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Wow, such serendipity. I just ordered the W bed after all the AT reviews, and now need to upgrade to King-sized sheets. I've been dreaming of linen, but (after forking out the bed money) I can't really afford it. I spent most of yesterday on Overstock and Amazon and Linens & Things and Restoration Hardware looking for luxurious sheets that I could afford. I would LOVE some recommendations.

ps - Areahome's sheets are gorgeous, but $250 for one linen sheet!?

I have bought several sets (for me and my children) of 1000 count sheets from Overstock and they are fabulous! I am VERY picky about thread count and was wary, but these are great and get better w/ every wash.

I received Hudson Park (?) sheets for my wedding--these are the Bloomie's "hotel bedding" line. I think somewhere between 400-600 count. They are not the cheapest but definitely less than your typical "luxury" lines. Very very soft, especially after the first wash or two. We really love them.

I have also Bloomies damask quality sheets and LOVE them. They are getting old. But if you live in NYC and don't mind a visit at Century21, they sometimes have the BEST sheets sets for good prices. I bought there some italian embroidered sets and they were 600 count and really strong... Still love them.

Does thread count really mean anything any more? I remember just a few years ago 600tc meant a tablecloth. Can someone explain?

I buy sheet sets at Marshalls. I aim for 400 tc, or a little higher. It seems to be a sweet spot. Lower isn't high enough, too much higher enters the realm of what I like to call "bullshit." I've gotten some amazingly soft sheet sets in good colors. Takes a bit of scavenging but I walked away with a beautiful set for about 80 bucks not long ago.

Allright, are you ready?

Costco Kirkland brand sateen sheets.

There I said it. They're awesome.

Laure,
I totally agree - I have the Kirkland sateen sheets as well and they are the best!

Laure, YOU are awesome. Kirkland sateen sheets are shockingly amazing! And to think I was ashamed to admit it... ;)

Am I the only one who hates sateen? I prefer something soft but crisp, and non-sateen high-thread count cotton doesn't seem to be as cool when you slip into bed. I think Pima or Egyptian cotton is the non-sateen, crisp kind--please jump in here and let me know.

I bought some great Dwell sheets recently off bluefly.com, but they still need a few more washings before I love them the way I do my (modest) 250-tc 5-year-old sheets feel.

Target.

I have found 800 thread count sheets at Tuesday Morning's

I got 400tc cotton sheets from Macy's and they have been crisp but still very soft. Plus they have the lovely stripe which looks so nice.
Here is the link:
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=165554&CategoryID=9917&LinkType=EverGreen

Tuesday Morning is awesome - I wait until the sheets are in clearance before I buy. Marshall's and TJMaxx (also Home Goods) is fantastic for sheets. I bought 800 tc from TM and I sleep very well, especially when the sheets are really cold. Bought 600 tc for our guest room - it was only $40. Problem is whenever we have guests, they really like the sheets - it's like they never want to leave...(relatives are a problem - they'd like to steal the sheets. I always have to watch them when they leave.)

If you want to know about Frette vs. Bed Bath and Beyond, thread counts and what it all means, you must read: http://thesleeper.typepad.com/sleeper/archives.html

A blog by someone more obsessed with the perfect sleeping conditions than I am.

P.S. My favorite sheets are by Dwell and have only a
250 thread count, however, they kicked my luxury-overpriced-800-thread-count sheet's ass.

Shannon in SF, you're not the only one. I'm breaking my back to try and find nice, high thread count white sheets that aren't sateen. I don't want them shiny. I want them cool and crisp. Is that so much to ask? (sigh), linen would be soooo nice.

I feel like thread count isn't always the most important thing, I've found the type of cotton used also makes a big difference (i.e. Pima or Egyptian). Usually I try to find deals on Bluefly.com or will root through the bins at the local Ross's or T.J. Max

Sateen hater here! They pill up too much for my tastes, I think I found a 400c at Marshall's or TJMaxx that fit my needs better.

love the sateen sheets at bbb -- the hotel bedding line. not shiny but smooth, no pill problem and they are cool and slippery.

i am curious about the kirkland sheets at costco...might have to glom on to someone's membership and give em a try.

Oh! SF Shannon - from my understanding, sateen is the weave of the cotten, not the type. So sateen or percale weave can be made with egyptian, pima, etc. I agree - I'm not a sateen lover.

I also just got the W bed.

I love the bamboo sheets at target - $50 for a queen set, not on sale. They are super soft. http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_3/602-7128624-3933423?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000KUES2Q

I also recently bought a set of martex sheets from kohl's. they feel like a broken in oxford shirt. The queen set was just $40 on sale.

My mom got me some sheets at around 400 threadcount, I think. They probably cost $25 at Ross or Marshall's. At first, I thought that threadcount is overrated, because the sheets felt like any others. But you have to wash them first! And then you notice the difference. I can't believe people spend hundreds on sheets!

Has anyone tried linen/cotton sheets? Target and Bed Bath & Beyond have pretty cheap sets (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=110033).

It says 108tc, which seems worrysome, but maybe it's a whole different set of rules for linen?

Sorry, here's a link that actually works:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=110033

I like The Company Store, but I'm the type who doesn't notice a diff between 300 count and 1,600 count once they've been washed a couple of times.

I have a set of 400 count Fieldcrest from Target ($80) - LOVE them. In fact, that's the only set I have - I just wash them and put them back on while I look for a second set in the perfect shade of taupe. *sigh* So picky.

Pure Beech jersey sheets (modal). Love them...really wish they came in royal blue.

I also have some cotton jersey knit sheets from Wal-Mart that I bought only because they matched my IKEA duvet set...and I like them far better than any non-jersey sheets I was able to afford at the time.

thursday, I looove my Pure Beech sheets too. Though the jersey ones have been pretty thoroughly abused by my clawy cat. Have you tried the woven beech sheets? I'm tempted to do so.

We bought some linen/cotton sheets when we lived in France but found they didn't wear very well. We like crisp sheets and have found that high thread counts are not our friend. Muslin sheets, which top out at maybe 180tc, stunningly low by modern standards, are just about perfect after they've been washed ten times (before that they're scratchy). And they wear like iron.

Super high thread count is often a marketing ploy. A 200 thread count sheet can sometimes be much better in quality than an 800 thread count sheet.

One of the most important things is the cotton that the yarn is spun from. Long staple (fiber) cottons make the softest and strongest yarns. These are cottons such as Egyptian, Pima, Supima and Sea Isle. Short staple cotton requires many more of the short fibers to spin the yarn, making it thicker and weaker (and can result in pilling).

Thread count is the number of threads woven into a square inch of fabric. If you're using a thinner yarn made of long staple cotton fibers, as mentioned above, lots of them will fit into the square inch, creating a high quality result. Many of the manufacturers who claim, however, i.e. an 800 thread count, are taking the lesser quality, short staple cotton yarns and twisting two together to make one, then including the two in the thread count claim. This can double what the thread count really is.

Percale and sateen are both types of weaves. Percale creates the crisp, clean (yet still soft) linen and sateen is a silkier soft with a sheen.

In linens, you get what you pay for!