Winter bedroom comfort

An essential part of your winter bedroom comfort is having a good night's sleep while feeling warm and toasty. Ranging from what you sleep in to what you have on your bed and how many layers you have to snuggle under all play a vital part.

Sleep wear

I can't think of winter warmth without thinking of flannel for good winter bedroom comfort, especially for sleeping in. Flannel is the most popular fabric used for winter sleepwear. It's a very soft woven material that ranges from very fine to course and can be made of wool, cotton, synthetic fibres or a blend of any or all the above. You might also find it called "Flannelette". This just refers to the particular woven texture of the flannel.

Flannel pajamas and nightshirts is the first "must have" for great winter bedroom comfort. Depending on the style, flannel nightwear can cover you from your shoulders to your ankles. They come in different patterns, styles, plaids and colours. I have favourite pair with Japanese Kanji characters on them in black and white with red trim. They are readily available in the fall and winter from retail clothing department stores or specialty clothing shops. There are sizes to suit everyone in your family. 

The most common types of flannel sleep wear includes:

• Short pajama set (top with or without sleeves) and short-length shorts
• Full-length pajamas (covering arms and legs to the ankle)
• Flannel gown or sleep shirt (covering shoulders to knee or calf)
• Lounge sets (for well, lounging around after a warm shower, you still want to keep that warm feeling going)
• Dressing gown or robe
• All-in-ones with feet and a hood as well for lounging around.

Add warm slippers or thick socks to your ensemble and you'll be toasty and warm.

Bedrooms and bedding

Not only are you changing over summer sleep wear for winter sleep wear, you'll also be changing the type of bedding you use in winter. Preparing for your winter bedroom comfort includes having flannel sheets, heavier blankets, duvets and quilts. These are the staples of winter bedroom comfort. Making you feel warm and cozy on a cold winter's night is a delightful feeling. Bedding comes in regular sizes that will fit the different size of mattresses available e.g. twin, full, queen and king-size.

Flannel Sheets

Flannel, made of cotton or a wool/cotton blend is the most common fabric used for flannel bed sheets. It's a comforting, soft material so it's perfect for your bedroom sheets during winter. The flannel has a coarse, nubby weave so it feels thicker in texture. It's also warm and cosy to snuggle into and sleep on directly. You'll still need wool or fleece blankets under a comforter or quilt for actual warmth though.

Flannel sheets come in the regular sheet sizes that I mentioned above. There's quite a range to choose from regarding style, pattern and texture.

Cotton provides less warmth than other materials for winter like wool, silk or down feathers but it is ideal for warm bed sheets and sleep wear either as all-cotton or a cotton/wool blend. Because you are inside, it doesn't matter. Now, being outside is a different matter since cotton is not a good insulator at all.

Hot water bottles

Another good old-fashioned winter bedroom comfort is a hot water bottle. Wrapped in a soft pillowcase lying between your feet for those extra cold nights or when you are feeling chilled, it can't be beat as a true winter bedroom comfort. Made of heavy rubber with a screw-top plug, they are hot to touch so be careful hence the wrapped pillowcase for protection.

Over time, the rubber will most likely break down with use or just sitting in your closet so test it each season to make sure it doesn't leak! Otherwise, it's a big ouch and messy!

If you are puzzled where to buy them, try your local drugstore. You might also be able to buy a matching cover as well.

Heated or electric blankets

Invented in 1912, electric blankets and electric mattress pads have an embedded heating element inside the fabric and is composed of carbon fibres. The material surrounding these fibres is generally a mix of polyester and cotton. Electric blankets come in different sizes and a range of solid colours.

You plug the blanket into the electrical outlet near your bed. There is a temperature control switch so you can regulate the amount of heat (a range of low to high settings) you want. The newer electric blankets have low voltage and have an automatic shut-off mechanism to prevent it from overheating - very important! 

There are two types; one for above the sheets and the other below the sheets on the mattress - all depends on which country you may be living in at the time you are searching for an electric blanket. 

Even the terminology is different but the most common term is "electric heated blanket". 

• Electric blanket: You would place this type over the top bed sheet 
• Electric mattress pad: You would place this type under the bottom sheet.

The first type is mainly found in the U.S while the second type is found in Commonwealth countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Since I'm from that part of the world originally, we always referred to it as an "an electric blanket" but in fact was an electric mattress pad that went under the bottom sheet. Go figure.

On cold nights, pre-heating your bed before to getting into bed is a truly wonderful winter bedroom comfort. You'll soon find out if you can tolerate the heat throughout the night or just turn it off, as your body heat will keep you warm - once you've warmed up, that is.

Blankets

The main types of winter blankets you can buy are:

• Cotton/blend
• Fleece/blend
• Wool/blend
• Microfibre 
• A combination of one or more. 

Just so you know, fleece blankets are lightweight but don't "breathe" as it is made of polyester and other man-made synthetics. There are standard stock sizes to fit any mattress. There's a large variety and are readily available from any retail or specialty home store.

Comforters

Comforters are thick, quilted and puffy bed coverings that are quite light in terms of weight ratio. They are generally made of polyester batting (for insulation) or other man-made synthetic fibres although you can get down comforters as well.

The quilted nature of any comforter is to keep the insides evenly distributed for comfortable sleeping. You may find other fibres like wool and silk as well inside a comforter too. Comforters come in a multitude of colours as well as an infinite variety of different patterns and designs.  

The size of a comforter is larger than the actual bed size and so provides more comfort to you. Because they are synthetic, they can be easily washed in the washing machine. Just check the manufacturer's guide to make sure this is true. Their sizes are the same as the main mattress sizes available i.e. twin, full, queen or king-size.

Duvets

Duvets tend to lie flatter and softer because of its contents. They are made up of natural fibres like down from goose or duck feathers. Unlike the type of comforters mentioned above, these natural fibers need to be dry-cleaned, never washed.

Why?

Because, any of its insulating qualities would be lost. The insides of the duvet shift as generally there is no quilted stitching on them to hold them in place. When you buy a duvet, you'll also need a cover for them too. Like the comforters, these covers come in the same sizes as I mentioned above.

There is an endless variety of colours and fabrics to be tempted by. Just recently, I saw a duvet set (duvet, pillow shams and pillow cases) with an image of old world map on it and done in sepia tones that was very intriguing.

Duvets can be expensive to buy but offer the most warmth although they just cover the bed size normally and don't hang over like a comforter would. However, I've always found them to be too hot and heavy after sleeping a while so I prefer a blanket and comforter combination instead.

Quilts

As winter bedroom comfort goes, a patchwork or embroidered quilt on your bed is particularly appealing. It's full of great design details with interesting colour combinations that gives an especially warm and cosy feeling.

Buying a handmade quilt that a skilled artisan has created piece by piece will cost more but it's worth it I think. The time, energy and passion that has gone into creating a beautiful quilt adds a specialness to it that mass-produced bedding just doesn't have.

There are two main types of quilts. These are patchwork and embroidered.

• Patchwork is made up of individual pieces that have been combined to create a repeating design of some kind, quite often a square or rectangular block pattern. 
• The embroidered type highlights the stitching design that could be handmade but is more likely to be created using a computer-driven sewing machine.

Generally, a quilt is made up of three layers; the piece by piece design (or embroidered) side which is the "top", a middle batting layer that gives some bulk (i.e. insulation) and a woven plain-coloured underside to keep it all together.

More modern quilts may have a warmer middle to them like incorporating a different blend of fibres while others may not have any at all. Mass produced quilts could be one or the other.

Layering

Layering your bedding is the key to good winter bedroom comfort. Start with flannel sheets then mix and match with blankets, a comforter or a duvet - whatever works best for you.

Storing winter bedding

Winter bedding is bulky and takes up a lot of room in your linen closet. You might need another storage box or three for all of your winter bedding. In the past, I've used large, upright empty computer boxes that work just as well for quite a few seasons. Otherwise, getting large plastic storage bins with lids is another alternative. If you just want to leave them in the closet, store them in large see-through plastic protector bags so you can easily identify them next season.

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