Pottery Barn's Fall 2009 vibe is "Vintage Style".

They're showing a bunch of vintage-look quilts, the style part is somewhat questionable.  I guess it would depend on the rest of your room...

I've never been a big fan of quilts especially with busy multi-prints, but in the right room it could have a certain charm.  I would say less is more, if you opt for a busy/colorful quilt keep everything else as low key as possible.  And it's always good to keep your rooms as pared down as possible... to much "stuff" around never looks good, even if the "stuff" is expensive chachkes. One nicely placed chachke is fine.

If you just want a dash of vintage chic, I'd just toss one of these cute bird pillows ($35 each) on top of my bed with my existing pillow shams.

Cute, right?  That's more my speed...

Inhabit has introduced some really cool looking bamboo/cotton blend duvet covers and sheets!  The fabric is 400 thread count Oeko-Tex certified 80% bamboo / 20% organic cotton.  (what the heck is Oeko-Tex? Read about it here)

The Duvet Cover is called Morning Glory in Silver, a queen set (cover and shams) is $320.

The sheets (Plus in Ivory and Silver) they're showing with it have a cool geometic design and are made with the same bamboo/organic cotton fabric. They're sold open stock: queen flat or fitted $122, standard cases $52.

The throw pillows are the Tall Grass (13x24 as shown, $68) and Wildflower (18x18 as shown, $60) patterns. Oh, and you can also see a Morning Glory pillow in back ($60 for 18x18).

What a fabulous look, I love this! 

Finding extra long twin sheets that aren't hideous or poor quality can be challenging.  Thankfully The Company Store has some great options, they're all high quality and in tasteful color palettes. I mean really, not all college kids like cheesy stuff with tacky logos, etc. (for example VS Pink, I don't know if they make bedding but if they do, that's something to avoid!)

These 350 Thread Count Supima Damask Stripe Sheets are a very good option.  Just $24 for the flat, $34 for the x-long fitted and $29 for a pair of standard cases. They also have matching duvet covers and shams.

The 400 Thread Count Wrinkle-Free Sateen is another good option. The plum and sable (dark brown) colors are fabulous!  The twin flat is $29, x-long fitted $39 and pair of standard cases $29. This style also has matching duvet covers.

So the tasteful young ones needn't suffer after all...

The latest New York Magazine Shop-A-Matic features furniture and home decor items at every price. What a fun way to browse for cool stuff.

Seriously, how great is this - a cute owl pillow for only $25! (Hoot pillow by CB2)

Or a $199 accent chair from Brocade Home. (Pattern Bent Wood Chair)

Or a reasonably priced bed like this dark wood platform bed for $799. (Jett platform bed by Z Gallerie)

Williams Sonoma Home is having a big bedding sale right now, many items also with free shipping!  I love WS Home, you can always be assured of great design and high quality...

In duvet covers, I love their coral and greek key jacquards.

And in sheets, the Vine Floral and the Narrow Border Sateen.

Here's a super deal on Signoria Firenze Amalfi Hotel Sheets.  Although Signoria is not as popular as say, Frette, they are very high end.  The only place I've actually seen them in person is on the bedding floor at ABC Carpet & Home in Manhattan... and we all know they only carry the best stuff there...

The Queen Amalfit Hotel Sheet Set is on sale for $179.99!

What's really nice is that this look is often only available in a few colors, but it's available in: black, camelia, coffee, espresso, plum, white and wilton blue... woo hoo!  The sheets are made with 100% Egyptian cotton in a 300 tc single ply percale weave... and of course, they're made in Italy!

Here a great option for the tribal look, but not too tribal if you know what I mean... it's still very chic and sophisticated. 

Tribal by Hudson Park

I love this because it's totally unisex, definitely not too girly but not overly masculine either.  It's on sale now too, the King Duvet Cover is normally $400, it's on sale for $299.99.

It's nice to make some changes to your bedroom for each season, beyond the obvious like taking your warm blankets and duvets off your bed.  Summer definely calls for a lighter look overall.

Here's a quick recipe for a Summer bed overhaul.

1. Put crisp white sheets on your bed.  Preferably percale.  If you need new ones, the 400 Supima Percale from the Company Store and Organic Percale from Pottery Barn are both good choices.

2. Top with a lightweight cover in white.  Matouk makes a wonderful light matelasse in a fine pinpoint, this beautiful fabric is made in Italy.... but still the coverlet is reasonably priced at $279 for a queen.

3. Add euro shams in white linen. I love mixing textures, and just having the linen shams is a heck of lot cheaper than going for the linen sheets too!  If you have a king bed you'll need 3 Euro pillows.  If you have full or queen, 2 is good.  I like Williams Sonoma Home's linen. The 100% linen shams are $55 each.

4. Finish with summery throw pillows.  A perfect option is Inhabit's Grass pillow from Linenplace. $60 each.

You could do just one, or two if you want.

I was out running errands over the weekend and was passing through Pottery Barn - and discovered that they have some fabulous beach towels.  And they're all on sale right now.  ($39 regular price, on sale now for $29 each). They're generously sized at 40 x 72 inches and are finished with a fast dry finish so they'll dry faster.

These 2 floral designs are my favorite.

Lauria Beach Towel

Daylilly Beach Towel

I also like the realism of the ocean inspired designs.

Ocean Reef Beach Towel

Seashell Beach Towel

Over the last decade or so the "thread count" number has become the top measure of quality for bed sheets.  It seems simple, right?  The higher, the better?  Well, no, sorry it's really not that simple.

1. Thread count is simply the number of warp and weft threads in one square in of fabric.  Over a certain level (say 300 thread count) it is really no measure of quality whatsoever. 

2. Fiber quality is more important than thread count in determining bedding quality.  What are those threads made of?  Egyptian cotton? (sweet!), poly cotton? (ugghh) 

3. Yarn size is also more important.  Yarn size is the measure of how fine the threads that make up the fabric are.  The higher the yarn size, the more fine. Finer threads facilitate higher thread counts because you can fit more of them into a square inch; they also produce lighter more supple fabrics.

4. The construction of a bedding fabric refers not only to its thread count but to the ply (2 ply, 3 ply) of thread used, and to the number of threads (picks) used in the weft.  After a certain point  (about 400 thread count), with a single ply, single weft construction it is impossible to achieve higher thread counts.  After that, the most common methods are using plied yarns or multiple threads in the weft.

5. There is, in practice, no industry agreement on the use of plied threads. Package labeling is not required to disclose the use of 2 ply of 3 ply threads.  (a 300 thread count that is made with 2 ply yarn may be labeled as 600 thread count)

6.  Trying to find the highest thread count for the lowest price is a fool's errand.

7.  Have you ever felt a 1200 thread count?  It is so heavy and feels as thick as a blanket.

8.  If you asked industry insiders what their preferred thread count was, it would be 300 - 400 thread count.

9. European companies generally do not quote thread count. (Pratesi, Frette, etc.)

10. You can buy 1000 thread count at Walmart for $100, enough said.