A Mini Clarification of Bed Sizes

I thought I would share this handy US bed size chart with all of you.  Perhaps it will answer questions you have had for a long time.  

CA King mattresses are only slightly larger than Kings and are four inches narrower.  So, if more space is what you want and you are not over six feet tall, you are much better off with a King bed.  If you are over six feet tall a CA King is best and I highly recommend you do not have a foot board that comes above the top of the mattress.  There are longer sizes and wider of King beds on the market now, too.  

Extra Long Twin's are a great secret-regularly used on boats.  They are as long as a Queen and King Bed, so two of them are a great solution when you need to fit two adult guests in one room, who would be more comfortable in separate beds.  

Full size are tricky as they are short for most people.  They are the same length as a regular twin.  So, if you have space for a Queen, it is highly recommended.  The chart shows an Extra Long Full, but you will be hard pressed to find mattress pads, beds, or linens for those...if at all.

Custom mattress sizes are available from many mattress makers around the world as well, for odd sizes and shapes.  

Of course, I have only covered US mattress sizes and most countries have their own unique sizes, often with the same names.  A good example is the English King size is a US Queen.   My point is, it is essential to really think how one needs to use their bed and who will be in it.  One surprising recommendation:  be sure to measure the mattress when it arrives.  China has become a big consumer of mattresses, many made in the US.  They have three king sizes and none are the same as the US sizes, but are quite close.  So, if you end up with a mis-labeled Chinese King of some sort, your linens will not fit quite right (we have seen it happen more than once at Kearsley)...so now we ask that all beds we make linens for be measured.  It is easier for all in the long run.

Since Kearsley makes all of our linens custom....we can fit what ever you need just right.    www.kearsleylinens.com

We are always here to answer your questions.

Sweet dreams!

Note: The bed shown is covered in Palma White Percale.  

One of the many, many, many reasons the right linens, healthy linens and good linens are important for you to be happy and healthy!

So, our skin is the largest organ in our bodies.  We put it through so much all day.  Exposure to sun, smothering it in layers of clothes to stay warm,dehydration, booze, abusing it with unhealthy lotions, sunscreens, flame retardant toxins in hotels and aircraft, etc, etc, etc.  But, the bigger picture is...when we sleep, our skin along with all of our other organs, work in their brilliantly designed way to rid us of all the wrongs we have done to ourselves intentionally and unintentionally throughout the day.

What does this have to do with linens?  Well, your skin needs to breath at night.  There is all this hoo ha about high thread count in marketing.  Think about all those lovely (of course this depends on your perspective) British bankers with their beautifully tailored shirts of amazing 1,000 thread count cotton.  Have you ever been to a cricket match with them in their work clothes?  Or at the pub after work?  They are totally pitted out, albeit generally still utterly charming until well over served.

Again you may be asking me why does any of this have to do with the linens we wrap ourselves in at night?  Well, the shirts are pitted out because their beautifully woven cotton shirts are too high thread count and the shirts do not breathe.  Therefore they are over heating.  So, now let's take that concept to bed.  I do not care where you are and how far you crank up your air conditioning, you put off a ton of heat while in full REM sleep and in order to detox you need to be cuddled up with linens that let your skin breathe.

You may still have a sweaty night here or there.  We are all biomechanisms and certain times of month or after an extra fun weekend your body may just need to sweat out the toxins in your sleep, if you have not had time to do that at the gym or out on a run or hike.

No matter who my clients may be, one of the first questions I ask is "how warm or cold are a sleeper are you?"  Is he hot and and she cold, if he cold and she is hot, is he hot and he hot, etc, etc...  First and foremost your linens should be engineered so that you sleep comfortably (we can designed them to look any way you like after that!) and your linens are cool and breathable enough for you and your skin to process what ever it is you have put them through during the day/night.  Of course, I am not suggesting you be anything but cozy.  I personally am not independently warm in my home climate, other than a few hot summer nights.  I am all about being warm, but with linens that breathe.

High thread count is not better.  Kearsley only added our 1,000+ thread count Deluxe sheets because people did not believe we were a luxury purveyor without them.  I have never sold a set.  You can guess why from my above opinions.  I want my clientele to be so happy in our sheets they tell the people they love how great they are.  If I were willing to let my clients buy 1,000 thread count sheets (most of what are out there are really not what they are labeled and therefore lots of people with "1,000 tc sheets" are sleeping on sheets that may be as low as 120 tc and sleeping very comfortably) it would be like asking them to wrap up in a greenhouse for the night.  One should not wake up regularly in a sweaty environment if you have just been sleeping!  If you are, you are not sleeping with the right sheets for you.

More to follow on the specifics on this topic, but from my very favorite 600 finest Egyptian extra long staple 15 year old Kearsley Essentials Sateen sheets with Tyrolean embroidery...I bid you sweet dreams and wish you a fantastic week!

BTW this fabulous photo was taken of me by photographer Patrice Ward!  

Truth in textile labeling and marketing?

In researching a lovely looking store online this morning I came across multiple categories of bed linens with Giza 45 as their description.  Most of you have probably never heard about it or thought about what it is.  Giza 45 was a very specific variety of extra long staple cotton from Egypt.  It brings with it a fine linen price tag, because it was incredibly long, strong, fine and expensive cotton. I say was, because it has not be grown any where in the world for four years.  So unless the linens are of an old stock, they cannot be Giza 45.  We explain a little more about this sort of thing on our website (www.kearsleycouture.com) in the section "About Fibers, Weaves & Thread Count."  

Most of you may already know that many brands embellish significantly regarding thread count and the public is not educated that true extremely high thread count is not always better because it does not breathe.  The hotter and more humid your climate or the warmer you sleep,  the better off you are sleeping with a lower thread count cotton or best of all, a fine linen (flax).  Linen is the ultimate natural wicker of moisture and it breathes perfectly right through a light cashmere blanket.  A far better combination than cotton and down for a beautiful tropical or non-airconditioned humid environment.

Wishing you comfortable days and lovely nights in your beds!

Demystifying Thread Count

Kearsley finally has a page on our website explaining and demystifying things like "truth" in labeling/fiber content, thread count, fibers, weaves, etc.  I will be adding to it as I have time and would love feedback on what further information people would like.  Please check it out so far and let me know what further linens topics would be of interest and if you have any questions.  If I do not know the answer, I should be able to find an accurate one.  Thank you and enjoy!  http://www.kearsleycouture.com/#!fibers--weaves/c1n5g