Good Housekeeping shares the best bedding to buy in 2021
GH Lab experts stand by these sheets, comforters and pillows.
Updated: 3:11 PM CDT May 7, 2021
(upbeat music) - With winter coming to an end and daylight savings time kicking in this weekend, it's a great time to re-evaluate your sleep habits. One of the best ways to get a good night's sleep is to invest in good bedding. My job as a textiles director and a fiber scientist, is to test and report on all fabric-based products, including two of the most important parts of your bed, your sheets and your pillows. Today, I'm going to show you how to shop for your perfect bed, whether you're looking to save, or you're in the market to splurge. When we test sheets, we use lab equipment to see how well it holds up to shrinkage, wrinkles, peeling and more. Believe it or not, thread count is not that important when you shop for sheets. Instead, focus on the fiber content, as well as the construction which includes, sateen, percale, flannel and microfiber. Our splurge winner is the Brooklinen Luxe Core Sheet Set. It's 100% cotton sateen, which is one of the most popular sheet fabrics you can find. Sateen is a silkier weave that feels soft and smooth. These sheets performs well across the board in our tests. And as a bonus, the fitted sheet has long and short side labels on it, so bed making is much easier. If you're looking to save but still want all the bang for your buck, The Mellanni Microfiber Sheet Set is a total steal at just around $30. It's a polyester microfiber so it feels buttery smooth. And because it's a synthetic, it'll be more durable, shrink resistant and less prone to wrinkles than cotton sheets. It won't have that same natural luxe feeling you get from cotton sheets, but it was one of the highest softness ratings we had in our test. Now for pillows, our splurge pick is the Coop Home Goods Adjustable Pillow. It's unique because it's a blend of memory foam pieces with microfiber clusters on the inside. So you get the support without it feeling hard. It's also adjustable, so you can add or remove the stuffing to get your own perfect height. And we love that it's machine washable too. And now our best value option, is the Amazon Basics Down Alternative Pillow 2 Pack. It's entirely polyester, which helps keep the cost down, but that also helps it wash really well which is great for allergy sufferers. This one is soft, so it's great for stomach sleepers, as well as children who need a lower profile pillow. But it also comes in a firmer option which is great for back and side sleepers. To check out more of our top picks, to build your perfect bed, visit goodhousekeeping.com.
Good Housekeeping shares the best bedding to buy in 2021
GH Lab experts stand by these sheets, comforters and pillows.
Updated: 3:11 PM CDT May 7, 2021
One of the most important things to getting the best night’s sleep is investing in a good bed. From the mattress to your blankets and everything in between, the right products can really make a huge difference.
My job, as textiles director and fiber scientist, is to test and report on all fabric-based products, including two of the most important aspects of the bed: sheets and pillows. Below is everything you'll need to make the perfect bed, whether you’re looking for budget options or are in the market to splurge.
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Best Overall Sheets
Luxe Core Sheet Set
brooklinen.com
$111.75
Not only were these sheets top performers in our bedding test, they also offer free shipping and free returns (even if you've used them and just don't love them!). In our tests, the 100% cotton fabric was smooth, strong, and pill-resistant. Plus, the fitted sheets have tabs labeled "long side" and "short side" so making the bed is much easier.
Also available as a .
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Best Value Sheets
Bed Sheet Set
amazon.com
This polyester microfiber set is a total steal and a best-seller on Amazon with close to 200,000 reviews. It also wowed our consumer testers with its soft, buttery feel. On top of that, the sheets were more wrinkle-resistant than most cotton fabrics and they barely shrunk when we washed them. Just keep in mind: Synthetic bedding fabric may not feel as breathable as cotton and some testers actually thought it was too soft.
Also available as a .
Best Sateen Sheets
Wrinkle-Resistant Sateen Sheets
garnethill.com
$227.00
Your best bet for smooth fabric made of a natural fiber, this 100% cotton fabric has a luxurious sateen weave and a wrinkle-resistant finish. It earned high ratings for smoothness (both for feel and appearance), and also uses long-staple fibers and a combing technique to make it feel extra soft. The pieces are sold individually so you can mix and match your set.
Best Percale Sheets
Pima Cotton Percale Sheet Set
llbean.com
If you prefer light and crisp sheets over silky smooth, this set uses premium pima cotton in a basic weave that feels breathable and cool-to-the-touch. It impressed our Lab experts with its durability, and our tester panel rated it higher than other percales. And while this type of weave is more prone to wrinkles, the fabric was less creased than others.
Also available as a .
Best Brushed Sheets
Brushed Cotton Sheet Set
parachutehome.com
This soft set also uses a basic percale weave, but the surface is brushed to give it a cozy feel. It's somewhat similar to flannel, but it's not as fuzzy and won't feel as warm, making it great for year-round use. Testers rated it softer than all other percales and it stood up to our pilling and laundering tests in the Lab. It's sold without the flat sheet, but you can choose to add one when you buy.
Also available as a and .
Best Lyocell Sheets
Eucalyptus Lyocell Sheet Set
amazon.com
$189.95
Lyocell is a trendy fiber that's man-made, but uses tree pulp as the raw material. It has hit the mainstream in recent years thanks to its incredibly soft feel, and this one outperformed similar fabrications. The fabric proved to be durable in Lab tests and it had high softness ratings from our panel of consumer testers. It also has labels on each corner of the fitted sheet so you don't have to struggle making your bed.
Also available as a .
Best Down Comforter
Permabaffle Box Goose Down Comforter
llbean.com
Down tends to shift inside comforters, but this one has a unique gate system to make sure the clusters stay in place. It also has a 600 fill power to keep you nice and cozy (yet not too warm). Plus, the duvet insert has loops in the corners so you can easily tie on your duvet cover. The down is ethically sourced and repeatedly cleaned during the production process to get rid of allergens.
Best Down Alternative Comforter
Cloud Comforter
buffy.co
It's hard to find down alternative comforters that stay fluffy, but this one has a special construction that makes it feel like you're sleeping in a cloud. It uses a web of fibers instead of individual clusters to prevent clumping and there's no box stitching so the layers are less compressed. On top of that, Buffy gives you a so you can make sure you love it.
Best Value Down Comforter
Down Feather Blend Comforter
homedepot.com
$232.00
Down comforters are pricey, but this one offers a low-cost alternative because it blends down with feathers. But don't let the price fool you, it still offers top-notch construction with its cotton outer fabric, responsibly sourced fill, machine washable care instructions, and corner loops to tie on a duvet cover. It also earned the , so it's backed by our two-year
Best Value Down Alternative Comforter
All-Season Down Alternative Comforter
amazon.com
$29.99
This one is an incredible deal at a fraction of the cost of others, plus it's Amazon's Choice with over 75,000 reviews. It achieves its low cost through synthetic materials (polyester for the fill and outer cover), but users say it feels both lightweight and fluffy. You can also choose between eight sizes and 12 colors to match any bed.
Best Overall Pillow
Original Pillow
amazon.com
$85.00
This top-tested pillow comes with extra stuffing that you can add or remove to create your own personalized level of support. The fill is a blend of memory foam pieces and microfiber clusters that our testers said was comfortable, supportive, and improved their overall sleep quality. We also love that it's machine washable, which usually isn't the case for foam.
Best Value Pillow
Down Alternative Bed Pillow 2-Pack
amazon.com
$21.99
This down alternative pillow is sold as a set of two for less than the price of one! Yet despite the low cost, these performed incredibly well and testers rated them to be comfortable. They're also machine washable, making them great for anyone suffering from allergies. With a lower profile, they're also ideal for people who need a flatter pillow with less support, like stomach sleepers or kids.
Best Down Pillow
Down Pillow
parachutehome.com
$140.00
If you like down pillows, you'll love this one from Parachute. It comes in three different densities for every sleep position and it was a top performer in our latest pillow test. Users raved about its softness and comfort, and we loved how well it stood up to laundering in the Lab.
Best Down Alternative Pillow
Down Alternative Pillow Set
tuftandneedle.com
$120.00
This one's your best bet if you want the feel of down, but you're looking to save or prefer faux materials: Its poly fill is lightweight, yet it feels firmer and more supportive than other down alternatives. Designed for back and side sleepers, it was a top performer in Lab durability tests and users were blown away by its comfort and how well it kept its shape during use.
Best Foam Pillow
TEMPUR-Neck PIllow
tempurpedic.com
This solid foam pillow has a contoured shape to fit your head, neck and shoulders, helping to keep side and back sleepers in proper alignment. It has firm support and comes in three sizes to match different body types. The pillow kept its shape well in our Lab tests, and users who prefer firm pillows told us it felt great to sleep on.
Best Foam Cluster Pillow
Kapok Memory Foam Pillow
amazon.com
$109.00
This tester favorite earned the highest score from our panel thanks to its unique stuffing that makes it soft yet supportive. It's filled with memory foam pieces and kapok, a natural silky fiber that comes from trees. It's not intended for a specific position and we've found that the shape is versatile for those who move around at night. The downside is that it's not machine washable.