Down Comforter Sets

Posts Tagged ‘Natural Materials’

Today’s Year fall decorating trends are toward a desire for simplicity and creating a sense of sanctuary. Smaller scaled pieces are designed to compliment both modern and traditional but not a tie into any particular style. Eclectic styling will be key, creatively combining different styles and patterns defined by rich, elegant hues and moving away from theme rooms. With the simpler styling of cleaner lines and forms, heavily carved and ornate pieces are on the wane, while natural materials and minimalist accents are prevalent. #. Furnishings will be more than just decoration, but highly serviceable offering versatility to fit in with today’s busy lifestyle. Flexibility is important with multi purpose pieces that meet the needs of the user such as a changing station for cell phones, a home for the laptop and tables with compartmentalized drawers for storage that support activities of the family. One change in the family room will be to show off high tech flat screens instead of hiding the tv behind the doors of armoires. #. Wood Furniture styling is emerging from the eco-sustainable movement with the use of reclaimed wood. Some collection will show a mix collection of light and dark patterns that create a unique patchwork effect. Furniture will be going from a dark finish to a lighter medium tone, but not blonde. Bamboo, teak and cork are being highly sought after as great eco-friendly alternatives for furniture and accessories. Innovative ways will be explored to return to authentic materials, and to recycle. Along the eco-consciousness and awareness movement, more thought will continue to be placed on how these choices will have on impact on our surroundings. #. Color Styles for this year’s Fall decorating draws inspiration from the same desire of creating a tranquil home environment and homeowners are focusing on fresh options to refresh and renew their living spaces. #. All of your rooms can be reinvented by changing the paint color. Color that is typically associated with fall decorating in the past has been quiet and subdued. But not so this year, expect to still see your neutrals, but enhanced with lively punches of deep bright color, bold pattern and some metallic. #. In fact, detail accent pieces and bright bold accessories are a must, as long as pieces aren’t competing for attention. The use of these deep bright colors can be used in unexpected ways as well, like the interior of a closet or vanity. Use an accent of black for a striking effect. #. Leather is a classic in chocolate or light brown and will be seen more frequently this fall. Browns work well with the deep bright of the season and can soften the look while anchoring the space. Decorative painting techniques are incorporating patterns and textures typically associated with menswear, like herringbone, argyle and pinstripes in the traditional hues of navy and grey. #. Reds will be split between blue-based reds and reds with a yellow base tone. Orange will remain with a brown undertone as well as a bright tangerine and an updated coral. Yellow ranges from bright to antique gold. Soothing nature inspired blues that vary from robins’ egg blues to a deep sea. Green is a natural, from citrus to forest and work well with blue, and even purple as a compliment. But the one color with this fall decorating that emerges from the rest as the front runners are the purples, from purple blues to purple fashion.

A down comforter is a form of bedding that consists of a bag which is used to cover beds. It will often be filled with natural materials such as feathers. A down comforter could be described as a soft, thick blanket that is placed on a bed to make it more warm and comfortable. The down is the fine feathers that can be found under the harder feathers of birds. Down is an excellent insulator, and has a number of thermal attributes. The down will capture batches of air, and this air will be used as thermal cover. While it is excellent when it is kept dry, it will lose many of its properties when it becomes wet.

All down is not created equal. Goose down is better than duck down. Down from mature geese that live in cold climates produce larger down clusters that trap more body heat keeping you warmer as well as lofting up to produce a comforter that is puffy without weight. Fill-power is the measurement of a down cluster’s ability to loft up after compression. 650 fill-power and up is considered luxury quality. The higher the fill-power the greater the thermal properties and the puffier the comforter. There is also cluster count to consider. This is the percentage of whole down clusters as opposed to pieces of broken down known as “fly”. Canadian White Goose Down is  considered to be the finest in the world.  Siberian Hungarian and Polish white goose downs are premium qualities and the very rare Eiderdown the ultimate in softness and warmth without weight
is the best down in the world.

The down will keep the body warm. A single down group will be composed of thousands of fibers, and these down groups will not have a quill shaft. Lofting is the process in which air is trapped, and this will allow the body to stay warm. At the same time, moisture is released while heat is contained. Because of these properties, down comforters provide a superior level of comfort that is not seen with standard comforters. Down comforters are much more expensive than other forms of bedding, and can cost as much as $600 for a Queen sized bed. Many down comforters will also be made with silk. A number of advanced models have even been designed to fight bacteria, and are hypo-allergenic as well.

Down will eventually “leak” out of anything other than a cotton cambric downproof fabric. What makes the long staple Egyptian cotton fabric downproof is not just a high threadcount but callendering. This is a natural process of compressing the fabric between giant steel rollers to fill in spaces invisible to the eye. The best cambric cotton downproof fabric comes from Germany or Switzerland. Many of the cambrics are made with a sateen finish. They are very soft durable and breathable. Threadcounts over 300 are best and will remain downproof for 10-15 years.