While your mattress, duvet and pillow set the stage for a good night’s sleep, your bed sheets , bed frame and duvet covers are your opportunity to create an aesthetic in the bedroom. It's a chance to have a bit of fun and play around with your space, adding style and personality with colours, textures and patterns. But you also have to make sure they're comfortable.
Like most things in life, it's all about balance. Not all bed sheets are created equal, though; some are more breathable than others, some offer a smooth feel against your skin, some are hypoallergenic and antibacterial, some have a higher thread count, while others just aren’t worth your time or money. And some, in fact, just don't look the part.
From the best linen bed sheets that’ll make summer heatwaves a breeze, to winter-friendly brushed cotton sheets and classic white sheet sets, we’ve found the best sheets for all purposes this year. Skip to: What are the best bed sheets to buy in 2024? | How we test the best bed sheets: GQ's review process | Best white sheets | Best bamboo bed sheets | Best summer sheets | Best linen bedding | Best cotton sheets | Best silk sheets | Best bedding for winter | What are the best materials for bedding? | What type of sheets do hotels use? | What type of sheets are best for quality? What are the best bed sheets to buy in 2024? If you're short for time, you can find a quick summary below of our top picks overall for the best bedding in 2024. If you want a little more detail on our chosen picks, however, or you want to dive a little deeper on the best bedding options that don't show up creases (those with a percale weave or those that are machine washable, for example), we have more information on each pick further down.
Did someone say hotel quality? Because these cotton bedding sets get that down to a tee. The very best of the best, they’re worth stretching your budget for, ensuring a truly blissful night’s sleep. The White Company The White Company Soho Home Soho Home Cosy House Collection Cosy House Collection Hampton & Astley Hampton & Astley Linen is hard to beat as a material for bed sheets, being both durable – it gets softer with every wash, rewarding you for, well, sleeping a lot – as well as very beautiful when laid out on a bed.
Along with Egyptian cotton bedding , linen sheet sets are the proverbial royalty of bedding. Soak & Sleep Soak & Sleep Cozy Earth Cozy Earth John Lewis John Lewis Piglet in Bed Piglet In Bed Cotton is the bread and the butter of bed sheets; the most widely used and popular stuff to sleep on. It’s almost impossible to go wrong here – just choose something that matches your chosen thread count (higher is denser and therefore generally softer) and your budget, and drift off to sleep, happy.
Marks & Spencer Marks & Spencer Heal's Heal’s John Lewis John Lewis & Partners Brooklinen Brooklinen You can read plenty more about our picks of the best bedding further down, but if you're in a rush and you don't just want to shop the best-selling bedding from your favourite brand, we have a quick fire round up of our top picks below. For more interiors, fashion and technology releases delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our GQ Recommends newsletter . How we test the best bed sheets: GQ ’s review process Different types of bed sheets suit different people, so in order to make sure we found the best bed sheets on the market for every kind of sleeper, we broke down our findings into a few categories – the best cotton sheets, the best white sheets, the best sheets for summer, the best linen sheets, the best silk sheets and the best sheets for winter.
Each of these suits a different purpose, whether you’re after something thicker and more warming, or are focusing on sleek, white sheets that look really elegant across every season and every square inch of your bed. We slept with many a style of sheet across all categories, perusing all of our favourite bedding brands and furniture stores and comparing how each set of sheets stood up when tested for temperature regulation, comfort, thread count, construction and, of course, aesthetics. All of our Interiors guides have been edited by GQ's Daphne Bugler , too, who has been writing about Interiors for over four years and very much knows her tencel and lyocell sheets from her sateen sheet sets.
If you’re after a good night’s sleep, all of the below will help you get there. What are the best white sheets? While your sheets aren’t going to be as visible as your duvet cover, there’s something timeless about having a set of elegant, white sheets – especially if you’re looking for that high-end, hotel-style look to drape your bed. Whether you place them under a patterned or coloured duvet cover, or use them to enhance an all-white feel, they’re a classic for good reason.
It may be easy enough to spot a white sheet, but we’ve taken it upon ourselves to find the best you can buy, chosen for their comfort, breathability and design. The White Company The White Company If hopping into a hotel bed is one of the first activities you look forward to when you head out on holiday, it’s time we let you in on the little secret that you can actually do better yourself at home. Arguably better than the sheets in most hotels we’ve stayed in, The White Company’s Savoy bedding hits that perfect thread count sweet spot of 400, with a percale cotton that’s smooth against the skin but also more breathable and cooling than some other cottons.
There are four colourways to choose from, but all of them are predominantly that classic hotel white, each with a different border colour. Go big with the whole Savoy collection, or just start small with a flat sheet or duvet cover to integrate a bit of that sleekness without spending too much. From £22.
At thewhitecompany.co.uk Simba Simba Designed with the same focus on innovation as Simba's technologically advanced mattresses, pillows and duvets, Simba’s bed linen places temperature regulation at the forefront of the design.
Available in two different options; a 200 thread count cotton percale sheet set or a satin-feel 400 thread count set, they’re some of the best cooling sheets around, made from 100 per cent cotton. From £60. At simbasleep.
com The White Company The White Company The White Company's white bedding is, naturally, nothing if not iconic, perfectly encapsulating a minimalist design style, while also incorporating high-quality materials to make going to bed feel like a luxury experience. The 1000-thread count cotton sateen is where it all begins, using a really tight weave to emphasise the satin-like feel of the cotton even further, making it feel smooth against the skin in a way that only hotel-quality sheets normally do. Pair this with the navy Oxford border (silver and white options are also available), a little detailed flourish that takes them slightly into their own league of white sheets.
From £180. At thewhitecompany.com Dusk Dusk If you've ever tried Dusk’s bedding, you’ll be familiar with just how smooth and comfortable its cotton sheets are, but with the Portofino 200, there's a waffle design going on and it's on another level.
Super cosy with a soft and luxurious cotton, this set looks absolutely excellent on your bed, with the addition of a delicate pipe edge to give it a bit of personality, and a touch of Italian elegance. The waffle design distinguishes the Portofino set from every other set of white sheets on the market and if you don't fancy white, or you want a choice of another colour alongside white, there are five on offer here. £50 £25.
At dusk.com Marks & Spencer Marks & Spencer A go-to for homeware basics (and fashion and food, for that matter), it should come as no huge shock that Marks & Spencer has some of the trustiest and best-designed cotton sheets around for those more stringent budgets. Made from pure Egyptian cotton – the pin-up of sheet fabrications thanks to the supremely smooth, soft feel given by its longer, finer fibres – the sheets have a texture to rival the best hotel you’ve ever stayed in, and are thankfully designed to be slept in for much longer than your time there.
From £25. At marksandspencer.com Soho Home Soho Home We can’t promise you'll receive the jet-set glamour of Soho House, nor the allure of its excellent service, delivered to your home, but we can guarantee that Soho Home’s flat sheets are the closest you’ll get to sleeping in the House rooms while in your own space, as these are the same sheets used in their Houses worldwide.
Breathable and durable, the sheets consist of 100 per cent cotton percale, with a crisp thread count of 300 that will feel cool to the touch. From £70. At sohohome.
com What are the best bamboo bed sheets? Bamboo is the secret weapon of bedsheet pioneers, if such a thing exists. First off, it is sustainable, because bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the face of the planet – and even more sustainable when compared to cotton, which can use a lot of water to produce in countries that don’t generally have a lot to spare. Bamboo fibres also happen to be hypoallergenic and very, very comfortable to sleep on, so it’s a win-win all round.
Panda Panda Mixing things up a bit, Panda’s bedding is made from 100 per cent bamboo, creating a feel that’s actually suitable for year-round use. Sustainably produced, the bamboo is organically grown with care taken to meet social and environmental standards, using less water than cotton would for an eco-friendly design. The real benefits for your sleep come from the fact the sheets are antibacterial, while also being moisture-wicking and super soft to the touch.
The best bamboo sheets? Easily. They are also certified to Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX. From £100 £93.
50. At mypandalife.com Cosy House Collection Cosy House Collection Something a little different here – Cosy House’s bamboo sheets are a blend of bamboo viscose and polyester, which makes for a lightweight, breathable bed sheet that is still very plush.
Their deal is also a literal bundle of joy, with a duvet cover, fitted sheet and two pillowcases included, in a dozen colourways, from simple white to burgundy, chocolate or moss. Wake up refreshed, clean and dry, between sheets that fit perfectly in with the rest of your bedroom’s decor. From £175 £69.
At cosyhousecollection.co.uk Marks & Spencer Marks & Spencer A trusty reliable, Marks & Spencer is bringing a bamboo and cotton blend bedding set to the party with a 300 thread count for a soft and comfortable finish.
There's no Oxford Pillowcase in this range but you'll find pretty much everything else from a flat sheet to an extra deep fitted sheet, which we are all in favour of. We're also super keen on all the colour options for this range with a palette of grey and neutrals through to greens and blues. And everything is sold separately, which is great if you want to make sure you have a couple of spare sheets in the linen cupboard should you need to do a quick change.
From £28. At marksandspencer.com Sloth London Sloth London Piping on pillows and duvet covers can make for a bit of fun (less so if you tried to apply it to a fitted sheet.
..) and so we were instantly enamoured with Sloth London’s bamboo bedding, which features a small border in one of six colours you can choose from.
These range from minty blue-green to ochre to peach, but no matter what you opt for the material in between is soft, breathable, hypoallergenic and moisture-wicking. Like all bamboo sheets, it’s also better for the planet courtesy of its viscose source, which grows unbelievably fast and is generally less water-intensive to grow than cotton counterparts. From £105.
At slothlondon.co.uk What are the best bed sheets for summer? The summer months are a tricky time to get your 40 winks, especially here in the UK where air conditioning doesn't really exist unless you're staying in a five-star hotel, or happen to have made the investment to kit your home out with a portable machine.
For the rest of us though, we're relying on our fans , our summer duvets , maybe a cooling pillow , and the breathability of our bed sheets. Linen bedding is one of the best you can buy for summer, and we've rounded up our favourite options below, but there are also a few other options that'll keep you cooler and fresher in the heat. Nectar Nectar Nectar might be best known for its mattresses, but this is a brand with its fingers in more than one pie.
Its bedding set is most certainly worth your attention – especially for the summer nights. Made from 100 per cent cotton sateen with a luxurious 300 thread count and a satin weave structure, these sheets will give you a crisp, cool feeling night after night. Unlike some others, this bedding set has two pillowcases, a duvet cover and a fitted sheet included in its price.
From £55. At nectarsleep.co.
uk Soak & Sleep Soak & Sleep Soak & Sleep has some excellent bedding options, including this French Linen Bedding set for those sweaty summer nights. Made from pure French Linen, woven with flax grown in Normandy, this set delivers a wonderfully soft textured fabric that will get better the longer you have it. Linen offers temperature-regulating abilities, too, with a hollow-fibre structure that is stronger and more absorbent than cotton for a lovely, comfortable night's sleep.
From £240 £162. At soakandsleep.com Rest Rest Summers only seem to be getting hotter, and as much as cotton sheets are breathable, they don't cool you down in the same way that these Rest sheets do.
Made with Evercool fabric, a combination of nylon and spandex, they actually feel cool to the touch against your skin, keeping you from overheating and helping to maintain a sleeping environment that's far more optimal than just pure 30-degree heat. Beyond the cool factor, Rest’s sheets actually have a lot of other benefits going for them too, from antimicrobial, self-cleaning technology that keeps everything more hygienic to an ultra-fine fabric that's been designed to mimic the smooth nature of silk, and moisture-wicking capabilities that'll keep you dry and comfortable. From £156 £117.
At restduvet.com What are the best linen sheets? While linen has a reputation for being the best option for hot sleepers and for summer nights, it’s actually well suited to year-round use. With naturally temperature-regulating properties, the fabric is breathable in the summer, but keeps you warm on colder evenings.
Add to this the fact that linen has antibacterial properties, is moisture-wicking and has a unique texture that feels relaxed and nonchalant, and we’d have to say it’s one of our favourite materials for bedding. Cozy Earth Cozy Earth If sophisticated bed sheets are the look you are going for, Cozy Earth's Linen Pencil Stripe bundle is where it's at. Made from European Flex Linen, this bedding set will only get better with each wash, and it's lightweight and durable too so while expensive, it should last for years to come.
There are two colour options available – Charcoal/White and Flex/White – while the breathable material makes it excellent for the upcoming summer months. There's a 100-night sleep trial as well, so you can make sure you love this set before you commit. From £755.
At cozyearth.com H&M H&M H&M Home do some lovely homeware , including superb bedding. Designed in chic earthy colours, the Linen set is one of our favourites, made to keep you cool through summer and warm and cosy through the winter months.
It can be machine washed at 60-degrees, tumble dried at medium, or dry cleaned if you wish, and it offers a thread count of 104 making it soft and comfortable. From £120. At hm.
com John Lewis John Lewis John Lewis is a repeat offender on our list of the best bedding, but it simply has some of the most varied collections we've come across. For this entry, it's the Comfy & Relaxed Washed Linen set that's caught our attention, made from 100 per cent linen with a thread count of 104. This set is also machine washable and tumble dryer friendly so you shouldn't experience shrinkage if you follow the guidelines, but perhaps best of all, it comes in a range of excellent colour options.
From £32. At johnlewis.com Rise & Fall Rise & Fall Clean and organic, Rise & Fall’s duvet set gives you serious value for money – a 400-thread-count sheet comes bundled with a duvet cover and two standard pillowcases.
That sheet is elasticated and, for want of a better word, very grippy, meaning if you have a very deep mattress off which your sheet keeps slipping, this might be the answer. Add in the extra-long staple cotton fibres that the set is woven from, and you’ll be left with silky soft sheets. From £90.
At riseandfall.co Cultiver Cultiver It has to be said that stripes are one of the best ways to spice up neutral bedding. Keeping the tone natural and earthy, but adding a subtle pattern and a spot of colour, these Cultiver striped linen sheets are a dream for maintaining simplicity but without being too boring.
Made from 100 per cent linen, they’re good for year-round use, while also capturing a relaxed, yet elevated look for the appearance of the linen. Think the perfect fusion between stylish bedding that’s actually comfortable too. £150.
At cultiver.com Piglet in Bed Piglet In Bed Piglet in Bed is determined to make you never again question just how soft linen can be. Taking its reputation for being a bit more abrasive than cotton and completely running it through the wringer, this is linen bedding at its very finest (and softest), and we’ll never be going back again.
Made from 100 per cent stonewashed linen, you’ll be cool in summer and cosy in the winter, while you can also play around with the colours to find the look you’re after. And if you’ve got a deeper mattress, you’re in luck, as these fit mattresses up to a 40cm depth. From £89.
At pigletinbed.com What are the best cotton sheets? Cotton is the material you'll see most commonly used in sheets due to its durability, breathability and just how comfortable it is to sleep on. Being made from a natural material, cotton keeps you cooler overnight by absorbing heat and also by keeping your bed dry when you sweat.
Most cotton sheets are also easy to maintain as you can normally throw them in a washing machine and often a tumble dryer as well, and it's quite rare that they require ironing, unless you want them to look particularly crisp and wrinkle-free. And to top it all off, we all know from cotton shirts or t-shirts just how soft the material feels against the skin, making it a great option for a relaxed and comfortable night. When shopping for cotton sheets you'll want to keep in mind the thread count and the type of cotton.
We'd suggest looking out for Egyptian cotton if you want particularly soft feel sheets, and opting for at least a thread count of 200. A high thread count normally means the sheets will be softer, but do keep in mind that sometimes when the thread count gets too high it can make the sheets less breathable if they aren't made carefully enough. Hampton & Astley Hampton & Astley Hampton & Astley do some of our favourite bath towels as well as some of our favourite bedding, pretty much getting everything in the bedroom and bathroom right.
The Egyptian Cotton 500 Thread Count Sateen bundle includes a duvet cover and two standard pillow cases, all of which is made from a sumptuous 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sateen fabric. Gloriously soft and silky, the set comes in three colour options – of which we prefer the Subtle Grey and White – though you can buy the cover and pillowcases separately too if you want to mix and match. Did we mention it's a crease-resistant fabric too so less ironing because let's face it, who has time to iron bed sheets? From £271 £135.
At hamptonandastley.com Brooklinen Brooklinen While it does come in American sizes and out of the US, Brooklinen’s sheets are worth it if you’re willing to make the purchase from overseas. Made with 100 per cent long staple cotton, in a super luxe weave that gives off a satiny feel, this is one of the most comfortable cotton bed sheet sets we’ve come across.
And if you fancy something a bit more cooling, you can opt for Brooklinen’s percale cotton weave instead for a slightly more crisp feel. From £125 £105. At brooklinen.
com John Lewis John Lewis & Partners Winning our award for the best range of colours on offer, John Lewis & Partners is always going to be our ever-reliable go-to department store for bedding. For mid-range sheets that tick all of our boxes and still manage to be affordable, it’s an easy win. Made with Egyptian cotton and with a thread count of 200, it’s a standard cotton sheet that still taps into some of the more luxuriously soft benefits of cotton.
From £24. At johnlewis.com Heal's Heal’s Using white bedding is one of the oldest tricks on the block for making your bed look like a luxury hotel, and this one is as sleek as they come.
Made from percale cotton, with a thread count of 400, the sheets feel almost satin-like, despite actually being made from 100 per cent cotton. Pop a colourful throw on top, or keep it stripped back with a neutral or faux fur quilt. From £19.
At heals.com What are the best silk/sateen sheets? Nothing quite says opulence like sleeping in silk sheets does, and we're all for it. Not only do silk sheets have an incredibly luxurious feel to sleep on, but they also have plenty of benefits too.
Silk feels naturally cool to the touch, which will help prevent you from overheating during the night, while it also creates a smooth surface which can prevent your hair from frizzing and your skin from becoming irritated as it rubs against the sheets. Add in the fact it has antibacterial properties, something which makes silk pillowcases particularly beneficial for acne sufferers, and you have yourself a set of very hard-working, luxury sheets. The White Company The White Company When The White Company tells us it’s made its ‘most indulgent bed linen yet’, you can bet we're listening.
Taking the brand back to its bedding roots, the Audley sheets are made from mulberry silk, working to help support the hair and skin with hypoallergenic and temperature-regulating properties. This is the kind of bedding that makes both a great gift or a truly luxe investment in the quality of your bedroom. From £400.
At thewhitecompany.com Lilysilk Lilysilk Lilysilk’s bedding is not only some of the finest, most carefully crafted on the market, it’s also made with the environment at front of mind, using natural mulberry silk which requires notably less water than cotton to be grown. The 22 momme Charmeuse silk sheet has a thread count of 600, making it everything you’d want from a silken sheet; cool to the touch and smooth, while also turning your bed into a luxurious haven.
The glossy sheen isn’t for everyone aesthetically speaking, so the key is choosing the right colour. We’d recommend the lighter shades for a slightly more understated sense of opulence. From £179.
At lilysilk.com Soak & Sleep Soak & Sleep Silk bedding needn't be just white or silver, in fact, Soak & Sleep's range includes seven colourways, which means you can be a bit more creative with your aesthetic while still nodding off in satiny silk goodness. Made from 19 momme silk, crafted in a satin weave, it’s smooth and inviting, and it'll make you never want to leave your bed again.
From £170 £60. At soakandsleep.com What are the best bed sheets for winter? While shopping for bed sheets in the summer is all about the functional cooling elements of the sheets, there's a lot more room to have fun with winter bedding.
The priority is cosy, warming sheets, but with so many different options of warmer, thicker bedding, there's a lot more on offer. For really cold nights, brushed cotton bedding is the way to go, of which we've included a few of our favourites below, but if you're not a fan of the textures, you can also just opt for good cotton or linen bedding and pair it with an electric blanket for really chilly days. Dunelm Dunelm For some classic brushed cotton sheets, Dunelm is not only one of the more affordable places to go, but also one of the best.
From just £9, the brushed cotton fitted sheet is an easy way to add some extra warmth and texture to your bed, without having to invest in an entirely new duvet cover for the winter. Think of it as your cosy winter bedding addition that really doesn't break the bank and it comes in several size options too so you can squeeze in a mattress topper underneath of you want to. From £16.
At dunelm.com John Lewis John Lewis John Lewis is a trusted brand – and for good reason – so if you're looking for great bedding that will stand the test of time, it's a good place to start shopping. The Warm & Cosy Plain Brushed Cotton bedding set does exactly what it says on the tin: keeps you warm and cosy for a dreamy night sleep.
Pillowcases are sold separately, so keep that in mind, but this duvet set is lightly brushed after weaving for a sot, velvety touch and an extra warm and toasty feel. From £30. At johnlewis.
com What are the best materials for bedding? The best materials for bedding will very much depend on your personal preferences and sleep style. Different materials have different advantages so here's a breakdown to help: What type of sheets are the best quality ? The best quality of bed sheets for you will really depend on what kind of sleeper you are. Hot sleepers will want more breathable sheets that have plenty of moisture-wicking properties to keep them comfortable overnight, whether that’s silk sheets, bamboo sheets or cotton percale, while cold sleepers will prefer heavier brushed cotton or cotton, for example.
Personal preference aside, some sheet styles are generally agreed to be the best quality on the market. For luxury sheets, look for brands that use high-quality cotton, with high thread counts. Egyptian cotton sheets from bedding stores like The White Company tend to be the best for this, washing well and maintaining their shape and feel over time, delivering a hotel-quality sleekness.
Silk sheets, naturally, are another real winner, and if you’ve ever been lucky enough to sleep with silk sheets, you’ll know why. What type of sheets do luxury hotels use? We’re all very much familiar with the feeling of hotel sheets; they’re just that extra bit silky and soft, and as much as some of that is surely just the placebo from how good it feels to have finally gotten away on holiday, luxury hotels are known for using some of the best sheets around. In general, they normally opt for cotton fabrics as cotton is durable and hotels, naturally, wash their sheets far more frequently than you might at home.
But if you want to match the same kind of feel, look for a thread count of around 300 or 400, and ideally find a sateen cotton weave for that extra bit of silkiness. We’d suggest The White Company’s Savoy bedding in particular. Now read: The best duvet covers to transform your bedroom into a luxury hotel The best duvets for some luxury hotel-grade shuteye The best pillows to rest your head in cloud-like comfort The best mattress to buy now for a better night’s sleep.
