Post by Craig Jenkins.

Christmas is right around the corner, and Hanukkah is mere days away. Here’s a quick, fun holiday related question for everyone out there. So we all know what gifts we want to receive this time of year. This question relates to the giving of gifts, though. When buying a gift for a friend or loved one, do you pull a Santa and solicit family and friends for lists, or do you get them something you think they might want? Are you a thoughtful surprise gift-giver, or are you a more utilitarian one? Are you the type that thinks socks are great holiday gifts? If you are, please be advised that while everyone always NEEDS socks and items of that nature, NO ONE likes getting them as gifts. This is an unrecognized rule of the universe. Help make the world a better place. Break the cycle.

This is a bed blog, though, so let us get back to the business at hand. Let’s talk about dressing your bed. A quick and easy way to give your bed some third dimensional pop, some livelihood is to mix sizes and shapes of pillows. With pillows, shams, throws, boudoirs, breakfast squares, and more available on the market, you have multiple options for dressing your bed and introducing additional layers and textures into your bedding set up. Use your creative mind and experiment. Take care, and good luck.

Tags: bed, bedroom, Charles P. Rogers, Design, sheets

Post by M Locker.

Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley. Photographs by Nic Bishop.

Do you like chameleons? Of course you do! Are you five years old? Well, then, this book is for you. It tells a little story of a chameleon who looks for food and finds a friend (not to give away the ending). We learn a little about the daily goings-on of a chameleon’s life: friends, dangers, and foods. We also learn that chameleons use their incredible color-changing skin for more than just camouflage; they use it for communication. It is a simple but informative book with beautiful full-page photographs by Nic Bishop, who has taken pictures for many children’s animal books. Ages 3-7

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg.

This is a bit of a classic but I was leafing through it again today so I thought I’d discuss it. For those who have not read it, the premise put forth by the editor is that this man name Harris Burdick brought in a number of illustrations accompanied only by the title of the stories to which they belonged and a caption from each tale. The editor was intrigued but never heard from the man again. What the reader is left with is a tantalizing picture with no more than a caption and a title to entice us yet more. One story, called “The Seven Chairs” show a nun seated in a chair floating high in the air. The caption reads: the fifth one ended up in France. There is a lot here to feed the imagination and it is absolutely my favorite book by this acclaimed author and illustrator. Ages 6 and up.

Tags: beds, bedtime stories, Chameleon, Charles P. Rogers, Chris Van Allsburg, family, Joy Cowley, Nic Bishop, sheets, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Getting great sheets is easy. Just click on the bedding and linens tab on the website! Keeping them looking and feeling great season after season is a whole ‘nother ballgame! Maintaining quality sheets is hard work—just kidding. A little tender loving care will ensure a longlasting life for your linens. Here are a few helpful tips:

• A light wash will do. Sheets don’t get dirty like grungy football uniforms do. A short, soft cycle in lukewarm water ought to suffice. Don’t overdo it.


• Avoid bleach. Bleach eats away at fabric over time.


• Easy on the dryer. Leave em in just ling enough to get rid of any moisture.


• Shake the sheets. When you put them on the bed, shake out any wrinkles you see. This goes a long way in stopping pilling.


• Iron them. A gentle press keeps things looking and feeling crisp as the day you opened the package.

Tags: bed linen, home, Lifestyle, sheets

Charles P. Rogers recently got a nod in Erin Loechner’s prestigious Design for Life blog. A couple weeks back Erin posted a whimsical list of her ten unbreakable house rules of design. It’s a great list, chock full of great advice for maintaining a comfy and warm living environment in your home. Tucked away in the number five rule (“Only white linens are allowed on the bed”) is a link to our 400 thread count Prima cotton bedding ensemble. Thanks, Erin! We love you too!

Post below (enjoy!):
http://www.designformankind.com/2010/07/house-rules/

Tags: Design for Life, home, Interior Design, Lifestyle, prima cotton, sheets

Want to know how to tame those pesky, oversized flat sheets? We’ve got the answer: hospital corners. Hospital corners are part of the standard bedmaking procedure in both hospitals and the military. They’re a quick and easy way to make those extra inches on your flat sheet disappear into a sleek and classy design. Here’s a step by step tutorial on how to make hospital corners, and if these 5 steps don’t help take a look at the diagram below courtesy of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

1. Position the flat sheet evenly over the mattress and fitted sheet so that the excess length hangs evenly on all sides.
2. Tuck the bottom side of the sheet underneath the mattress from end to end.
3. Fold the hanging bottom corners of the sheet under the side edges of the bed. The ends of the still overhanging side edges of the sheet should taper to a 45 degree angle.
4. Fold the side edges of the sheet under the mattress for a stylish, geometrical display.
5. Repeat the process with the blanket if you want.

Tags: bed, sheets