How To Find a Bed - The Biggest Part of Your Nighttime Routine
Plus unique and extremely soft sheets recs, rugs I'm designing, and some dreams for The Odd Salon
Everyone wants a comfy bed. You spend a third of your life in it. Or so I thought. The other day, I tried to talk to a seven year old about my job and told me he doesn’t care about furniture. He doesn’t care to have any furniture. I was shocked; usually I can talk to anyone about interior design and they’ll find something they can relate to, but not this kid. I said, “not even a bed?” Not even a bed! He’s happy camping and sleeping on the ground. I was jealous of his lack of concern for comfort. I guess not everyone needs a bed. Unless you’re like this kid, a bed is a crucial item of furniture for your happiness, and the piece of furniture where you spend the most time. It is the physically largest piece in your nighttime routine. Therefore, purchasing a bed can be daunting.
Quick tips when looking for a bed:
Take into consideration the height of the bed you want and include your mattress in your calculation. Everyone has different preferences for height, but generally you want something you can crash into easily when you’re too tired, not something you need to hike onto, and not something you need to free fall into.
If you already own nightstands you want to use, match their height for ease of reaching water/book/phone/light switch. Or choose nightstands that are a similar height to the top your mattress.
If you need storage, consider a bed where you can store things underneath, like your off season clothes, secret presents, memorabilia boxes, etc.
Below are some lower price point (but not the cheapest out there) beds I recommend. In general, beds that are crafted by smaller companies tend to have more care put into them, and thus they hold up better. Also, if purchasing wooden or metal beds especially, second hand is likely where you’ll find better quality beds for less.
Wooden Beds
Roseland USA 2. The Citizenry $3,399 3. Hedge House $2,499 4. 1st Dibs $6,897, 5. Etsy Full Sized, $524, 6. Etsy Queen, $2,480
Simple Upholstered Beds
This is a fool-proof type of bed, a crowd pleaser. For a furniture piece you’ll want to keep for decades, plain and simple has lasting power. I have a simple, beige upholstered bed that has worked in many different apartments and goes with any bedding.
Metal Beds
Metal beds are also generally simple enough to be long lasting, and hold up well. You just need to make sure the headboard is comfy enough to lean against with this bed type. This lends itself well to an upholstered headboard duo, and a canopy. These examples are expensive, but look at your local Chairish, Facebook Marketplace, and antique stores for something similar.
Other Interesting Beds
These are a little more specific, but I still think these styles last, or at least I love them. You could use these images or subjects as inspiration to search for a similar bed; rattan, French Regency, Antique Bamboo. The last example I have loved for a long time for its simple detail.
Bedding
I realized tackling all of bedding in this post is too much, so I’ll give sheet recommendations today, and I’ll do additional posts for quilts, duvets, throws, and pillows. People have different opinions on the best type of sheets, which is also dependent on the climate of the home. However, there are some universal norms. Everyone wants soft sheets. People typically like to sleep slightly cool, but also under some weight, depending on the season. A lot of us like the “crisp hotel sheets” feel, others enjoy linen sheets, and some like sateen and flannel. Everyone wants their sheets to make it through the washing machine, but to what degree are you willing to pay premium for longer lasting sheets, vs purchase middle of the road sheets you’ll replace in a few years. Lastly, are you someone who likes plain white sheets, white with some detail, color sheet or pattern sheets?
High End Sheets That Will Last
Photos don’t do high-end sheets justice. I can personally guarantee you these sheets are soft and wonderful to sleep on. These are aspirational sheets that I don’t own, but I’ve slept on friend’s beds with these sheets. They even get softer with more washes. I’m regretting not putting them on my registry, so they are going on my Christmas list.
Middle of the Road Sheets That Are Alternates to Brooklinen and Parachute
Coyuchi Percale sheet set $182, 2. Pottery Barn Grand Organic Percale Sheets $179, 3. Pottery Barn 1000 Thread Count Sateen $289, 4. LL Bean Percale $169
Nothing wrong with Parachute and Brooklinen sheets. I own both of them and they’re great, but most people know that. I’m offering different brands if you want to switch it up. I have and love Pottery Barn sheets, they have held up for years and are very cool sleeping. I’ve purchased Coyuchi and LL Bean for clients and people seem to love them as well. I also like those brands in general. Coyuchi makes great linen and LL Bean makes great flannel if you’re more into those fibers.
Fun and Different Sheets
St. Frank $260, 2. Les Indiennes Bed Skirt $410, 3. Everlasting Fabric $269. 4. Dusen Dusen $338, 5. Serena and Lily Eyelet $276
Sometimes a hint of something unique helps liven up your space. Interesting sheets are like interesting socks; they are very subtle, but show you put thought into the details.
Other Oddities:
I am designing rugs for sale! I designed my bedroom rug after spending way too long trying to find an 8’x10’ in my budget that was plush, beautiful, and simple but not boring. I found a fabricator who I’ve come to really enjoy working with, who does everything by hand and uses incredibly soft New Zealand wool. Now he is working on a rug I designed for close friends. If anyone is interested, let me know! I’m figuring out how to launch a website and market this.
Photos from our trip of site specific art installations at Chateau La Coste I have a few dreams for the Odd Salon. Ranging from achievable to pipe:
I hope this platform connects me with other likeminded people in person. People who may want to collaborate on creative projects, or bounce ideas off each other. I love seeing what other cool people are doing in this realm. Erika Veurink of Long Live has created the EV Salon for this reason. She recently held a collage night with Alex Mill, and is holding “office hours” I plan to go to soon. Julia Harrison created Saloon, also a space for creatives to make business and personal connections. I met a wonderful gallery owner at Design on a Dime who’s inviting people in their 30s and are interested in art to her gallery for cocktails. This is the dream becoming a reality!
Quarters, Colbo, Cellar 36 I’d love to design physical spaces that encourage this type of connection. Spaces for people to meet each other. Places where you feel as if you are in a type of “salon” where big ideas are discussed and you feel part of a community. This could be a neighborhood restaurant, bar, or coffee shop. I’d love to learn about or design more places that have a combination of food, drinks and design. I love places like Quarters, Colbo, and Cellar 36. They have an element of art and design while also providing well thought out drinks or coffee, and host fun events where interesting people show up.
The pipe dream would be the Odd Salon becoming a physical space itself. Maybe later in life I somehow become less scared of the prospect of owning and managing physical real estate and create something like Chateau La Coste which is a vineyard with incredible restaurants, and an architecture and sculpture tour. You can go on long walks around the beautiful Provence countryside admiring nature, mans work in nature growing grapes, and man made site-specific art created by well established artists and architects. Then you can have a glass of wine and great food outside a cafe with music, or a sit down meal in a beautiful building.
Let me know if you have any similar dreams! I hope you sleep well tonight with more information on finding your best bed and bedding. It might help you to know I’m in the process of finding this myself.
