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Now is the time for a cozy bed, and the all white sheet lineup just doesn't do it for me. During the cold months I like to transform our bed with rich and dark colors as well as the occasional fuzzy flannel sheet. When you're buying sheets to do this, however, it can be tricky and I've had a number of clients who have bought and returned many sheets before getting it right. So I thought I'd put down a few thoughts on how to get a good bedding mix for a winter bed and show off a bunch of inspirational pics to help visualize the solution....

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1. When buying colors, don't buy all the same color; mix it up. Two or three colors at a time work well and you can always use them in many different combinations. Matchy sets are boring.

2. Don't abandon white. White sheets and pillow cases create great contrast with dark sheets and duvets, so consider them a part of your mix.

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3. Copy what you love. The first colorful bedding I ever bought was a slavish copy of a picture in The Company Store catalog and it was a mix of brown, cream and white flannel sheets (above). Putting the bed together was a great firsthand experience in seeing how it worked.

4. Start simple. Here's a really simple starting combination that I've used a number of times:

• Medium color - top sheet and two pillows
• Dark color - duvet and bottom fitted sheet
• Light color - White or off white for two pillows

5. Go warm or cool. Mixing these two groupings of colors (warm: reds, oranges, yellows, etc cool: blue, grey, green, etc...) can be tricky, so keep it simple and choose combos of either warm OR cool colors.

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(pics via Living Etc, Environment Furniture and The Company Store)