What do you sleep under?

[jducoeur]

One thing I've been noticing on our current trip is the different assumptions about how a bed gets covered.

In the US, you typically have (bottom to top):

• Boxspring
• Mattress
• Fitted bottom sheet
• Top sheet
• Blanket
• Quilt

The three top layers are optional, and you use whatever makes sense for the weather.

In Europe (at least, most of the places I've traveled, both hotels and AirBnBs/VRBOs), the custom seems to typically be to just have a duvet on top, and that keeps throwing me for a loop.

I mean, I kind of understand the appeal: when I was growing up, I invariably just used a quilt, year-round. I didn't learn The Way of the Hospital Corner until after getting married.

But I'm coming to the opinion that I like the American norm better, because it's more modular. In winter, I'll have all three pulled up; in summer, I'll just be using the top sheet. Right now on our trip, I'm finding the duvet typically just a little bit warmer than I want, at least during part of the night.

No idea whether I'm typical or weird this way, but the difference has been catching my attention.

(Tangent: posts of more than 500 characters are going here, but short microblog-length entries about our vacation are going on my Mastodon, using the same #europe2024 tag as here.)

Comments

[laurion]

I've noticed this divergent model as well. I prefer the modularity as well, but duvet only is appreciable faster for making the bed. The duvet cover performs the same function as a top sheet - another layer of fabric that is 'sacrificial', e.g. easy to remove and wash and change out. But not as easy as a top sheet.

I do wonder if the modularity exists more in places where there are more cold nights, as putting another blanket on is cheaper than keeping the house warmer all night....

Now when do we return to bed curtains and bed boxes?

[desireearmfeldt]

I am baffled by the fashion (in a certain kind of victorian-aesthetic B&B for example) of 4-poster beds with posts but no hangings. Why would you want just posts?

[laurion]

Posts I've gotten used to. But when they have the rails across the tops, and no bed curtains, I get confused. Posts are often a part of head/footboards, so even if you don't have curtains, you can't remove the posts. And I've heard tell that there are some who use the posts for other purposes.

[desireearmfeldt]

:>

[desireearmfeldt]

Boxsprings are pretty optional in the US these days, I think, though I suppose most hotels still have them. (I've never had a boxspring on my home bed in my life.)

I've noticed the duvet-only thing when traveling in the US, not just outside. (It's been a while since I've been outside the US, so I don't remember about that so much.) I always have that same reaction: what if I only want a light layer of cover? what happened to modularity?

[hudebnik]

We've noticed the duvet-only thing in a lot of hotels in the US. I think it's especially cheap motels that want to save a little money on bed-making time. It's annoying when it's cool enough that you want some covering, but the duvet is too hot.

[cellio]

I've encountered duvet-only in the US too, though not often. My reaction is the same as yours: I probably don't want that much on top of me; give me modularity please! Temperature regulation with only a duvet is a hassle that disrupts my sleep, as I keep half-waking to adjust things throughout the night.

[conuly]

Modularity isn't just for your whole body, either - sometimes I want more layers on my feet than my torso or the other way around.

[mindstalk]

Maybe because much of Europe is (or used to be) cooler than the US?

[cvirtue]

We switched to duvet-as-top-sheet a couple decades ago, and have not switched back.

We didn't have any issues with temperature regulation at any point during the year; we move covers off or back on when asleep just fine. I could see that it might take a few days to get this activated in whatever part of one's brain that monitors this, however.

The main thing that stands out is that some people, based on confused articles/advice columns, don't understand that the duvet cover is changed with the same frequency that one would change one's sheets.

.... whatever frequency that might be.
*whistles aimlessly*

PS: Oh, this does require that the duvet covers be pleasant to encounter with bare skin. For us that means cotton and linen only; nothing with any plastic fibers (polyester, nylon, microfiber, etc.) Our duvet insides currently consist of two thin-ish comforters, and those have polyester fiberfill.

[matildalucet]

I have toyed with switching us to two duvets so we each can hog exactly one; I'm a tad concerned that I might try to take both in my sleep. (Sleeping Me is inconsiderate and appears to like to wrap bedding completely around my body in the winter, regardless of who else thinks they're sharing.) OTOH, I'm not sure I'm up for wrestling a duvet cover on and off with any frequency, and once the sheets/blankets/quilts are changed, it takes me less than a minute to make the bed up.

[jducoeur]

Yeah, while I prefer the top-sheet in general, one of the interesting details of our hotel in Copenhagen was that they gave us individual duvets. Which was then spoiled by the fact that they, for no reason I can fathom, made the bed with the duvets folded sideways on the bed, so it took us ages to figure out how the heck to get into bed...

[loosecanon]

We have always had the duvet preferentially, but have different temperature and coverage needs.

What we found that changed things for us, in Iceland, was the individual duvet, as opposed to one large bed covering.

We sewed small loops onto the comforters and tassets into the duvet cover corners, which helps with the frustration factor.