Monday, January 13, 2014

Blame the St. Regis

In 1996, we had a huge snow storm in DC.  Schools were closed, work was cancelled - everything stopped.  Everything, that is, except the metro, and my father decided to go to work.  For some reason I went with him, and Dad told me that we'd stay in the Willard, right near his firm, if the metro closed before we headed home.  The metro stayed open, but I somehow convinced Dad that he owed me a night in a fancy hotel.  So when my parents won a stay at the St. Regis in New York at a school auction and my mom couldn't go, we hopped Amtrak for a father/daughter weekend in the Big Apple.

There are only three things I remember about the trip: we saw Titanic and both felt ill afterwards, room service charged $17 for a children's PB&J sandwich, and my queen-sized bed was heaven.

I don't think I'd ever slept in a bed that big all by myself before, so I already felt pampered.  But I'd also never slept under a duvet before - we were a quilts and comforters family - and I'd never slept swathed in linens that were white as the driven snow.  (My mother was much too practical for that.)  I spent the whole night convinced I was sleeping on a cloud and, when I woke up the next morning, knew that my standards had been irreversibly raised.

The Royal Suite Bedroom at the St. Regis
So, when I was old enough to get to make decisions about these sorts of things, I immediately switched from my Laura Ashley quilt to a fluffy duvet.  (Don't worry, dear readers, the duvet cover was still Laura Ashley. Mom held firm on some things!)  And, when I went off to college, I chose only white sheets for my dorm room beds.

It's probably all in my head, but it's gotten to the point where I don't feel like I'm sleeping in as luxurious an environment as I could be if my bedroom isn't decorated in muted colors, with a lightly-patterned duvet and white sheets.  Obviously it's not practical for most people to have a pure white duvet cover, I do like adding a bit of interest with a throw or blanket at the foot of the bed, and I'm actually not overly exclusive about the quality of my sheets, but I have tried to recreate the experience of the St Regis in every bedroom I've had since I stayed there.  Here's the sort of thing I go for:

clockwise from top left:
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 photo 866de425-8336-4c63-9efd-1c4dd8bf0e62_zpsafe0d56b.jpg

29 comments:

  1. The comforters vs duvet debate is going strong in our house! I am a comforters all the way person and Fredrik duvets but as he is now realizing our current duvet gives him some serious allergies I might be winning in the near future!

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  2. I am all about a bedroom feeling like a luxury hotel and the last few years have been expensive white sheets & a grey duvet cover (which is actually desperately needing an update but I haven't seen anything I can't live without yet.)

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  3. We have all white bedding. And whilst I love it, it does require more maintenance and care than colours! Plus no coffee in bed for me! x

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  4. It's so funny what we remember from our childhood, and how even the seemingly smallest things can make such a big impact. We (the adults) have a quilt (a gorgeous one from Eddie Bauer when they were still doing really gorgeous quilts) and it's getting a little rough from years of use so I've been debating on a duvet. I love the tones you picked because they go perfectly with our wall color. And there is just something about white sheets. They always seemed to be cooler to me (literally- temperature-wise).

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  5. what is your duvet filled with? there are different options! I'm on his side here... muahaha :P

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  6. ooh I haven't yet taken the jump into expensive sheets. from what I hear, it's a slippery slope because high-quality sheets are SO luxurious that you only want to sleep on them once you have one set!

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  7. Some sort of feathers I told him we can get a synthetic one but he looked at me like that was blasphemy to the integrity of a duvet.

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  8. well, the way I look at white bedding maintenance is this: Charlie would shed on my bed no matter what color sheets I have. Dark sheets would only hide the hair, it wouldn't mean the hair isn't there! So being able to see his hair just reminds me to wash my sheets extra frequently :)

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  9. One year for Valentines Day I bought Fredrik a set of NHL pillowcases from Pottery Barn teen and even though the pattern was not the fanciest the quality was and they were the most amazing thing ever to sleep with.

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  10. YES. There is almost nothing more peaceful than sliding between white sheets after a shower. You feel enveloped in a clean cool cloud!

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  11. We have all white 100% cotton bedding and I love it!!! I actually think it's super easy to maintain because you can use a touch of bleach to get out any stains. This is such a cute memory you have with your Dad. :)

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  12. I agree. There's something about white bedding that seems so luxurious. Too bad I have black cats or else I would definitely have some!

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  13. White bedding does seem so luxurious! We recently got a new bed that we had been saving up for over the past two years. It has a dark gray fabric headboard and frame and so I decided on a white duvet. About a year ago we purchased down pillows after having the best night of sleep we'd ever had at a hotel with firm, but fluffy down pillows. All in all, with the new duvet, pillows, and bed, I have definitely slept so much better as of late. I truly think there is something to it all! Thankfully, Lilah doesn't get to sleep on the bed and knows not to hop up (though she did one time right after we got the new duvet because her curiosity got the best of her!). Finn own the bed and at least is light-haired, so thus far the white hasn't been so hard to maintain.

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  14. Haha, I'm pretty much the exact opposite. I can't stand thick comforters or fluffy duvets; i want layers of flat, heavy quilts and blankets. In fact, on our bed right now we've got a cotton knit cable blanket, two micro fleece blankets (that one I actually got dirt cheap as a much-needed added layer while we were in England!), and our Egyptian cotton matelassé coverlet. We've also got a down-alternative blanket to add if needed, but NC would have to have a real winter first. That one goes on last just because of the pain of washing it.

    As for sheets, we are all about high quality. And I won't do white because of the pets in the bed- we change our sheets weekly (at least) anyway, so I'd rather not have to deal with potential little stains from dirt under toenails, as Sloan sleeps under the covers, so we've got middle grey (my favorite), khaki, and robin's egg blue. All either 1000 or 1200 thread count, long fiber Egyptian cotton.
    Paul couldn't stand the lack of top sheets and just duvets in Europe, which I found hilarious as he frequently slept with just his comforter over him in the early years of college. To his credit, he did put a bottom sheet on the mattress. My coed dorm taught me that not all guys did… which is SO gross. He wasn't given much of a choice as to what goes on our bed now, though, so I suppose I've trained him to prefer blankets!

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  15. We love a proper duvet - and dare I say it, flannelette sheets (flannelette sheets are old-fashioned winter sheets).
    Even though we have a duvet covor though, we still have 2 sheets - one on the top and one on the bottom. It's an unusual compromise I know, but makes it feel like you're sleeping in a cloud.

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  16. If I could have crisp white sheets with a minimal border pattern and a crisp white duvet I would be all over that. Unfortunately so would my kids, and it would stay white for about 2.5 seconds. Someday!

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  17. do your cats get under the covers? Jon's parents' cat does - she drools on the sheets!

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  18. my favorite is jersey sheets for the winter - have you ever tried? they're as warm as flannelette but they don't pill as much. love them!

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  19. haha, yes mine do! I've never had them drool though!

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  20. My fellow is a giant so we have a Cal King bed. I HATE it. People usually think they are bigger overall, but they are not - they're more narrow and longer than a regular King. Not only that, but the sheets are SUPER expensive and come in way less variety. This is a tragedy because I have a sheet obsession! If I have any say in the matter, our next bed will be a King!

    jess | Quaintrelle

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  21. Oh, and this is how serious I am about my bedclothes: fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket, and THEN duvet OR comforter. The fellow has no regard for my love of bedclothes and pulls them all off and sleeps with a sheet and a throw as soon as I leave on a business trip or weekend with the girls.

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  22. I can think of worst places to be influenced by ;)
    P.S. I spent my thirtieth sipping cocktails at the King Cole Bar in that St. Regis, I LOVE that place.

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  23. I was never picky about bedding, until we got nice bedding. Oh man, I'm a convert. Thread count does matter! Who knew?

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  24. I love that you have a moment you can pinpoint that makes you know why you do something. I think that's fun!

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  25. I am SUCH a bedding snob. I think it's making up for a very long six months before we got beds delivered in the desert, when I slept on the front of my HMMWV wrapped up in my sleeping bag. From now on, I will scrimp and save and go without a couch or even a dining table, but my bed will be the softest fluffiest most luxurious thing EVER and it will be covered with the best sheets I can buy.

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  26. I think I'm right there with you. My aunt bought us a down comforter for Christmas and I'm in love. I'm a little bit of a snob but won't buy less than 800 thread count sheets. Oops! (That's why I love Kohl's coupons!)

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