I had the same Ikea duvet cover for years and years until I had to get rid of it and find something new. I was really shocked at first that duvet covers could be so expensive on a base level. Even the duvet covers at TARGET are around $80! But eventually, I did buy one (from Target, even) and it was $80 but I love it and I'm about to buy another for about the same price.

$300 is way too much for any duvet cover, but $80 I can do because I'll only buy one every few years.

I just buy mine from super store for like 35 bucks in plain colors. I just can't validate spending lots of money on a duvet cover. It just seems outrageous.

I agree that the price is bizarre for what is essentially a giant bag. However, I like white linens, and no fancy stitching and whatnotting. So finding bargains is not so hard--it's not like I get my heart set on something unique.

Mine have been from Ikea or Goodwill. Screen printing a plain one is easy enough, and they're so common and cheap at the thrift store.

@QChan, @cmcinnyc I agree that the price is really high for a "giant bag," but it's also my own doing as well. I hate plain bedding. I love colorful patterns and just can't do plain colors.

The good thing is that they tend to be long-lasting, in my experience. From ages 5 - 18, I only had 2 (both of which are still in great shape now that I'm 24, but are currently unused.) Not sure how much they cost because my mom made both of them.

Now I have a chocolate-covered velvety one, which I think cost about $60 at Target (double-size). I've had it for 2 years and it's good as new (to be fair, I only use it 3 months a year)

The deals are out there! but yes, I have noticed that they tend to be ridiculously expensive for the most part.

When I get the itch for a new one I cruise sales. Target duvets are always under $100 and when they're on clearance I always get them for under $50. Of course I've snagged good deals from neiman marcus and macy's as well (online). I tend to go for white ones as well, since they can be bleached an infinite number of times and still look new, and I have no qualms about taking them out of their packaging to feel the seams and stitching, if I can't tug it loose with my fingers it's probably pretty good.

On the flip side, chances are good you'd use a duvet cover way more than cocktail dress, so the cost per use would be justifiable, no? Yeah, I can't quite swallow that rationale either.

When I had pets, I bought duvet covers, from Ikea, that I could easily part with once they had too many pulls from claws.

Now that I'm without pets, I've put out more costly duvets (I have two so that I can mix things up), but bought those at a discount store because I cringed at full prices.

Every so often I look at new sets of bed linens and imagine getting some fabulous duvet cover to dress the bed up but stop when the price is $200-$300 and up.

When I used a duvet cover, I always ended up with the filler blanket bunched at the bottom, holding a sad empty fabric sack up by my face. I much prefer comforters, even if they're a pain to clean.

can't the simple solution just be not allowing your dogs in bed with you? i have a nice and pretty $75 duvet from Urban Outfitters that is still ... nice and pretty. because the dogs sleep on the floor.

I've been thinking lately what I might use instead of a duvet cover is just a large sheet draped over my comforter.

For instance, I have a double/full bed so I was thinking of just finding a king-size sheet I like and draping it over the comforter in the cold seasons or just over the blankets in the warmer.

My thoughts are: I'd have ZERO hassle putting the comforter INTO the cover (my least favorite chore), it would be quick to tidy/smooth, there'd be no bunching, it'd be easy to launder, and affordable to buy several.

I haven't implemented this yet but any day now, as I'm unhappy with my current cover.

@bettersaturday I could never prevent cats from jumping on the bed, even if I had wanted to.

That is a quilt from Anthro, not a duvet/comforter cover - that is why it is pricier. A quilt usually has stitching and tucks and filling and it ups the price, a duvet cover is just, as someone said above, a giant sheet sack.

I've had the cirrus duvet set in grey from anthropologie for almost a year and I absolutely love it. It was quite pricey but it's so beautiful and versatile, I know I'll be using it for a long time. It puts a smile on my face every time I make my bed and, for me, that's worth every penny!

I think there's a perceived luxury that goes along with duvet covers. They're not a standard item, so I think they get hit with higher prices because of that.
Target, for example carries a few now, but they still carry many more comforter options, at least where I live. I don't know that I've ever seen a duvet cover at Walmart (there are some listed online, but the website shows none in a nearby store).

I got a fancy (aka expensive) one from anthropologie years ago as one of my first real adult job purchases. I felt proud. Then I got one from Crate & Barrel from my husband as a wedding present and we're set with 2.

sarah, you can buy little foam padded clips that keep the comforter positioned properly in the duvet cover. You can also sew ties, or use velcro.

I LOVE duvets!

My duvets are from IKEA from when I was living in Norway, so the dimensions are a bit different than in the US.

I got used to the way Norwegians use their bedding: a fitted bottom sheet, no top sheet, a small, covered duvet (a duvet for each person, not shared), and a pillow--so duvets are used more like a top sheet and comforter all in one and the duvet covers are changed as frequently as the fitted sheet and pillow cases.

I have a large collection of duvet covers, some from IKEA, some from other stores, and some I've made from fabrics I found that I really like. I really enjoy having a variety of duvet covers to choose from--depending on my mood or the season and temperature.

I've got my eye on a Missoni duvet cover, which will be a big splurge once I've managed it!

I prefer a bedspread. Generally more affordable and that way I can still do all my regular top sheet,wool blanket,2 thin comforters layering.

Also, I resent that "being a grownup" means spending too much money on crap you don't need. Why does being a grown up mean indulging in capitalism in such a big way?

as far as laundering goes. I would MUCH rather stuff my comforters into the washing machine every few months than try and wrestle my comforter into and out of a cover every few weeks.

@sarah - I face this problem every morning.

@mxjohnson - more info, pls! what are these foam clips called? where can i find them?

I also notice duvet covers are over priced. I found one I liked and I kept checking back until over a year later there was a 50% off sale. I think I snagged it for $80 which is reasonable. If you try to buy enough fabric for a duvet it would have been a similar price and have seams everywhere.

okay brilliant me just did a quick search of "duvet clips" ... off to bed bath and beyond with my remaining gift card balance :)

Duvet covers are annoying, and not just because they're expensive. I always had to sew ties inside the corners to tie the comforter in place (with it's corresponding sewn-on corner ties) and even so it looked sloppy most of the time. I'm not a fan of the wrinkly, crumpled look they always seem to have. Plus getting the comforter in/out for washing sucked, and I always felt like the cover needed to be ironed before being reinstalled, and act for which "sucked" doesn't even come close.
OTOH, I am a huge fan of the solid color, cotton coverlet/quilt. I have a couple. The 100% cotton ones (with cotton batting) just get better and softer with age, they're just the right amount of warm, it's easy to find them in good colors, and they can be downright inexpensive if you hit a sale. The best part is they always look neat and tidy and never ask to be ironed.
The solid color problem I overcome with a pattern fabric hanging above the bed (changeable and cheap) and a fun throw or extra blanket.

IKEA sells beautiful duvet covers, varying prices for different patterns and weaves but I don't remember any of them being over 50$, and though not all of them were my style, their prints and patterns were all very tasteful.

Anna's Linens also has a wide variety of colors and fabrics that aren't terribly expensive.

I just don't agree that a duvet, even at $200, is overpriced. Break it down to 6 to 8 yards of fabric and labor and you've got about $33-$25 per finished yard. That's as much as the price of a blouse, and a blouse is 1.5 - 2 yards of fabric.

That said, I like having a spread (apparently the new word is "coverlet") and a duvet, but I live in the mountains and our summer is two months long. By the end of August, I'm wearing a down coat when we relax on the deck. But I digress... During our warm months, I take the down out of the duvet and leave it folded at the end of the bed.... somtimes pulling it up for an extra layer... by the end of October I've got the filler back in.

I love nice linens. I enjoy changing the pattern of my duvet cover and linens regularly (my version of "moving the furniture around"). But, yes, duvet covers are pricey. I tend to check out online sales, outlets, and places like Ross and TJMaxx for significant savings off retail price. Also, if you have a simple, single color duvet, you can change the look of the room with printed sheets, which is less costly. Splurge on what you enjoy, save on other items.

i've had good luck with clearance on sites. i found a cool patterned duvet for $20 on Urban Outfitter's clearance. it is holding up fine, and i put my junked up comforter on the inside. pretty awesome to know changing the look of your room is as easy as finding a good sale on a duvet :)

I make my own. The one I have right now was made from a white cotton sheet for the inside and two linen IKEA curtains for the top. A whole curtain is the center, two halves make up the sides. I also made a new slipcover for my bed using the same linen curtains. Much cheaper than yardage and they've all lasted for 3 years...and I have 4 cats!

I get my duvet covers from Overstock.com. They are very reasonably priced and come with shams, too.

I have to second the comments above that the value relative to the price comes into play when you consider how long a really good duvet will last. I currently use a Calvin Klein duvet cover my parents purchased for me in 1998! The pattern is classic and I'm still not sick of it. And if my 16-year-old self didn't have a habit of doing school work in bed, thus leaving ink stains, it would be in near-perfect condition. It's not a necessity, but I can think of a lot *less* useful items.

Since I only use a duvet and no top sheet or blanket in the European manner, I have lots of duvets. I either buy them at IKEA or I sew them myself from sheets. And since I prefer a simple, modernist look they're all cotton and solid colors, and 90% of them are white. Makes it pretty easy to make the bed, cost effective to use and no hassle at all to care for. SO, yes, I love them.

I just looked at the above photo again. $298 and it's hideous! Yup, I'm sticking with good old IKEA.

I suppose I am in the minority here, but as a designer I sell a lot of custom duvet covers. I will let you take a tool to the fabric before we order it to see if your pet will snag it. I know the woman who will sew it for you and it will last for years and years or you can bring it back to me and I will repair it. On a personal note, I sleep with no top sheet, the duvet is my top sheet, so it needs to be a really nice soft fabric. The cats sleep on top of it, so it needs to be durable and washable. It's really a great way to go if you can afford it. Buying one classic duvet that lasts for years and years is preferable (to me) to buying a new cheapie every couple of years.

Well to some of us thrifty shopper that is alot of mula. I hate spending buku bucks on anything. Especially on duvets; mostly because I have a little fur monster who likes bite blankets investing on pricey duvet wouldn't be wise. Ugh.

TWO SHEETS, ONE SEWING MACHINE.
*drops mic* lol

Right now, I have half a dozen duvet covers, most of which I've sewn myself. Two flat sheets, and a few buttons, and you're done!

LOL@ NativeNu! That is the best!!!

I've never even used a duvet cover. I have a multitude of blankets that I sleep with and, otherwise, I fold them up in the morning and set them all all at the foot of my bed. I just have nice sheets to show. Not only does this mean that I don't have to worry about my blankets matching all that much, but it also helps air out my sheets each day, which keeps them staying fresher.

I just got a really cute queen size duvet from Ikea for $35. I still feel guilty. But it's cute, and comes with pillow shams, and whatever, I'm a grownup, I'm allowed to have a pretty bed!

JCPenney used to sell cotton duvet covers in solid colors for under $40. I bought mine online. Not sure if they are still available.

Overstock.com plain off-white one for $35, and then sink some money (or not) into a cute blanket for the foot of the bed and snazzy shams. That's been our system for a while, and we have a big ol' lab mix who sleeps with us every night, but the cover gets washed every few days.

I just bought a 220 thread count solid colored duvet (comes with two shams also) on overstock.com for $28.49 and free shipping. It got mostly great buyer reviews, so I'm hopeful that I'm happy with it when it arrives.

As far as the use of duvet covers in general, I need one because we have a king size down comforter (cold Upstate NY winters!) that was a wedding gift but 1) I'm not in love with the color, and 2) our cuddly pooch sleeps in our bed, so I can't wash that gigantic down comforter as often/as easily as I can wash a duvet. Duvets are also easy to store and change if you get sick of the style.

Me, I have always had Home Goods (or similar) comforters (with top and fitted sheets) and never a duvet. Works for me.

@yourlittlevoice, they're called Comforter Clips and they sell them at Bed Bath & Beyond. $6 for a set of 4.

I just made myself a reversible duvet cover! Love 'em! I added ties in the inside corners to avoid "the bunch effect": http://darcidoodle-do.blogspot.com/2011/02/blocks-of-sunshine-summer-duvet.html

I bought my first fancy duvet cover about a year ago and we still love it. I got it on a great sale but it was still really expensive (that said the quality is obvious as after a year it still looks brand new).

I have sewn several duvet covers and honestly, after you buy the fabric, spend hours working on it, and it never looks quite right, you would have been better off investing in store bought. And as a blue-blood DIYer, I hate to say that.

Two sheets for your size bed make a perfect duvet cover. Discount stores have great, cheap patterned sheets so you can get two looks for one low price!

I just recently became par of the cult of the duvet, lol. I can't tell you how luxurious it feels to me to pull that duvet up over me at night, the crinkly feathers inside, the soft down, the puffiness. Hearing the cats try to walk REALLY TALL as they traverse the other side of the bed looking for a place to lay, lol. I LOVE it :) I got a queen cover and two shams online...I think it was Amazon...for around $60. I LOVE it so much. I'm thinking about getting one or two more at Ikea, because they're only $35 there and they have several patterns I love.

But yeah, when I first started looking for duvet covers, I had a heart attack. They can be over $1,000!!!!! Luckily, I just comparison shop online forever until something I like comes down into my price range :)

Lands' End duvet covers have corner ties - so that's not an issue...
...and several of them come in at under $100 for a King size.

Of course, buying items that are seasonal and trying to keep up w/ the latest styles of anything is going to break the bank - Sticking to shopping during sales and purchasing items that are solid-colored rather than patterned for greater mix & match versatility and timelessness is always a safe bet.

I own about 10 duvet covers and they're all from Ikea! Altogether they've ran me probably $250, but I like rotating them.

I don’t get this argument. A duvet is no more costly than a comforter / quilt / coverlet. You can easily spend upwards of $200 on any of those items.

I’ve been using duvets for about 20 years now, and would never go back to a comforter. I’ve sewn my own, bought cheapie versions from IKEA and pricey “hotel style” versions from other sources. They’re all great. You could find a good duvet at any price point.

For the record, I tend to choose solid colors or very simple patterns, and I’ve never had any problem finding something I like at any price point.

Duvet covers are dead simple to sew - that feeds my duvet cover (and fabric) habit.

@ fragglefemme: I couldn't have described the feeling much more perfect!

If the cover fits the comforter and you change the covers every week and a half/2 weeks then bunching isn't a big problem. My comforter is a little smaller than the covers from Ikea so I sew them to fit the comforter. it's still cheaper than buying fabric or sheets in the same quality.

Also there's the bedbugs and sweat situation - I like that my sheet and covers are changed that often (I say with no knowledge or understanding of how the whole sheets situation you have in the states works :) ). If the covers stay on for longer I don't sleep as well because they don't breathe as well as fresh ones when I sweat at night. I wash my down comforter in the summer when I can do without it for a couple of days while it dries.

To prevent comforters from sliding around in duvets, without buying fancy clips, you can use safety pins to pin the comforter into the corners. It's easy to do, especially when you are changing the duvet. Start with the duvet turned inside out, lay the comforter on top, and use safety pins to pin the comforter into the corners of the duvet by putting the pin through the comforter corner and one layer of the duvet fabric at the corner [But only run the pin through one layer of the duvet, not both, or you won't be able to turn it right-side out]. Then you can turn the duvet-and-comforter combo right side out, and the pins won't show, and the comforter is anchored into the duvet. Since you use safety pins, and the pins are in the corners, you don't ever feel them. Easy peasy, no need to run to BB&B. Hope this helps.

@sarah in the rain: YES!!!! Honestly, all that blah blah blah about price and such, I mean there are choices, but I HATE duvet covers because the comforter bunches at the bottom. My solution is a down comforter which is just white, but then beautiful quilts/blankets which can be changed out through out the year/ my mood. I say duvets are for people who like to fritz with things.

I've gotten some really nice, high quality duvet covers on sale and from Overstock.com. I had a duvet cover from IKEA in college and grad school that was really nice; white with a very subtle, elegant, light gray shade that held up amazingly well for years. It was really soft and comfortable to boot. Agree that a lot of duvet covers are hideous and horribly overpriced. I always get something very neutral and do color/design with pillowcases only. I like plain, high quality white sheets, but have a variety of pillow cases to add variety and interest. Way less expensive way to go.

Can't SOMETHING be done about the spam invasion??

I haven't broken down and bought a duvet cover yet because I just feel like such a sucker doing it. I'm sure some day I will but for now, I'm sticking with my white quilt and sprucing things up with cute (and cheaper) throw pillows.

Thanks to a fabulous stranger at AT, he/she recommended this duvet to me: http://www.dwellstudio.com/modern-home-decor/modern-duvet-covers/etching-ink-duvet-set.html
On sale for $150... king duvet + 2 king shams. FAB-U-LoUS quality, great pattern. I have 2 cats & 3 little kids. It is so fun, and so forgiving that I loose the remote on this pattern. It can be mixed and matched with just about any color and any style if you are inventive. At the moment, I have matched it with plums, greys and amythest. For summer, I may go with bright greens or a baby pink. See, you CAN have fun, and afford a duvet. Now, onto a more enlightening topic... ;)

Damn, you guys. I searched in MN for FOUR MONTHS and couldn't find a single queen-sized comforter. They just don't sell them here, I guess. MN is a good place for duvets, I suppose, since it's still pretty dang frosty out there right now.

Let's see..I think we spent $80 on one from Target? I've never had more than one at a time tho- what's the point of that? I guess I have sheets under mine, so they just don't come into contact with skin often. I wash it every couple weeks, then toss it back on the bed. In the summer I take the stuffing out, and it's a cozy extra-thick sheet.

What arroyo said.

Bad: the stone hassle of getting comforters in & out of their covers.

Good: decent prices ($35-$95 or so for King size) at Ikea, killer prices ($10 for King) at the thrift store.

Not So Good: often having to sew in my own corner ties (and sometimes closure buttons!)

Stark Raving Wonderful: only very rarely having to drag King-sized comforters out to the laundromat to use their big King-sized-comforter-compatible machines!

I just bought my first duvet cover the other day. It looks exactly like the white Bella Bedding at Z Gallerie but it was only $35 on clearance at Target. I usually don't buy bedding more than once every three years so I think I got a pretty solid deal.

What has been annoying me lately is that comforters and duvet covers are about the same price at most places. I have the fluffy down part. I just want a cover I can wash easily. Why isn't it cheaper?

I *need* a duvet because my bf and I sleep with just a fitted sheet and the duvet, Euro style. However, our two kitties have torn his Ikea duvet to shreds because it's thin cheap cotton. He was horrified to see $300 duvets, heck he was horrified to see $100 ones. I know I'm going to have to buck up and get us a nice one, but I'm dreading it and just living with the shredded Ikea P.O.S.

An easy trick to insert your duvet back in its cover: 1. turn the cover inside out 2. place the cover on top of the duvet and turn it back on its right side while holding two corners of the duvet. Tadam!

I am a bit confused by this whole duvet cover thing. It's obviously a bit difference between US and norther Europe, because duvet covers here (according to the dictonary) are not that expensive, and they are what we sleep in so we change them every second/third week. I have at least fifteen different ones at home (but that is a bit too many, I guess).

Someone please explain the difference? What part do you sleep in and what part do you change if not the duvet cover?

I have loads of duvet covers, all from either ikea or zara homes. I've never spend more that £40 on one (oh, I did once - it was a christmas present and it didn't work out very well, I wouldn't spend that - £100 - again).

I don't understand this hatred of duvet covers as I have never spent more than $50 for one. Ikea has great ones for a great price, I would look there first. Nice bedsheets can be quite expensive. Why does it surprise anyone that a duvet cover would also be expensive? Yes it is just a bag, but getting an expensive comforter cleaned often is also an expensive option.

Until recently, I had no idea that a duvet cover could even BE... $600! That's insanity.

http://www.natori.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ISC_Category=HomeHome%20-%20Imperial%20Palace&ISC_ParentCategory=Home&ISC_SubCategory=NatoriHome

But, when looking for inspiration for bedding at Macy's on a huge sale day, I stumbled on Natori bedding, and instantly fell in love with a gorgeous, silk + velvet embroidery, palatial-looking duvet. There was no way I could ever afford that, so I set up a repeating search on Ebay and every time a new Natori duvet showed up, I checked if it was the one I wanted. I was persistent, and two or three months later, I finally found the duvet I wanted -- and won the auction at around $115, which is definitely still a splurge for me since I'm on a tight budget, but I won't buy another duvet for probably ten years, so it's certainly worth it. I will be sending it to a dry cleaner to make sure there are no bedbugs, though the Ebay seller was a closeouts and store returns reseller who sais that the duvet had never been used. So, I got a $600+tax duvet for $155 all inclusive.

I forgo the top sheet and use just the duvet cover and a fitted sheet as well -- I love the cotton percale from Garnet Hill and have quite a few.

Lots of pretty prints and most are well under $100. When they discontinue a pattern, the sale price can be much lower.

I've had mine for years -- they hold up really well and just get softer.

m.caroline - My issue with amassing comforters is that they're just huge and they take up so much space. As we know, space in apartments is a huge issue. And my small washing machine (again, apartment) is way too small to handle a comforter.

Duvet, all the way!

I have been wanting Dwell's bird duvet cover for a long time, but there is no way I can pay full price when there are so many other things our home needs more (distinction between needs and wants here). I have a great comforter, but I have had it for a long time and would love to change it's look for a while. I'll just keep an eye out for sales.....

When I was shopping for fabric to make a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall curtain for my small basement TV room, I realized that buying a king-sized duvet cover was ALOT cheaper than buying the fabric by the yard, if I wanted heavy enough fabric to block the light. I opened it up and hemmed it and it did the job perfectly. So, depending on the fabric, there's a chance the duvet cover costs not much more than if you could buy the exact same fabric yourself.

I had a huge problem finding a nice duvet cover for a king-sized bed for a reasonable price. I ended up buying a plain white duvet cover from Ikea for $50. It is the pleated one - so it still has some nice detailing.

I love the clean white and I dress up the rest of the bed with a patterned quilt draped over the end of the bed and big, fluffy throw pillows.

I ended up sewing fabric ties onto the duvet and into the duvet cover - it eliminates the duvet from getting bunched up into a ball inside the duvet cover.

Between thrift stores, sewing my own, and Ikea, I seriously never knew duvet covers could be so pricey. I actually have a sleeping bag in my duvet cover. It started out many years ago as part space saving solution, part I can't afford to turn the heat up. Now it's sort of comforting to get into bed and have that weight on top of me. No issue with sliding down as the flannel side is always facing down. No top sheets either, never liked them and always made pj bottoms out of them. This thread makes me want to run out and buy fabric for a new duvet cover.

My mother made us a beautiful quilt as a wedding present, so our duvet cover is actually underneath the quilt. Because of this, I simply got a cheap white duvet cover from Ikea. I wanted it to blend in and not to compete with my quilt.

I have a duvet from Dwell Studio that was close to $300 once shipping was factored in, and I’m not sure it was worth it. The fabric is really nice quality, so it’s not wrinkly, but the pattern is on a grid and THEY COULDN’T MANAGE TO SEW THE SEAMS ALONG THIS GRID!! I’m still annoyed by this, even 5 years later. If it had been from IKEA I probably wouldn’t care, but for the price, I expected the manufacturer to be able to sew square seams in line with the linear pattern.

My duvet was a gift bought from Macy's. For duvet covers, TJMaxx is the only place buy them — even though I drool over all the ones in the catalogs too. It takes some digging, and usually a few trips to the store to find the perfect one, but I'm pretty casual about it. And for the price, all the searching is fine with me. Generally, TJMaxx is just about the only place I buy linens, unless Macy's is having a killer sale.

I own ummm...oh...16 duvet covers. I haven't yet paid more than $100 for full/queen ones, and I've gotten several for less than half that. I sleep with two of the lightest weight IKEA down comforters so I need two duvets at a time to go with my feather bed. It's nearly impossible to get of bed in the morning - try it sometime! I love to have a colorful, happy, mix and match bed so I rarely buy the shams and only buy matching pillow cases if they're cheap. I'll tell you a secret: children's duvets aren't always childish. You can find full/queen ones easily, and they're about 60% of the price of normal ones even before they go on sale. I mix and match duvets with florals on a white base with bright white, plaids in similar colors and fold over the bottom duvet as though it were a flat sheet (why buy duvet covers if you're going to make a military bed everyday?), and I always have two European square pillows and a few (4) regular ones in complementary or contrasting colors/patterns on top. I love that I can change my whole room every time I change my sheets. What could be better? P.S. Always buy duvet covers one size down - so there's no chance the comforter won't fill the duvet (nothing is worse), and look for the ones with ties in the inside corners to secure the comforter - they're hard to find on the cheap but so much better.

My husband has very sensitive skin (medicine side effect) so we invested in an Yves DeLorme duvet with shams and boudoir pillow. We use fitted bottom sheet along with duvet. French luxury duvets are several hundred dollars. However, we've had it for six or seven years, and it just gets softer with washings. It was their petunia design - creamy white background with bright crimson petunias and muted greenery. Very lovely. After tiring, though, and not wanting to spend hundreds just for a different look, we bought a matelesse king bed spread that goes to the floor. Takes me about 4 minutes to make bed. Simple and fast. Nice to have a change, but the softness of nice linens.

Here's what you do: put fitted sheet over mattress and tuck in; place flat sheet on top, place duvet on flat sheet; put second flat sheet on top of duvet and fold this sheet under; fold lower top sheet over this, make all smoothe and line up edges. Done.

Having said all that, I like duvet covers with busy patterns to disguise cat hair and occasional muddy paw prints.

I can't even believe there are people in this world who don't "get" the appeal of a duvet. Its a topsheet and a comforter cover in one! That means you only rarely have to wash your down comforter and making the bed in the morning is a snap, just shake the comforter from the end of the bed and line up, 5 seconds and your done. I also realized that the comforter sliding around inside the duvet only happens if I don't match up the corners and fluff regularly.

And I've never paid more than $30 for one, I always shop at discount stores, thrift stores, or IKEA.

I also struggle. Price and quality at IKEA are solid, but I haven't fallen in love with any of the patterns (although I bought on close to 10 years ago that I still use for guests and it's in near-perfect condition). West Elm has great patterns and decent prices but disappointing quality. The Company Store actually has some solid stuff that's quite affordable.