Review: Percale White Sheets

To sound like Veruca Salt, I want luxury hotel sheets, and I want luxury hotel sheets now, Daddy! Ha.

Veruca Salt cracks me up. But truly – I really wanted egyptian percale sheets and the nicest best white bedding for a good price to refresh our bedroom.

I shopped at Bloomingdales linens for two price ranges, Pottery Barn and Bed Bath and Beyond for comparison. After hunting for the best luxury sheets I could find, I’m providing info on my research for you!

Full disclosure – I’m one of the craziest sleepers you’ll ever meet. I’ve actually had two sleep studies done at my husband’s insistence because he got and still gets little sleep sleeping next to me.

I actually have a few sleep disorders that make sleeping difficult for me. Hence, the accelerated dark under eyes and occasional grumpiness (no comment, husband).

Having said that, I’m always searching for a great bedtime ritual to help calm me down to separate day from night, and I’m always searching for the right bedding to rock me to sleep.

Since we finished our bedroom six years ago, I’ve had a gorgeous taupe mattelasse coverlet, ivory sheeting and a gray duvet cover for the end of the bed.

First of all, making a drastic change in a bedroom can make you feel like you did a full on remodel, see how we remodeled out guest bedroom.

I found the coverlet starting to get itchy and the sheeting a bit worn out and I decided to move to a hotel all-white bedding look.

I did a lot of research of types of sheeting. I wanted a crisp, thin sheet versus the soft sateen we had before and decided on buying Egyptian percale sheets.

Reason? Percale can help with overheating, and since I like to bundle up I wanted thinner sheeting so I could layer. Also, I love the feeling of getting into hotels with crisp bedding.

Lastly, I just wanted to try something new in the hopes of a placebo effect for my sleep issues to magically make me sleep better!

(It’s true – I actually told my husband that buying new sheets was a placebo. In which case he said “this is an expensive placebo effect”.)

Before I continue on, you need to understand that with luxury hotel sheets thread count does not equal quality sheets. It’s true. That’s sort of the beauty of hotel percale sheets or just percale sheets in general. They tend to have a lower thread count but are breathable.

I’ll let you google that yourself and read all about weaves and fabric type and more. But for now, know that most luxury hotel sheets have around 200-350 thread count, and that an 800 thread count they are selling you in the stores means nada unless pared with other important fabric thingies that only a fabric expert can tell you, of which, I am not.

1. Crisp Egyptian hotel percale white sheets; experiment with the luxury hotel sheets that cost a fortune, and more budget friendly sets.
2. A perfect white, light layer blanket that is soft and would be warm for my husband, and good for the guest room for people who don’t like a lot of covers.
3. A new duvet insert – one that lies flat, is good for all seasons and would provide a nice hotel like puff on the bed.

Luxury Set:

1. Hudson Park Italian Percale King Duvet Cover
2. Hudson Park Italian Percale Stitch King Flat Sheet
3. Bloomingdale’s My Grand Comforter, King
4. Cost: For everything I bought at Bloomingdales I spent a whopping, hold on to your seat, $2,000. The down insert alone was over $600. Yes, my husband had a mild heart attack.
5. Bloongmingdales Sky Sheets

Cost Efficient Sets:

1. Pottery Barn Classic 400 Thread Count Sheet Set that includes flat, fitted and two pillow cases. These are some of the best pottery barn sheets. Keep reading to see my pottery barn sheets review.
2. Bloomingdales Sky Sheets Set from Bloomingdales linens.
3. Cost: $250. Keep in mind this didn’t count duvet insert, duvet cover, new blanket, but still substantially less.

Sheets

• The Bloomingdales linens luxury hotel sheets (read: expensive) are softer after multiple washing than the Pottery Barn ones. $2,000 softer? No. But yes, softer.
• When I review Pottery Barn sheets I found them to feel a bit scratchy and seem to almost pill the tiniest bit.
• They are both, as my husband would say, loud. Meaning that Egyptian percale sheets are definitely a different breed than the sateen. When you move around they make noise. I love this noise because it feels crisp, but since he has to sleep next to me and I toss and turn, he does not love it. We have yet to come to a consensus on this, but I love the percale and do not want to go back to a sateen.

Duvet Insert

Keeper. Absolutely. What a difference than my old one. This duvet insert lays so much more elegantly.

They also make them oversized now so they fill out a duvet better. Who knew duvet inserts had come so far in the several years since I bought one?

This one is definitely a year round version. My husband doesn’t love duvets because he gets hot, but I positively feel like I’m in a hotel bed when I pull this baby up.

It has the perfect about of loftiness, weight and fullness inside the duvet by filling out every corner of the duvet.

I do find I get hot in the middle of the night with it so I can’t say it’s an all night thing to sleep with but that’s a personal decision of which I can’t weigh in on for you.

You’ll have to figure that out yourself!

New sheet discovery! These white linens from Frontgate are incredible. I’ve been sleeping with them and not only are they soft, but they are stunning.

The thick border is so well constructed that you actually feel tucked into an envelope in bed. You feel so luxe! These Frontgate sheets are great!

Sheets

• Final verdict for best luxury sheets? Bloomingdales Sky Sheet Set from Bloomingdales linens 100%. I bought for our guest bed and on the occasion I nap in there, they are heavenly. Soft, cool and very well priced! These get my top vote for best hotel sheets.
• Master: I splurged on a set of  the Hudson Park sheets. I do love them. There was a sale a week after buying them so I actually got a substantial amount of money back. Buy on sale though – not worth the full price.

Blanket

• The expensive, chevron blanket rocks my world. Absolutely hands down worth it. It’s soft, looks and feels luxurious and gives a finished look to the bed. It’s an incredibly versatile blanket. Budget permitting, I would put this on every bed in our home. With it on sale, I may splurge, but it’s a very strong endorsement to you buying it for your master.
• The Serasoft is what I’ll buy for the kid’s rooms. They’ll love the plushness of it. Great, everyday inexpensive blanket, though some may not love the pillowy texture.

Duvet Cover

• I only bought one – the Bloomingdales linens one. Final verdict? Meh. The duvet cover doesn’t iron well. And for this much money I want the wrinkles gone.
• I ended up returning and buying when it was on sale. I do iron it, though.

Finally, if you decide on Egyptian hotel percale sheets all white bedding, you don’t need to keep everything white. Here are a few ways I changed the look! Also check out the Anne Selke additions I made.

Don’t forget! The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is about to start!

I’ll be keeping an eye out for amazing bedding deals! So far I’m eyeing this luxurious sheet set and this stunning white blanket!

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Read more about the paint color used in this room!