Is pure plain white bedlinen a silly idea?

[naturelover]

I love the idea of crisp white sheets and duvet cover. But would it become grubby with time? How would I wash it to keep it bright and white? What thread count is worth paying extra for?

Also, does anyone have actual linen, not cotton, sheets? I always assumed linen would be scratchy... what's it actually like to sleep in?

This is for me and DH of course, the kids can have something patterned and coloured as long as possible!

Thanks in advance

Ooh I love plain white or cream - but also have some floral ones. Mine are mostly Ikea and they are fine and wash well. I'm not fussed about thread count, but if you are, most supermarkets and matalan do egyptian cotton high thread count at a reasonable price.

I have one linen pillowcase which I love, so I would love proper linen sheets but haven't ever forked out for them yet - maybe one day. Not scratchy at all - smooth and silky. You can get them at john lewis.

(I don't do any fancy bleaching/special white washing by the way - just normal non-bio.)

White is sheer joy - like sleeping in clouds. Apart from anything else, if it gets dirty and stained (which it certainly does in our house), you can just bleach it (cold water and plain bleach, followed by drying in the sunshine). My white pure cotton stuff looks much better now than my dark blue polycotton.

I have slept in linen sheets which are heaven, especially when freshly ironed. And I do have some linen pillowcases, which are like cool feathers they are so soft. But I must say I have only slept in OLD linen (darling).

Aaaaah i dream of white or cream bed linen - maybe one day. I say go for it if you can...

I have two DSs (one of which likes to bring his pet rat into bed with us) and three big dogs so unlikely for now....

I only have white towels and bedlinen so easy for washing and is like sleeping ona cloud as someone else said.It just feels better can't explain it

We've got white bedlinen, cotton though, not linen. Something very pleasing about it!

Wash it every 5 days or so, 60 deg with bio stuff - stays gleaming (have about 4 sets so alternate them)

Agree if it has been hung out in sun and wind to dry it's even more delicious...

I only have pure cotton white or very pale cream bedding. I wash it at 60 with nothing other than white cotton or towels in the same wash and dry it outside in the sunlight whenever I can. I iron the pillowcases but not the duvet cover or sheets - I actually like the crumpled look. The bed looks extra clean somehow.

Ooooh so i might be easier?

I have white with a mucky ds (asd) and a dd who has just discovered make up and its fine. I just wash at 40 on its own (kingsize douvet, sheets and cases make a full load).

I went to TK Maxx and managed to get good quality at a really good price.

Depends if you're a messy person!! I get everything on mine because I'm so clumsy

Totally ruined the last lot with melted black rubber (don't ask, I still kick myself)

I did have a linen sheet once that I bought in the sales in New York - it was heaven, but not very hard wearing for some reason and it died (probably poor quality, I'm sure the good stuff's meant to last for centuries). It's just so cool and smooth on a summer's night. I keep looking lustfully at The White Company catalogue's linen sheets and being too mean to shell out for them.

White is definitely easier than other colours because you can wash it as hot as necessary or bleach it without worrying about fading.

My favourite white cotton sheets actually come from Ikea. I also have some from John Lewis and posh ones from Habitat that were part of a wedding present. But the Ikea ones are lovely.

following previous Mumsnet thread on white bed linen I am making the switch (can't replace everything in 1 go) but am v. much in favour of white bedlinen, and it all always matches Kids don't grow out of it, easy to clean & erm I tend to change sheets (ours anyway) more regularly as you get more of a visula reminder to do it iyswim
I also like Ikea sheets, oh and M&S do great value too, just don't tell dh, I'm supposed to be banned from both shhhhh

Love ours! (all cotton though, no linen) Another benefit I found is always having enough stuff to make a white wash if I need to. Have been caught out in the past when I needed wash a white top/undies or something, haven't been able to make a load and end up shoving it in with other colours and it ends up a bit greyish.

I have plain white bed linen from Ikea and it's not silly at all.

I was them with other whites and bio powder at 40C.

I have all white stuff too.
I love it.

I've got lots of linen that i bought for nothing in second hand shops in France.

Linen sheets last a lifetime if well cared for and are wonderful!

No not silly at all. Go for white towels, whit dressing gowns and white underwear for DCs as well. It makes washing day a whole lot easier as AmeliaJane says. No sorting colours or part loads. Bish bash bosh three washer loads bunged in one after an other its all done.

Have you ever noticed that hotels have all white sheets and towels? That is the reason why. Make your house cleaning like an industrial process and it is quicker and easier.

Our DCs have white sheets and towels too. Ditch the colours. The white does not get grubby while coloured bed linen fades and looks nasty after a while IMO.

(Semi-)Dissenting voice here - my sister likes white bedclothes and I can see they work very well for the reasons above - and they are nice to sleep on - but I love my Habitat plain colour bedclothes, and don't find that they fade & look nasty. I love colours in the bedroom! But if that's how your taste runs, it is a lovely look and very do-able.

Another fan of all white cotton or linen bedding, towels etc
Ikea sheets are good, wash well and iron nicely.
We have Granny's ancient linen sheets for our own bed which are lovely to sleep on yet come up like new after being laundered. They feel cool on your skin but never scratchy.

I found that polycotton never smells right somehow and tends to look a bit tired after a while.

Agree on polycotton. Worth spending a bit more on good cotton sheets but how do people iron linen?

I'm moving towards white too. Slept in white proper linen on holiday a while back and it's blissful. Checked it out online when I got back and was at the price, so I don't think I'll be buying it any time soon

Iron linen while it is still damp and on the hottest setting of your iron.