Happy Friday, everyone! Now that the weather is getting cooler, we have switched out our bedding. During the warmer months, we use a coverlet similar to this one from IKEA. I love that it is long enough to tuck under our mattress and cover the sides completely. When the weather outside is frightful, we keep warm under a down alternative duvet with cover. Though warm, I hate duvets. They slide around, even though I have sewn in ties. Duvets don’t cover the end of the bed or reach to the end of the mattress on the sides.
In theory, duvets are great. Store one insert and have several covers to change out the look as you’d like. Easy to wash! But I hate them. I’m on the lookout for a great, affordable comforter, but I haven’t fallen in love with any yet. Though, I do like a few from Target. The Dwell Studio for Target Baroque set has such a great, bold pattern, but I don’t love the green border.
Or this Home brand Kissing Pleat comforter set.
I love that this set includes two shams and the bedskirt. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have a pattern, but I love the texture.
Now that I have ranted, I would love to hear your stance on duvets. Love ’em, hate ’em, or indifferent?
ourhumbleabodeblog.com 
You should invest the 5-10 buck on “duvet clips”. They are sold at bed bath and beyond and you clip the four corners to the inside of the duvet cover. This is where I learned about them… http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/10/ill-have-what-shes-having/ They work wonders!
I love, love , love my my duvet. The other nice thing is that if you invest in a good quality one, you will stay comfortable year round. A cover changes the whole feel and look of the room! There you have it, my 2 cents.. oh heck, 5 cents worth! ( 5 cts. because of the inflation!)
I am a duvet fan myself. We currently have this one from Walmart (of all places!) on our master bed –> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Divatex-Diamond-250-Thread-Count-Duvet-Mini-Set-Black/10996399
One thing I’ve learned is that not all duvets and covers are the same size. For example, Ikea’s comforters and duvets are a good 5 or 6 inches smaller than everywhere else. So we bought a King Ikea comforter and when we put the King Walmart duvet over it, the comforter didn’t fill it out. It drives me nuts because the comforter shifts all over the place and I find myself constantly fixing it. It’s just too small!
I am glad I visited this post to comment though, because I just learned about duvet clips from a previous commenter. Me thinks a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond is in store for me this weekend!
Oh, by the way….we have that same dwell studio design on our shower curtain, but with no green trim. I agree, that green is not the prettiest! 😦
Yeah, I’m so picky about everything. I might have to make something myself… It’s surprising that you’re all duvet fans. Maybe I’m the odd one out. 🙂
I love duvets. The one on my bed at the moment is from Overstock and is so pretty! On the flipside, my hubby hates them. He hates that the comforter gets all twisted and saggy inside. Any advice you find to remedy that problem, pass on to me!
Hi Nicole,
I’ve never used these, but a reader sent a link about clips: http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/10/ill-have-what-shes-having/ I have sewn in ties and that still doesn’t seem to work because the cover just slides along with it.
Hope it helps!
Amanda
I have to side with you Amanda…I’m not a fan of duvets…most of the time I use a quilt on my bed…being in Florida, it doesn’t really get all that cold (don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of cold days last winter, but not like where you are!). I have cute little quilts on both of my girls beds too…we love them.
I like ’em, too–we lived in Australia for a while, and they called them “doonas”, that word always makes me smile!
we picked up this one at west elm, I love the how it’s modern with a natural element:
http://www.westelm.com/products/solarized-duvet-cover-and-shams-b539/?pkey=cduvet-covers-quilts
Ohh, Carole! That is beautiful!! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Amanda
I have the kissing pleat comforter from Target in my guest room. I’m not a very good judge of how thick a winter comforter should be, being from Florida and all, but this one isn’t too thick. I have pictures of it on my blog if you’d like to check it out. Don’t forget to check out marshalls, they have the best inexpensive bedding. Happy hunting!!
Hey Mary,
Thanks for the heads up! That’s definitely good to know. If only Montana had a Marshalls, or Home Goods for that matter. I’ll just haveto continue stalking TJ Maxx and Ross, I guess.
Thanks!
Amanda
I REALLY like a great duvet. But once it starts to slip around.. then it’s ALL over for me 🙂 LOL.
Good luck on your new bedding!
Shelley
OH! And thanks for your sweet comment on my blog today!
I love the idea of a duvet…but yeah, the whole different sizings, shifting around and the pain of taking the cover off and on to wash… I finally gave up on our cover and just use the white down comforter alone (we’re in CO, so we also need something warm-and I machine wash it even though it says not too;). But our room is nothing pretty at all. At all. For our girls’ room I also threw in the towel and got them some cute quilts from pbkids. We’ve had some chilly nights already, but they’ve stayed really warm.
I’d love to get a colored or find a pretty patterned *washable* down comforter one day. I think that solve all my problems;).
I love duvets and we bought some duvet clips that help prevent the down comforter from getting all smushed and twisted. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=10313465 We love them!
Ok, I have to side with Amanda on the duvet debate…I hate them too! I had a really nice one on my daughter’s twin bed for several years because it was made to go with her nursery bedding, curtains, etc. but it drove me crazy!! It was always lumpy and bumpy and squished around, so I got rid of it and am sticking with quilts or comforters from now on! I am glad to know some people can make them work right….maybe my issue was user error!
Wow!!
They are all lovely, Im struggling to find a nice one in Australia when I stumble about these lovely ones on blogs!
Even with the clips, we had nothing but trouble with our king-sized duvet cover over a really nice down comforter. The cover was constantly slipping around and bunching up. Great in theory, terrible in reality.
Hate them. They are always messy. Can’t ever keep them looking smooth-
As a first-time duvet owner for only about a year and a half, I love the difference in comfort/coziness from a regular bedspread, quilt, etc! From the get-go I’ve used the duvet clips (I got my duvet & cover from BB&B and the salesperson recommended the clips) so I never had any issues with it sliding around too much, though once in a while a clip would pop off (more so from my husband’s wear and tear than mine) or I’d notice a little too much slack in the sides. After maybe half a year, I opted to buy a second set of the clips because I wanted extra clips for the top and sides to REALLY hold things in place. I am so glad I did. I don’t think I really NEED all 8 clips (I really just wanted 6), but I figured if I have ’em, I might as well use ’em [all]. I have 4 spaced along the top, 2 adjacent to the bottom corners, and the last 2 about halfway down the sides. My duvet looks and feels great.
I live in Germany and we really only have the feather or micro fiber filled duvets with covers they go into, like pillowcases, they don’t really wriggle around in there all that much. I spend a year in the US and I hated all those layers you have to crawl under. Plus: the hubby and I each got one, so the different sleeping behaviour is not a problem… If you want it to look nicer here you can get a big blanket or quilt to cover the bed when it’s made up, but we’d take that of when we go to sleep and it is not very common…
BTW: I love all you DYI ideas. I allready ordered felt for a pillow and I did something with a lamp I am sure you will love… Once it is done I will send you some pictures!
Totally can’t stand the buggers. It’s all I have had on our bed and I will never go that route again, no matter how nice or expensive they are, they still stink, move around, become uneven and always wrinkly looking. Drives me batty.
xoxo,
Jen
Hey! I’m fairly new to the blog but my g/f has the white pleated duvet and her puppies made is suuuuper dingy! She ended up recplacing it with a comfortor that has pops of color! The pleats are flipping adorable so finding a similar style in a duvet color (easy washing!) would be a perfect way to guarantee it stays gorgeous. haha but if you don’t have pups then you should be a-ok! =)
hope that helps!
xoXOxo
We have a duvet we got from Overstock.com, and it rocks. It’s warm in the winter but not too cool in the summer, and by the time we have any problems with it sliding around it’s usually time to change the sheets anyway. I definitely like the look more than a comforter, so I’m willing to roll with it. The one we have is great though, and it was only $50!
I’m a fan of duvets for my master bedroom, but I did buy the Target pintuck comforter that you pictured for my guestroom. I LOVE it. My mom stayed the night and loved it so much that she went and bought one for her guest bedroom the next day! A word of advice–get the next size up. If you have a queen, get king. The queen runs small. Good luck with your search!
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for the tip! We have a king, so we can’t get the next size, but maybe the queen is small because it’s a full/queen? I have heard that the comforter is thin, do you agree with that?
Thanks!
Amanda
I guess duvet cover is one of the most popular among shoppers. I myself is a fans of it. It could give me simplicity and also comfortable at the same time
I hate duvets too. They move around and the bed always looks lumpy after its been made. I love those coverlets, so neat and tidy. Just put an nice warm blanket underneath. No more frustrations.
Our first experience with duvet was on a cruise ship. My husband and I hate them! Are all the people who like them really short and have no blood running through their veins? I was so warm except for my feet. I want my bed covers to come up to my chin but with a duvet, that is not possible. Just to let you know, I am not a tall person.
I find it really hard to find one with my favorite pattern and an appropriate size, but duvet is probably so convenient for washing and refreshing our bedroom. So I both, love and also hate.:<
I love the fabrics you get with a duvet, but I HATE managing them. The inside does not stay put and I have tied the corners on the insides. Grrrr. Now, I buy the duvet and toss it on over the insert and that’s that. Done!