The Best Linen Sheets (And 3 Ways to Style Them)
Following my post all about the Saatva mattress last week, I felt like I wanted to share my favorite sheets with you as well! After all, crafting the perfect sleep sanctuary doesn’t stop at getting the right mattress (but without it, it’s nearly impossible). Everything that goes onto your bed will make a difference in how comfortable you are, and in turn how well you sleep. This post is specifically about the best linen sheets, because I believe linen to be the superior sleeping fabric.
Before my first semester of graduate school, I’m not entirely sure I had ever even touched something that was 100% linen. I’m not confident I even knew that it was an option for clothing and home goods. One of the first classes in my program was exclusively about fabrics and textiles, where we learned to identify by sight and touch each different kind of fabric. I was instantly smitten with linen. It opened up this exciting new relationship between me and the soft goods I surround myself with. Raw linen, rough in texture, instantly recalls some biological memory of the years before the industrial revolution, when clothes were sewn at home with real materials. It evokes a singular sense of being connected with the earth. There is no doubt in your mind, when swathed in linen, that you and this fabric are from the same source. It’s a really beautiful way to feel.
After being treated and washed and used, linen softens almost to the point of feeling fragile. The softness, as a result of being owned and used, feels intimate to you. It is soft because of you, and your relationship with it.
If you feel connected with this description, and I’ve convinced you to try it out for yourself, these are my absolute favorite linen sheets:
The image is clickable - it will take you right to the product page.
Look familiar? Believe it or not, I decorated my bedroom long before I ever saw this picture. And the lucky folks in this promotional image seem to have a bedframe, headboard, and nightstand. A girl can dream.
The Citizenry offers a variety of different home goods, but I’ve only tried their sheets. Their products are all gorgeous, earthy, and of the moment. As with every brand I purchase from, I looked around for their environmental and social impacts. They have a page on their website dedicated to this. They work with artisans, create in small batches, and check the boxes for fair trade standards. As always, we cannot only go by what a company claims about themselves, but at least they have a page dedicated to their efforts as a starting point. Companies who do not divulge this information typically raise a red flag for me.
The linen sheets come in so many different colors, there is something for every style here. They also offer cotton bedding, for all of you diehard cotton fans out there.
How to Style Linen Sheets
As promised, here are 3 different ways to style linen sheets. There are infinitely more - as many as you can imagine.
1. Layered to perfection
A design from one of my idols - Jean Stoffer is a genius when it comes to layering bedscapes. Here she combines a sand linen with olive green (my favorite, if it wasn’t clear) and stacks it with gorgeous but subdued pillows. The linen blanket draped across the top of the bed adds a final layer, connecting the bottom of the bed with the top, sandwiching that beautiful green between. This is actually my inspiration for our own bed… hopefully 2022 is the year of the headboard in the Titus Aguanno household.
2. Monochrome
Image from the Citizenry.
It doesn’t get more dreamy-minimalist than this. Whether you are really in love with one color, or you just want your bed to have that *chill* vibe, dressing it up all in one color is a super stylish option. The less information our eyes have to process when they scan over a room, the more peaceful we feel. This is a great way to create a Zen sleep haven.
3. White and Cream
I am especially obsessed with the white and cream combo (or off-white and cream, or ivory and sand… you get the picture) - if you have a house with lots of warm tones, like rich hardwood floors, this option is perfect. Light and neutral but contrasting, there are endless combinations for textures and layers when working with these two tones. If you go this route, just be sure that any extra elements you introduce, like blankets and pillows, match the existing palette closely or enhance it. Source them from the same company, if you can. Too many different shades of white or cream might feel dull or messy.
Let me know in the comments how you feel about linen sheets! Love them? Hate them? Scared of change?
Until next time,
Nicki
