A great subject here for us from Laura.
“I am finding it difficult to find ‘nice’ double bed linen for my 13 year old son and wonder if any Spikers have any good suggestions. I’m not looking for printed-superhero-weird-slippy-silky-material types.
Have searched all the usual suspects i can think of without any joy. Everything is flowery or granny or white (imagine the fun laundering that)
I would like cotton that washes well and tumble dries and doesn’t need ironing (really who has time?)
Many thanks to any Spikers who save us from Polyester Darth Vader horrors,
Laura x”
Just off the top of my head, I think this company, Piglet, looks good – but only because it has been advertised to me on Instagram. Has anyone actually tried it?
soakandsleep.com do some lovely quality bed linen in all sorts of materials and colours – last time I looked they had some lovely neutral (grey and white striped etc) selections
Hi Laura. My very good friend runs an interior design company rose and grace. Go find them on Instagram. No no don’t get frightened by snobbery prices. They work to all budget and tbh that’s actually not what I’m suggesting here. What I am suggesting is that you follow their page ‘little black book of interiors’ on Facebook and Instagram. On the Facebook one you can pose questions just like your one. The group is full of lovely people and professionals interested in great design. The Instagram page is fun for great finds especially the high street designer versions of pricey stuff. The reason to link to your linen question is that rose and grace have done many a teen bedroom overhaul and they always find the best things in places you might not have even considered buying from or that they do homeward. For example french connection. Anyway. Good luck. I have girls. The best linen imo for them that isn’t babyish or naff or skippy crunchy itchy etc is…. new look. Yup. It’s amazing. And cheap. And 💯 cotton. X Debbie
I bought my teenage son jersey bedding in a navy stripe, which we both found acceptable. He loves the slouchy jersey feel. Washes brilliantly.
https://www.marksandspencer.com/striped-jersey-bedding-set/p/p60160092?prevPage=srp
Feather & Black has some simple striped/stars kids linen that might do the job?
Muji organic cotton jersey – plain navy, dark brown (!) grey or beige. My sons LOVE them and won’t let me get anything else even though they are now 25 (very soft, esp if you tumble dry – the bedlinen, not the sons). Definitely no ironing required. Or even possible.
I find northern nights from qvc great, last for ages. They don’t seem to have a huge selection at the moment but these look like options
https://www.qvcuk.com/Northern-Nights-500TC-Egyptian-Cotton-4-Piece-Duvet-Set-with-Truegrip.product.808176.html?sc=PSCH
https://www.qvcuk.com/Northern-Nights-Set-of-2-Check-%26-Stripe-Print-Flannel-4-Piece-DS.product.807891.html?sc=PSCH
I have also bought NN from eBay!
Once Milano has great linen in a huge colour range https://www.oncemilano.com. I’ve mixed pillowcases, sheets and duvet cover colours so it feels a bit more child friendly.
H&M washed cotton bed linen is really good. Nice and soft (I am really fussy about ‘scratchy’ sheets!), not expensive, washes well (although possibly a bit creasy, this never bothers me though, as ironing bed linen just for it to get scrumpled as soon as you get in to bed makes no sense to me). It only comes in plain colours, but a decent range, and more than just white.
Hi Laura, I’m quite fussy with bedlinen, for me & my two teens. I don’t do silky, anything with percale, rough embroidery or anything so stiff & starchy it’s like sleeping under a bag of crisps! My favourite finds for my two boys are actually IKEA ‘NYPONROS’ fine denim blue & white (go on, a teeny bit of white is ok!) stripe, it’s 100% cotton, and is SO soft and washes like a dream. It really is no different from similar duvet covers from John Lewis, who are indeed another good place for teen sets (not in the kids section). M&S sell a lovely pale grey stripe brushed cotton set, but be warned, you will NEVER get your boy out of bed in the morning!! I’m sure there are other Uber trendy small businesses out there selling groovy alternatives, but I once saw a documentary on children in India sleeping at train stations, which makes it feel so wrong to spend the best part of £100 on a duvet cover! Get the Ikea one!
La Redoute sells nice bedlinen https://www.laredoute.co.uk/pplp/100/84100/142558/cat-84113.aspx
I just bought some gorgeous linen bedding from La Redoute and they have some tasteful patterns in cotton for kids, like this: https://www.laredoute.co.uk/ppdp/prod-324482858.aspx
How about IKEA? https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/textiles-rugs/bedlinen/
As for ironing….. Don’t wrinkles give character?
It sounds like you’ve already checked good old John Lewis but they’re a winner for me with kids bed linen and might be worth a second look. Their little home range is great and amidst the Lego / dinosaur themed stuff they’ve also got some classic stuff that is in no way flowery or girly! It’s also 100% cotton and will tumble dry with no need for ironing. I’ve bought several duvet covers and they’re such good quality. Not sure if this link will work but…
https://www.johnlewis.com/little-home-at-john-lewis-polka-dot-reversible-duvet-cover-and-pillowcase-set-single-multi/p3697954
Argh, just seen you’ve said double bed linen! Then definitely check out La Redoute. 100% cotton and lots of stylish gender neutral patterns. They’ve even got the bed linen version of that La Redoute rug that was everywhere on Insta…
I really like https://www.cologneandcotton.com/- they have a few shops as well if you prefer to see things before you buy them. Some of their stuff is quite grannyish (which I like, personally, but appreciate that a 13yo boy might not) but they also have some lovely plain cottons and linens in blue or white. The quality is good and the prices aren’t too eye-watering.
Annoyingly it looks as if they’re at the tail end of their sale at the moment but presumably new stock will be coming soon.
Hi Laura, me and my housemate both recently bought some H&M washed cotton bed sheets – I was inspired to after he did. Lovely colours, plain, they feel good and not too expensive!
John Lewis has a great range of affordable bedding in a large selection of colours. The Egyptian cotton is particularly good, it wears and washes very well.
Bought a set of Piglet bed linen. A lovely company to do business with. My husband, who could give The Princess and the Pea a good run for her money, ‘ couldn’t get on with them’ so had to give it away. An expensive experiment
Cologne & Cotton have some lovely starry linens that my kids have on their bed, there are also plain checks and stripes, all fab quality. ‘Scion’ do those great prints of animals, contemporary and would suit a teenager, John Lewis stock it.
https://www.johnlewis.com/search/home-garden/duvet-covers-700003971/scion/_/N-4qnxZ4d3nZ1z13vnt?search-term=scion&departmentSelected=1
House of Fraser have just plain colours in their Linea range or they have the Scion and Donna Watson prints which are a bit more fun but not as painful to the eye as Star Wars or Superman. They’re good quality and wash well. Good luck!
My sister swears by M&S modal jersey bedlinen (when it is in stock) – soft, comfy, easy to wash and you need NEVER iron it!
Cologne & Cotton have quite a lot of nice, non-girly bedlinen (and a sale on) but they aren’t terribly cheap fyi. Also a google search for ‘tartan’ or ‘check duvet set’ brings up quite a lot of options, many from Dunelm Mill, which definitely has some good things amongst the … less good things. Good luck!
The 100% linen sets from H&M are really decent, wash really well, good colours and you don’t need to iron. Also not the end of the world if they get anything spilt on them etc x
Seconding this. I used to work for a very well-known interiors magazine and one of our stylists (who was fancy and Italian) swore by H&M 100% linen sets. I love that they don’t need to be ironed!
We have the ticking stripe organic cotton from Toast. The grey one isn’t at all ‘girlie’. It’s quite expensive I’m afraid but washes brilliantly.
Ikea have some great bold patterned bed linen in loads of different colourways. Both of my (‘non-girly’) daughters have sets from there
H&M Home is great. Cotton bedlinen in dark colours – forest green, navy – simple large monochrome checks and stripes, geometric prints and washed linen (looks better when you DON’T iron it). Good prices too.
Dunelm is worth a look – washable, cotton, and teen friendly (stripes/checks etc)
Washed linen.ahtast Stone / sludgy plain colours or pale blue or grey. Soak & Sleep or H & M home both fantastic..soft, non iron. Perfect for teenagers
What about this kind of thing from M&S? I’ve got something similar and it seems to tick all the boxes?
https://www.marksandspencer.com/fine-stripe-brushed-cotton-bedding-set/p/p60199070
Yes! Love Piglet stuff, fabulous quality and looks great. Crumply though, much of it is linen.
I’m a huge fan of Ikea bedlinen. And I’ve just bought a lovely 100% cotton blue and white stripe duvet from there which would be perfect for a teenager as well as me! It’s good soft cotton, not scratchy and shiny at all.
I buy my teenage sons linen from la redoute. Lots of tasteful appropriate stuff that is also soft pure cotton and washes well.
Hi, I haven’t tried Piglet but can recommend Dunhelm for great bedlinen for teenagers that does not need ironing. Lots of graphic patterns in nice colours. My 13yr old son has this on his at the moment. https://www.dunelm.com/product/skandi-geometric-yellow-reversible-duvet-cover-and-pillowcase-set-1000055328#Bedding%20Size=Double it is not 100% cotton but I think you’d have to iron it if it was…
With all due respect Esther, anyone who spends £300 on bedlinen for a 13yr old boy is on a hiding to nothing as, and I’ll spare you the graphic details, their bedlinen needs to be washed A LOT.
This comment made me Lol! I think my husband would also have kittens if I spent that much on it, (my kids are at boarding school so it’s mainly for holidays anyway)
Laura x x
My 14 yr old son has John Lewis grey window check brushed cotton. It washes well and doesn’t need to be ironed. It might be a bit warm in the summer unless he has a nice North facing bedroom?
I don’t know about Piglet but can 100% recommend Brooklinen – https://www.brooklinen.com/. American company (actually, not sure if they ship internationally, come to think of it…), simple philosophy and design, outstanding quality. I bought one of their sets recently (fitted sheet, duvet cover, pillowslips) and am now obsessed. I want to toss all my other linen and buy a second set of these instead. You can mix and match the set, too – grey fitted with pinstripe duvet cover, for example. Someone said it looks a little like bespoke men’s shirts – and call me crazy, but I like that look on my bed.
I love Zara Home for bedding. You can get beautiful plain ones interesting colours and they do a good line in stripes (always a stylish option for any age, I think). Failing that, I’ve been really impressed with bedlinen I’ve previously bought in H&M Home and *gasp* Primark, actually. It’s all in the washing (40 degrees, nice-smelling fabric conditioner) hang outside even if only for 30 minutes before bringing it indoors to thaw out. If you want to spend more, Cologne & Cotton is dreamy!
You’ve probably searchd JL already, but I don’t think you can go wrong with this from their House range – geometric-ish in blue or grey: https://www.johnlewis.com/house-by-john-lewis-elevation-duvet-cover-and-pillowcase-set/fjord/p3941108
Ebay is a good source of (new) 100% cotton bedlinen, that’s what I did for my teenage boy.
Habitat are pretty good. They’ve got 20% off at the mo too.
£347 for the Piglet bundle? Can linen for kids ever be worth spending that kind of money on? Seriously?! Get thee to Secret Linen Co. I’ve been buying all of our bedding from there for years.
Bedlinen is so bloody expensive! I bought a new set recently, and just the duvet cover alone was near a hundred quid! With that in mind, I has a look at M&S, since they have 20% home at present. This jersey set looks nice: https://www.marksandspencer.com/striped-jersey-bedding-set/p/p60160092?prevPage=plp
Also pleasing: https://www.marksandspencer.com/hardy-simple-geometric-print-bedding-set/p/p60212791?prevPage=plp
Francis Brennan for Dunne Stores (like an Irish M and S but better!)does the most AMAZING bedlinen. Such fantastic quality for the price. I bought it for both my children when they went to uni!! Top buy!
I have both Loaf bedding and Soak and Sleep and I have to say that despite rumours that their sofas aren’t up to scratch their(loaf) bedding is, and it’s bwtter in my humble opinion than Soak and Sleep.It’s expensive yes but it’s well made and has lasted for ages. My kids all sleep on the stuff and I’m a clean bedding freak so they get stripped at least once a week- more in the summer as I am also a crispy dried in the sun bedding kinda freak. Think of it as an investment that once you send them packing can stay with you as a reminder – whilst they get their own stuff. 😊 P.S. I will be trying Piglet as I have been firmly in their advertising sites for some time now and am very near to breaking!
TK Maxx/Homesense is actually great for bed linen – if you have time/patience to rummage and maybe not find what you’re looking for first time, you can find some nice brands at a big % discount – king size sets are usually under £40.
I would only ever buy organic for my kids, if its not organic the cotton it will have been sprayed with toxic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides during cultivation that leave a residue in the textile. They also pose a health risk to those farming and cultivating the crops and impact on the environment when they leach into the ecosystem. Never buy anything ‘easy iron’ either – more nasties!! Sorry to be the harbinger of doom! Look for OEKO-TEX Standard and/or GOTS Certified. Organic also very good for those with allergies, asthma etc x
Laura (from original question fame) here, folks I just wanted to say a massive thanks for all of the replies and ideas, looking forward to showing himself over half term, also big thanks to Esther for this rather super blog and community x x
I’ve got Argos (!!) egyptian cotton bedlinen on my bed. It’s beige (they do a few neutral colours) washes and tumble dries fine and feels lovely. Think it was £40.