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By Arabella Peterson 06.02.2020

Should You Ditch the Duvet for a Heavy Linen Bed Cover This Summer?

Sweaty sleepers, rejoice.

If you live anywhere with long, hot, summers, you’ll be familiar with the feeling of tossing and turning all night. Sometimes, a duvet is just too much, but you can’t pull it off – you need something covering your body or you’re left feeling exposed, chilly and restless. A flat sheet is an option, but even this can be a bit too light as the night gets cooler and your body temperature drops in step with your circadian rhythm. Enter: Heavy Linen Bed Covers.

Why linen?

Firstly, if you’ve been sleeping in bedding made from other materials, it’s important to understand why linen might be a better option for the warmer months. Unlike synthetics, which trap heat inside them, linen is made out of the crushed flax plant, making it 100% natural. What that means is that linen breathes, circulating cool air through its loosely woven fibers to make sure that the warm air is never trapped around your body.

Plus, linen won’t cling to you, so you can say goodbye to that trapped, sticky feeling you might experience with less breathable fabrics. The structure of the fiber makes for a non-restrictive material, absorbing up to 20% of its own weight before feeling damp. For a more detailed explanation on linen and its suitability for summer, read our in-depth article.

To duvet or not to duvet?

For some, a duvet is a must have year-round. Luckily, there are different types of duvet inserts for different seasons and preferences. We recommend a more versatile, all-purpose insert that will be breathable in summer and can be layered on in winter. It comes down to personal preference, and if a duvet with a linen cover is working for you, keep doing what you’re doing. But we’re all about options. If you’re waking up consistently, sweating during the night or feeling overheated, you might want to experiment with another style of bedding. There’s a lot of trial and error in discovering the formula for your perfect night’s sleep. You might be best suited to a quilt, a flat sheet with a throw draped on top, or a heavy linen cover, so see what works best for you. Discover more about the differences between these options in our bedding deep dive.

How is a Heavy Linen Bed Cover different?

You’ve probably seen the acronym GSM when shopping for bedding, but do you know what it stands for? This shorthand means grams per square meter, and is a standard measure of fabric weight or density. For example, our fitted sheets, flat sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases are 170 GSM, meaning one square meter of this linen weighs 170 grams. This is a standard gauge for transeasonal, everyday linen and suits almost everyone no matter whether you run hot or cold. Our Heavy Linen Bed Covers, however, are a thick 330 GSM fabrication, ultra luxurious and heavyweight linen with a textured weave that increases its natural insulating ability. If a duvet is making you sweat, but a flat sheet doesn’t cut it, this soft, breathable yet gently thermal option might be for you.

Looks aren’t everything (but they do matter)

Above all, a good night’s sleep is the most important thing when choosing bedding, but having a beautiful bedroom is a definite bonus. Heavy Linen Bed Covers are a shortcut to chic. Perfect if you’re time-poor in the morning, these one-size-fits-all pieces are designed to simply drape over your entire bed (pillows and all!) and pool elegantly on the floor. They add a little old-world luxury to your bedroom and are unsurprisingly a bedding secret of grand hotels and luxurious European interiors. Overlay them on your sheets for a magazine-ready look – they're the easiest way to achieve a put-together bedroom without actually making the bed.

Is a Heavy Linen Bed Cover only suitable in summer?

If you love the sound of sleeping deeply under a Heavy Linen Bed Cover in summer, but aren’t sure about investing in an item only to be used for half the year, here comes the good news. Traditionally called a coverlet or counterpane, these thicker bed spreads were originally intended to be layered on top of blankets or a duvet during cold seasons to retain warmth. The weight and drape of heavy linen adds an extra touch of coziness while keeping the inner blankets neatly in place. So, come wintertime, you can simply place the Heavy Linen Bed Cover over your sheets, blankets or duvets and keep the same look year-round.

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