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Sleep is essential to our well-being and productivity. And while a good night’s rest depends on multiple factors such as room temperature, mattress and pillow hardness, and noise and darkness levels, slipping into a luxury set of bed sheets after a long day can help create the perfect sleep environment.
But not all bed sheets are created equal. Cotton is a natural choice when it comes to bed linens. Thanks to various weaving techniques, manufacturers can produce different cotton fabrics such as poplin, percale, and sateen—each with distinct qualities. Silk remains the best material for sheets on the market for its cooling effect on the skin, among other properties.
Below is a roundup of the most luxurious bedding sets to upgrade your bed. Keep in mind that unless otherwise mentioned, a set consists of a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and a pair of pillowcases.
Best Sateen Sheets: Parachute Sateen Set
Sateen sheets are the perfect choice if you want a more sophisticated version of classic cotton bedding but don’t want to go all out on silk bed linens. Sumptuous, smooth, with a subtle sheen that feels luxe but not kitschy, sateen is also breathable, so an excellent choice for both hot and cold sleepers.
Parachute makes its sateen sheet set with premium long-staple Egyptian cotton, known for its extra strength and durability. The company’s sateen sheet set—which includes a fitted sheet and two pillowcases—is available in four sizes and four neutral shades that will match any bedroom interior.
To buy: from $169; parachutehome.com
Best Percale Sheets: Matouk Ansonia Collection Sheets
Matouk went from a small family-owned operation in New York to owning a factory in Fall River, Massachusetts, and making bed linens for some of the most luxurious hotels in the country. The brand’s secret? They don’t cut corners when it comes to the quality of their fabrics and designs, which are created by their craftspeople and artists in the factory. A crisp white cotton percale bed-linen set with a pop of color, such as this Ansonia set, is classic Matouk.
The fabric is thicker than your average cotton set (so great for fall and winter) but incredibly breathable and soft.
To buy: from $174; bloomingdales.com
Best Cotton Sheets: California Design Den Cotton Sheets
A luxury set of cotton sheets doesn’t have to break the bank. Case in point: These California Design Den 400-thread sheets have almost a perfect five-star rating on Amazon and more than 60,600 reviews. The company lists classic, laid-back California lifestyle as the inspiration behind its airy, lightweight, and incredibly soft sheets. They also have a bit of a sheen, making them look more luxurious. Another bonus? They have Standard 100 OEKO Tex Certification, which means they contain no toxic chemicals.
Best Linen Sheets: Coyuchi Linen Sheets
If you want to recreate that messy boho chic bedroom look so popular on Instagram, you’ll be a step closer with this set of Coyuchi linen sheets.
The brand procures its organic linen from a factory in France and then ships it to Portugal to be woven, cut, sewn, and washed before it’s shipped to your door. The sheets are heavyweight (read: strong and durable) but keep you cool, so just right for humid DC summers. The best part is that they keep getting softer as you sleep in them. We also love the available colors—earthy terracotta, sage, off-white, and soft beige are all winners in our book.
To buy: from $538, Nordstrom.com
Best Hotel-Quality Sheets: Four Seasons Sheets
If you’ve slept between the sheets of a Four Seasons bed, you know why travelers rave about them. So why not make your bedroom feel like a Four Seasons guest room?
Made from Supima cotton, a type of long-staple cotton grown in the US, it is the preferred fiber of many home and clothing brands for its strength, durability, softness, and light weight. This particular set is crafted using a satin weave technique that gives it a subtle sheen and beautiful drape. You can choose between ten shades and four sizes.
Best Silk Sheets: LILYSILK Mulberry Silk Sheets
We really can’t talk about luxury sheets without including Lilysilk’s sumptuous bedding, made from 19 Momme Mulberry silk (momme is a unit of weight that indicates silk’s density and strength; the best silk sheets are usually between 19 and 22 momme).
There are a lot of direct-to-consumer brands these days that offer silk sheets, but what makes Lilysilk best is that its silk bedding is machine washable (in cold water and mild detergent, of course).
In addition to their lustrous looks, silk sheets are known for their cooling and breathable properties and for their beneficial properties for skin and hair.
Best Poplin Sheets: Frette Triplo Poplin Set
If your favorite staycation hotels include the Ritz-Carlton and the St. Regis, then you need no introduction to Frette. The Italian company, which has been providing premium bed linens to royal families and five-star hotels since 1860, has pretty much written the book on how to make luxurious bedding.
This Italian-made set is cut from crisp cotton poplin that takes the best qualities of sateen and percale—it’s incredibly soft, breathable, mid-weight so perfect for year-round use, and comes embellished with delicate three-line embroidery.
To buy: $1,275, bloomingdales.com
Best Cashmere Sheets: Brooklinen Brushed Cashmere Sheet Set
From the moment you open the box, this sheet set will feel like you’ve been sleeping in it forever. The reason is the brushed treatment that the luxurious fabric—a blend of cotton and cashmere—is given to enhance the softness of the final product. It’s almost like that lived-in T-shirt you’ve had since college that you like lounging in.
While the sheets are monochrome, the diagonal-weave fabric has a heathered look, adding a beautiful textured effect. The company has released this set in two limited-edition colors—rust and ink blue—for those who’d like to make a bold statement. If this is your first Brooklinen order, you can save ten percent on your purchase by signing up for the brand’s newsletter and emails.
Best Cooling Sheets: Hotel Sheets Direct 100% Bamboo Sheets
Bamboo viscose, made from the plant’s cellulose, produces bed linens with cooling properties. If you are a hot sleeper (or, you know, spend the months of July and August in DC), then this set can create a more comfortable sleeping environment. One of the 25,800 Amazon reviewers wrote that after a year’s use, the sheets are even “softer and silky smooth” than when they arrived.
Another plus: The sheets come in 16 colors to choose from and five sizes.
Best Organic Sheets: Avocado Organic Superfine Suvin Cotton Sheets
Sleeping between eco-friendly sheets is not only good for the environment but for your health. What makes Avocado’s sheets special? For starters, the company uses Indian Suvin Cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the gold standard for “clean” certifications and luxurious materials.
Long-staple Egyptian and Indian Suvin cottons are considered the best and rarest in the world. This set is made from 1,000-thread fabric, which, as you can imagine, is pretty special. So you can expect them to feel super soft to the touch and be stronger and more durable than any other regular cotton set.
To buy: from $299; avocadogreenmattress.com