Comforter Sets- Inexpensive Luxury And Style For Your Bed

Editor: polyhymnia

Whether down, cotton or polyestester, buying a comforter set is an easy way to coordinate the right mix of style and comfort for your bedding ensemble

Topping Off A Good Night’s Sleep

You’ve purchased a bed fit for a queen, the pillowtop mattress of your dreams, and sheets with a thread count higher than the number of sheep you’ve counted in the last year of sleepless nights. It’s time to top off your slumber haven with the right look and feel to make your bed a place you’re comfortable spending a third of the rest of your life in.

Comforter Sets provide affordable luxury and snuggle factor to your bedding ensemble. Available in a wide variety of styles, colors and sizes, you can save time, effort and money by purchasing a packaged set, as opposed to the worry and price of shopping for separate pieces that may not complement each other when assembled.

A comforter set generally includes:

1. A comforter
2. A bed skirt
3. Two pillow shams

A more complete comforter set may include sheets, pillow cases, a duvet cover or even curtains! (Such sets are commonly referred to and sold as a "bed in a bag".)

Advantages Of Comforter Sets

Save hundreds of dollars by buying matching components all in one set, as opposed to separately.

Everything is coordinated for a finished look. No need to be a designer or spend time looking for separate sizes of pieces that go well together. Some comfort sets even feature reversible comforters, so that you can change-it-up once in awhile, without losing the coordination of the ensemble.

Simple, easy to maintain and clean.

Materials - Most of the comforters found in comforter sets are made of polyester, cotton, viscose (rayon) or a combination of them. Producing comforters of these materials keeps the cost down, while maintaining durability and comfort. Cotton fibers are undoubtedly softer to the touch, but can draw in moisture, requiring you to clean more often. Polyester is known for its germ resistance, heat-set capabilities and resilience. Many comforters will combine cotton and polyester to provide a soft, yet durable compromise that need not be cleaned as often.

The Upside Of Down

For those who demand a cozier experience during the colder months of the year, a down comforter can transform your bed into a cocoon of warmth and luxury. Down comforter sets often come with down pillows and/or pillow shams, but vary in contents depending on the manufacturer. Since many have a simple, white outer shell, you may want to purchase a duvet cover to provide style and protect the comforter from stains. Buying a down comforter set will usually result in more money spent and a little more work to coordinate colors or styles, but the investment in your sleep is well worth the price and effort.

Down is made of soft, lofty clusters that are different from feathers, which have a flat shape and a hollow quill running through the center. These clusters are extremely lightweight and are the most efficient of natural insulators known to man. The softest and most functional down clusters are found directly under the breast of ducks and geese. Therefore, you should demand "only the breast" when shopping for a down comforter, and for the best price!

Fill power - When you see a bird out in the cold with their feathers puffed up, they're taking advantage of their own, built-in insulation. Their down is most effective at protecting them from the cold when it's "fluffed", allowing the lofty clusters under their feathers to trap their body heat, providing an insulated barrier. Mature birds have a more abundant supply of lofty down clusters. Like these birds, a down comforter is at its best when its down is able to make the most of the space it's in. The comforter's "Fill Power" is a measurement of the size of the down clusters and the way they utilize the space and air within the comforter. Simply put, a comforter with a higher Fill Power will be fluffier and provide more warmth, without adding excess weight.

You'll want to consider the right Fill Power for your climate. Someone in Sacramento may not need as high a Fill Power as a resident of Vermont, during the winter months. A Fill Power of 500-600 is great for milder climates, or even hot summer nights when you can't sleep with just a sheet because the air conditioner is running consistently. 600-800 Fill Power will easily help you maintain your body temperature if you reside in a climate where the colder months can be harsh.

Purity - Along with the Fill Power, consider the advertised purity of the down that fills your comforter. The higher the purity, the better the comfort, the easier it is to clean and care for, and the longer it will last. Some manufacturers of down products claim to be 100% goose down. This can be a little deceiving, since the tiniest of feathers cannot sifted out of the down. The "purest" of down products can be, at best, about 95% goose down. Some states allow manufacturers to advertise their down products as 100% pure if they achieve 95%, due to this factor. Higher purity will result in a higher price, but again, this should be viewed as an investment and there are several means of acquiring a high quality product at deeply discounted prices.

Baffle-Box Stitching - There are several ways manufacturers fashion the stitching of a comforter in order to keep the down from shifting, creating "cold spots". Several methods may be adept at keeping the down in place, but may at the same time hinder its ability to stay lofty. Baffle-Box stitching allows optimum stability and loft and therefore is the most popular choice for down comforter construction.

Size Matters

Know or measure your bed frame and mattress dimensions before you buy anything to fit on them. Don't simply go by the mattress type when purchasing bedding. Mattresses vary in thickness and length. A California King mattress is longer and thinner than a regular King Mattress. Today's mattresses tend to be thicker than they used to be. Pillow-top mattresses are 14"-16", whereas standard and older mattresses are 9"-12". This could affect the size of the comforter needed to give your bed proper coverage. Also of note is that various manufacturers may have their own definitions of what is "standard" in reference to sizes.

Again, always measure before purchasing anything.

Conventional Mattress & Comforter Sizes:

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