A duvet is easily one of the very most important items we sleep with, yet it is often the most overlooked or under-invested product in our bedrooms. Your duvet is responsible for balancing temperature and wick away moisture. Your duvet should not impede your ability to freely move under the covers and also must be sized appropriately so as to not tug or pull when two people are sharing the covers. So without further adieu, how to buy a duvet.
There are four common blanket configurations used in Canada, due to our widely varying climate from summer to winter.
Option 1: Seasonal Comforters
This is where we rotate through the use of two different duvets for summer and winter. Popular configurations include silk in the summer and down in the winter.
Option 2: Cooler Duvet + Seasonal Blanket or Coverlet
Many people prefer the idea of a cooler duvet such as silk, ultra light filled down, summer alpaca or summer wool. Some will keep a Coverlet/Matelasse either folded up at the end of the bed or stored in the linen closet. Others will invest in a high quality blanket (Brun de Vian-Tiran offers an amazing selection). When the need arises, you simply pull the second layer up to add additional warmth.
Option 3: High Quality Goose Down
The beauty of high quality down is truly unique. The better the down, the wider temperature range it will operate in. This means a high quality down is not only warmer in the winter, it is also cooler in the summer. Although down is traditionally thought of as a winter duvet, with high quality down this is simply not the case. Year-round use is very possible with nearly any St Genève duvet when an ultra light fill weight is selected.
Option 4: Animal Fibres (Alpaca, Sheep's Wool)
Alpaca fibres and sheep's wool are both exceptionally good at regulating temperature and humidity. This means that even with a widely varying climate here in Canada, these filling materials often are suitable for year-round use, without having to cycle through two or three different types of duvets and blankets as the weather changes.
If you like a light and lofty duvet, choose the highest quality goose or eider down that your budget allows for. If you like a thinner, slightly heavier duvet which drapes around the body more closely, then choose alpaca or wool.
Natural Duvets Are Best
Regardless of your preference, a duvet or blanket crafted from entirely natural materials is simply more breathable, comfortable, luxurious, durable and above all else simply a joy to own, for many years. The right duvet is quite possibly every bit as important as the right mattress. A high quality duvet will outlast a high quality mattress, making your duvet a sound investment in your sleeping comfort.
Down & Eiderdown
Down is desirable for those seeking the lightest possible duvet. There is nothing quite like the experience of sleeping under a high quality down duvet. It is typical for a light weight down duvet to be as much as 3-4 times lighter than a comparably warm duvet filled with silk or half the weight of a wool duvet of comparable warmth. The exception to this rule would be fine woolen blankets such as the ones produced by Brun-De-Vian Tiran, blankets have a weight advantage due to having 4 less layers of fabric to weigh down the duvet and breathe through.
The higher the quality of down, the better it clings and the more even the warmth becomes. This means less down is required to do the same amount of work, resulting in an even lighter, fluffier luxury experience.
Allergy Concerns? Rest assured, our complete range of St Genève down duvets are guaranteed hypoallergenic!
Not sure where to start? Our best-selling down duvet is our exclusive St Geneve Maple Creek duvet. Made from the best farm-raised down in Canada.
Sheep's Wool & Alpaca
Our wool duvets are filled with pure sheep's wool, although the varieties of wool vary greatly when comparing Brun de Vian-Tiran, St Geneve and t•masc by Obasan. These comforters feel more like a "blanket"--perfect for those who prefer a heavier duvet covering them while sleeping. The variety of wool duvets offered by The Mattress & Sleep Company include standard summer, all-season and winter varieties.
Choose wool for a slightly heavier, stiffer feel. Wool will drape around the body although not as precisely as silk. A winter weight wool duvet will be similar to a regular weight down duvet for warmth. The washable wool duvet is a very popular choice for children, while those seeking organic will find wool offers the largest selection.
Read More About Wool | Shop Wool Duvets & Comforters
Silk Duvets
Silk duvets offer an ultra luxurious feel and comfort unique to this wonderful material. Silk contains natural proteins which provide hypoallergenic properties, and the silk fibre allows for excellent temperature regulation, breathability and the ability to wick away excess moisture. Silk duvets offer a very luxurious feel and are often described as slightly heavier than down, and will tend to drape over the body more than down, which has a tendency to stay "lofted" above the body.
Choose silk if you are seeking a duvet which wraps around the human form more closely than other natural fills. Silk is a popular choice as a summer duvet as they are typically cooler sleeping than other natural fills.