I gave my bed a total makeover—and I’ve never slept better

The first thing I bought for our house 11 years ago was a king-sized bed—along with the requisite bedding. The ensemble included a butter-yellow Calvin Klein comforter, matching sheets, pillowcases and shams and a coordinating knit throw blanket. I loved it, and it was definitely a splurge compared to my prior history of “bed-in-a-bag” purchases. This set served us well, and we continued to use most of it (with the comforter in a duvet in more recent years), although I did give our bedding an occasional “refresh” with new sheets in white and taupe—and one impulse bed-in-a-bag buy a while back.

Then I had an epiphany about a month ago. I haven’t been sleeping well for quite some time, and it dawned on me that my bedding might be part of the problem. After all these years of minor bedding updates, I found myself sleeping with mish-mosh of mismatched pieces that suddenly felt really chaotic. I decided that a total bed overhaul was in order, and somehow managed to get the hubs on board. I ordered all new sheets, pillows, pillowcases, shams, accent pillows and a comforter. Aesthetically, it was perfect (i.e. all white), and I managed to purge my linen closets of six large garbage bags.

Here’s what I got:
Parachute Home’s Sateen Sheet Set: These sheets and pillowcases are perfection. Super-soft with the right amount of sheen, I give them five stars.

The Casper Pillow: I’ve struggled with finding the perfect pillow for years, and I was drawn to this one because it’s actually a pillow in a pillow so it’s adjustable. I really wish I had bought this sooner, as I now get the smoosh I love and the support I need. Miraculously, I don’t have to sleep with an extra pillow between my legs anymore, now that my spine is in a better side-sleeping position. (That extra pillow got really annoying—especially for my husband.)

Four not-expensive/not-so-cheap king pillows from Amazon: We don’t actually sleep on these, so their main purpose is decoration and extra support when watching TV and hanging out in bed. 

Four Egyptian cotton sateen shams from Amazon: Truthfully, I didn’t want to spend an extra $160 for plain white Parachute Home shams, so I went with these instead—but I’ll probably upgrade to these Ettitude ones once these show the first signs of wear. (Keep reading to find out why.)

The Buffy comforter: Yup, the one from Instagram. (Read on to see what happened.)

I waited patiently for everything to arrive, and as soon as the last package was dropped off I threw everything in the wash so I could sleep in my new bed that night. When I first slid in, I literally felt like I was in heaven. (All three of us got in and were ooh-ing and ahh-ing with the biggest smiles on our faces.

Then I actually went to sleep—but I woke up several times during the night sweating like crazy. This actually allowed this to happen for a few nights because I loved how my new calm, cloud-like bed felt so much—at least when I was awake. I tried sleeping without pants and keeping leg over the covers. Then the hubs and I got in a huge fight because I wanted to crank the A/C. I finally conceded defeat and sent the Buffy back (they offer a 30-day trial period).

So I did more research about comforters for hot sleepers and came across the Climabalance—and they had me at “improves deep sleep phases by 50%.” Unlike other comforters, this one has mesh panels to optimize air flow and allow heat to escape. This comforter totally did the trick, but the mesh isn’t all that attractive so a duvet cover was in order. (This whole thing had become quite a process.)

As luck would have it, I received an email from the PR for Ettitude, a full range of bedding a sleepwear made with bamboo-based lyocell fabric. Touted as breathable, smooth, incredibly soft and sustainably sourced, I explained my bedding situation and before I knew it a duvet was on its way. When it arrived, I was actually nervous. What if I had another sweaty night? What would I do then? (I was out of ideas.)

The verdict: The Ettitude duvet saved the day! It adds the perfect amount of weight to the Climabalance comforter, it feels amazing against my skin, and actually makes me want to sleep naked—and I will once my kid is gone for the summer. (50 days to go.) It was the ideal finishing touch that completed my bed transformation—and has me sleeping like a baby again (without breaking a sweat). And the whole family loves it…