My grandmother does this. I always just thought it was an older generation thing seeing as she's Italian, not swedish.

This might make everything all better in our bed. Except for the millions of children who climb in, too. A stack of extras next to the bed?

I had never heard of this until recently, so I started toting a twin-size fleece blanket to bed with me. I stay toasty, he stays cool. I'm much happier.

we have separate, both tuggers. always a problem when we go away to a hotel where there's only one quilt!

We've talked about doing two separate blankets. The king on a queen approach worked very well for us, until we had kids. Now my two year old sleeps in the middle and kicks off the covers, which means they get pushed down toward the middle of the bed and neither of us has enough. I thought two blankets would work well, so we could each have our own and leave the little one in the middle uncovered.

Another plus, is that often when bedding goes on sale, the twin size is the only size that is left, so I think you could save by buying two. And my husband likes heavier blankets than I do, so separate blankets would also solve that problem.

Of course, it has been two and a half years since our last child was born, and we're still making do with our scrunched down king blankets. My two year old will probably stop coming into our bed before we get around to buying new blankets, and then we'll forget it was ever an issue.

I got to experience this last summer in Sweden and Denmark. I thought it was really smart. Sometimes I make our bed that way by at least doing separate sheets. It keeps me from waking up at night and trying to get some of the sheet back!

I am a tugger and he is a complainer... I have been bringing an extra little blanket with me to cuddle up with, it works pretty well!

It's not "Scandinavian Style" -- much of Europe does this -- Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It's quite common. Also common is to have two single beds pushed together for a king size -- i.e., 90 cm x 2 to make a 180 cm better. The reasons are 2-fold: so that bedmates can enjoy their individual comfort level (soft, medium or firm), and to make it easier to get into apartments.

I don't get not having a flat sheet. That's what keeps me warm! Just sleeping under my duvet doesn't cut it.

We do a king comforter on a queen bed and I really do keep a stack of extras on the floor next to the bed for the children. I use a single size heavy afghan on my side because I like to sleep under a heavy weight. The big comforter covers it all up when I make the bed in the morning.

I lived in Sweden for a year and this was done in all the bedrooms (there were eight in the house I lived in). I love the idea and look, however, those rooms look so clean and dreamy because (at least to me) those extra-long bed-skirts. It gives an extra cozy look to the bed and makes the bedding look less messy.

I have been noticing this recently, so I'm glad that you covered it.

I'm also curious, and maybe a reader can clue me in, about the fact that some beds in places such as Sweden appear to be two mattresses side-by-side. Instead of a divided box spring and single mattress, as sometimes happens in the US, it's like two beds pushed together.

Here's a sample from the Chez Larsson blog: http://chezlarsson.com/myblog/2011/01/new-mattress.html

We also do the King-size blanket on a queen sized bed. We also accept the fact that we are very American in our insistence on a tightly tucked in top sheet.

I've also been reading Lucy Worsley's If these Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home which has many amazing facts about different sleeping arrangements since the Middle Ages (including the advent of the sheetless European duvet in the 1960s)!

My husband and I have been living in Denmark (which is a part of Scandinavia...) and our apartment has two beds pushed together with two duvets. You see them everywhere here, and almost everywhere we've traveled in Europe since we've been here (with the exception of a resort in Spain) has had them, too. Most of the time I prefer having my own comforter, except when I'm very cold and need his heat!

Jodi Anderson - that's what I'd like to know! This happens to me when I look at the Ikea catalogue.

I am all about separate and ample comforters...conflicts and crankiness avoided! In my European experience the two mattress thing is due to tight doors/stairs/rooms...many older buildings don't have navigation space for big mattresses...

Scandinavian style? Maybe it's "American style" to have just one blanket, and the rest of the world does it differently.

Last I checked, Denmark was considered to be a Scandinavian country ...

I have been doing the twin duvet thing for years, ever since seeing the house of a European friend of mine and noting the practice. This has so many benefits, quite aside from tugging and not sharing: if your dog/cat/child has an accident you end of with a much easier washing job; it is way easier to get a twin duvet into a twin duvet cover than it is with a queen or king; it is way easier to deal with twin duvet covers in a standard washing machine. Also, duvet covers come in such a wide range of styles and colours, you can change the look of your bedroom more often.

Thank God! I thought I was the only one crazy enough to think this was greatest idea ever. No more stolen covers - especially if you need snug covers all around. Cheaper bedding too. My grandparents have done this year for their entire marriage.

I love my king-sized duvet on a queen sized bed. It fits so much better for two people. I also don't use a flat sheet. I find it ends up bunched at the foot of the bed. I just make sure to wash my duvet cover more often. Making the bed without a flat sheet is so easy; I just have to arrange the duvet et voila!

After traveling in Northern Europe and discovering the joy of not having to fight over the way the top sheet should be tucked in (or not) we switched to using two duvets and duvet covers. It brought peace to a small issue in our marriage.

My husband and I tried the two duvet route while house-sitting only to experience several frustrating and sleepless nights. This system is not designed for couples that cuddle throughout the night.

What a timely post! I'm an inveterate burrito-er when it comes to blankets. A few months ago, the Mister and I finally accepted that sharing a duvet, romantic though it is, just doesn't work for us. While we were at it, we ditched the top sheet. Now I use the queen duvet and burrito to my heart's content, while he (a warmer sleeper) uses a twin duvet and no longer wakes up sans blanket. We're both more comfortable, and making the bed is a snap: the queen-sized duvet gets draped across the bed, and the twin duvet gets folded in three at the foot of the bed. It takes under a minute.

I love the bedding in picture 3, and I think this could be a good solution to my boyfriend constantly complaining that I mess up the covers.

I have a question about the two mattresses pushed together thing. Kids, look away. Is there ever an issue when the bed is used for non-sleeping purposes? Are the mattresses secured together in some way?

My husband sleeps warm and I sleep cool. We prefer separate, different kinds of covers so we both can be comfortable. It took years to figure that out, before which I'd throw mine on the floor and then steal his, all while asleep.

We have had seperate blankets our whole marriage (20 yrs). He has a king ... likes to ball it up and roll around like a fool. I have a twin. When I make the bed mine goes in a leather trunk at the foot of the bed.

This is great! My family is from Europe, and I've been doing this for years with my Americanized husband. Funny memory... Hubby, at first, was very worried about what his mum would think. He still likes being able to scoot closer to me under one big comforter, but I love to burrito myself. Marital woes...

My husband and I discovered individual duvets the first year of our marriage while in Oslo. Total revelation. The next stop was Copenhagen, where I found a shop that specialized in mailing duvets and covers to the US. Best $300 I have ever spent. If anyone is having trouble finding replacement covers, as I did when we wore out the first two sets, do your Google search in centimeters. I searched for two years for "individual" sized covers and never found them. My husband searched for 5 minutes for 150cm (or whatever) and found perfect UK replacements.

I'm Scandinavian but live in the US and me and my husband use twin duvets AND we have two long twin mattresses next to each other. Having separate duvets is so convenient because my husband and I have very different preferences (he likes to be warm when he sleeps and I like to be cool/cold). We also bought two long twin mattresses because it's, like someone mentioned above, you can have different comfort levels but it's also great when one partner toss and turn a lot and the other don't. You don't disturb each other’s sleep as much when you have your own mattress compared to sharing.

And to Sabrinathedestroyer: Lol, not an issue for us since we use one bed frame for both mattresses and we also use a king size fitted sheet which holds everything together.

As a former IKEA interior decorator, I was thrilled to learn about this style, some years ago. My husband and i have opposite body thermometers: he is always hot and I love being snuggled under 2-3 blankets in the winter. Now we each have our own personal duvet/blanket. We'll never go back.

When booking our honeymoon hotel room, evidently we neglected to mention that it was our honeymoon--we laughed upon arriving to find two double beds with two feet of space between them. We pushed them together every evening, and every day while we were out, the maids pushed them back. I think by the last couple of days of our two week stay, they were starting to take the hint and leave them there. I hated the small crevice in the middle that would turn into a chasm throughout the night, and actually got a sore back from trying to sleep near the middle without falling between the beds.
Yes to separate blankets/duvets, no to separate mattresses.

@melissakay @flittermouse Thanks for catching that, it was supposed to be Germany and *Austria*, but my brain must have failed me when I wrote this at midnight. ;-)

@JODIANDERSON and @DANGAB33 --

Did you not read my post? I wrote about the matter of 2 separate beds before you asked your questions.

@mschatelaine -- I didn't realize that reading all of the prior comments was required before leaving my own. So, to answer your question... obviously, no.

Sometimes, people make hasty comments that make them seem ignorant, in my case, or rude, in yours.

@ JODI ANDERSON It's called a "super king" It's popular in Europe where getting a king mattress/box spring up old flights of stairs can be exceptionally difficult. We also ran across them in New Zealand B&Bs - they can be used together for a couple, or separately if it's two people traveling together who don't want to share a bed.

We already do this dual blanket folding because we've used 2 blankets since moving in together. My husband is a blanket hog - it's an important part of keeping the peace! :-)

My boyfriend and I have an arrangement sort of like this because he has diabetes, which can affect his temperature regulation while he's sleeping. There's always a fitted sheet with a duvet spread across it. In the winter he gets a sheet and I get another duvet, and he can dive under the bottom duvet if needed (I lay on top because it helps my bad back). In the summer, it's just two sets of flat sheets on top. When I have time to make the bed, I fold each side in half so the dogs don't get lost in the volume. When we have company, I flatten everything out.

Dumb question, but I always see these mattress toppers on the beds. What are these traditionally? Featherbed toppers? And then just wrapped and pinned with a flat sheet?

Dumb question, but I always see these mattress toppers on the beds. What are these traditionally? Featherbed toppers? And then just wrapped and pinned with a flat sheet?

I dream of this... my husband unfortunately doesn't. Le sigh.

I'm the type who always kicked off tucked in sheets, I cannot stand being trapped. So we do a heavy duvet with a duvet cover on the bottom and then a lightweight one on top of that. Both, however, are Queen/Full (Full bed). I like to sleep with my arms between them, and occasionally we end up with separate duvets by morning. In the summer, it's just the lightweight one or drag out a single top sheet.

I don't like sleeping without a flat sheet. And I like it tightly tucked in at the foot.

I have never been able to find a duvet that isn't too warm for my husband and me. Unless it is super cold, we sleep with a sheet and cotton coverlet with a wool blanket on top. Sometimes no wool blanket. In the summer we sleep with a flat sheet and a cotton duvet cover with no duvet inside. So I guess it's like 3 flat sheets.

One word: Preference.

As a Norwegian, separate duvets was the standard I grew up with, but we actually prefer having one large duvet. Two duvets can certainly look as tidy as anything, though.

I only really noticed this when I was in Norway, but maybe it is a mainland European thing. Its not a think here in the UK, but Im about to make it a thing because my boyfriend is a total duvet HOG.

I live in the UK and the norm here is one large quilt, no top sheet. But my boyfriend and I just discovered separate quilts and it's immense, no more waking up when one of us tries to burrow in the night - and its so cosy.

I could never sleep with a top sheet. I always like to have a foot out at any time, to cool me down!

Been married for 20+ years and we have used separate flat sheets and separate blankets for years. My wife prefers to sleep with a blanket, while I only use a flat sheet unless absolutely necessary.

My husband and I have always used separate blankets and no flat sheet. He's a blanket hog and I learned the first week we lived together the secret to happiness is separate blankets!

@SabrinaTheDestroyer - just mind the gap ;-)
I was so excited when my husband finally relented to the "un-american" practice of having two duvets and no flat sheet (which I can't stand). Now he agrees it's more comfortable and we have both been sleeping better. I'm very glad to learn from all these comments that I am not the only one!

Two duvets, no top sheet is the only way to go. One note for those Stateside, though, is that you won't have the best results with two twin size duvets. The duvets in Scandinavia--and perhaps other European countries--are slightly smaller than the ones in the US. And that size variation makes a huge difference. www.thedowncomforterstore.com is a great resource.

I wasn't sure about this when my bf brought his bed over from Germany, but now I'm never going back. Separate mattresses (same frame) and bedding means we can cuddle when we want to, but we both get a good night's sleep.

This is 100% necessary to do, as any woman experiencing the Joys of Perimenopause can tell you. :-)

..

I suggested this to my SO when we lived together and he acted as if I was insane. Of course, he was the cover stealer and I was the one left freezing and out of bed searching for an extra blanket in the middle of the night. (Best break up ever.)

My Danish mother does this and it works great for her and her boyfriend but my fiance and I haven't had any problems sharing our king-size duvet so we'll stick with that for now. :)

I can't stand a top sheet or any blankets other than a cozy down comforter on my bed, as that's what I was raised with, so I was thrilled that my fiance was really into this style of bedding too when he experienced it at my apartment when we first started dating. I definitely think bedding solutions are an integral part of a happy relationship!!!

My husband and I have always done this. Preserves marital bliss!

I don't know that I could handle sleeping without a top sheet!

I keep a small blanket on my side and fold our duvet back since I am the warm one.

Does anyone have a source for buying only the fitted sheets? I converted to duvet cover/no top sheet a while ago- I need new sheets and since I still haven't found a use for the flat sheets from my old set, I don't want to buy a whole set. The one's I have found so far online are either around $130 or $7- I'd like something in between and not ugly.

My boyfriend and I use two full duvets on our full bed, one on top of the other. We still get to snuggle under the same blanket but when one of us tugs in the night (we're both guilty) the other one still has a margin to work with.

@SabrinaTheDestroyer Very good question. Yes, there is a flat, sort of bungee belt that wraps around the 2 twins for crevasse prevention.

My husband and I have been doing this for several years. I use a flat sheet folded in half longways, he just uses a flat sheet and lets it hang off the bed (I can't stand that, hence the folding.) Then we both have our own separate blankets. I tend to use soft throw blankets whereas he uses a comforter. Again, I don't like mine all hanging off the bed, so throws work for me. It's helped tremendously as he cocoons himself and is usually hot, whereas I start out cold and get hot later. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Sharing one duvet is an absurd anachronism so indicative of the lies we tell ourselves about our relationships.

How the bed cover and sleeping style reflect people's character and relationship? Perhaps it's been historically into style, which was awesome to me with my Scandinavia boy friend, found that two loving persons sleep in separate covers rather than cuddle and hug under one!!

ha, i thought i was the genius who came up with this idea!!! i've been doing this for years.

I use a king sized duvet on a king single bed, its great!