photo of a pink lily that she took at a photography class last year) in black frames.

And the final touches: a new white shag rug, curtains and curtain rod from Target. Notice little Waffle enjoying the view.

Not too shabby for a week’s worth of work, don’t you think?  I have yet to find a dresser so for the time being we are going to store her clothes in a large, white antique bookshelf.

My daughter arrived home safely last night and her response when she walked into her room: “You’re kidding me!”

]]> http://niftythriftygirl.com/2010/02/21/a-mini-bedroom-re-do/feed/ 2 http://niftythriftygirl.com/2009/01/11/do-do-do-you-duvet/ http://niftythriftygirl.com/2009/01/11/do-do-do-you-duvet/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:07:48 +0000 niftythriftygirl http://niftythriftygirl.com/?p=108 Continue reading →]]> One of my favorite and least expensive ways to change a bedroom’s decor is to use duvets. I bought my first duvet about 15 years ago from Eddie Bauer Home and, believe it or not, I still have it! I have at least six duvets at the moment and switch them out every few weeks to get a quick decor change:

And with crazy boys like these…

who like to sleep with me and roll around in the bed, it’s a great deal easier to wash a duvet than it is a bulky comforter.

Some of my favorite places to shop for duvets:

Garnet Hill

Pottery Barn (I love you PB, but sometimes you are just too expensive and I can only shop your sales!)

Ikea

Target

I tend to buy most of my duvets on sale ($35-$50), that way I don’t feel too guilty when I amass a half dozen of them. I do, however, splurge once in a while when I find one I just can’t live without. Duvets are, indeed, a fun and inexpensive way for a quick change!

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When changing a room over I like to grab several paint swatches, tape them to the wall and ‘live’ with the colors for a bit before I make my decision. Well, my daughter had her own ideas and immediately fell in love with a lovely shade of blue from one of the swatches, so we went with it.

BEFORE – the PINK room

The pink gingham roman shades were removed from the windows, as well as the shutters to make way for new window treatments.

DURING – PINK to BLUE room

AFTER – the BLUE room

While shopping for paint I happened to pass by the fabric clearance rack and spotted this funky fabric that I knew my daughter would love…so I stitched up some panels. The blue fabric combined with the brown polka dots = oh, la, la! I had to persuade her into allowing me to use the brown polka dotted fabric. She insisted that it was ‘babyish’.

We scoured the stores for a bedding ensemble that would match the walls. It didn’t take long for my daughter to spot this set…and it looks perfect:

So, for approximately $80 (the majority of the money was spent on the bedding) I completely changed a room – in one weekend.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.