19 hours ago
Between the sheets glamour: Helen McAlinden on how to make your bed summer ready
Belfast native Helen McAlinden is a fan of natural fabrics, particularly in the bedroom.
As a designer of the home range for Irish heritage brand Foxford for almost 20 years, she uses its new linen bedding in her own home, a sea-facing terrace in Blackrock. It comes in three stonewashed colours: a soft sunrise pink; an aqua green that is the colour of the Irish Sea; and a gentle glare-free white.
It gives a look of casual ease, she says. 'It's not trying too hard but yet it looks really sophisticated. It's light to sleep under, cool in summer and warm in winter, and you don't need to iron it. I don't want to iron or pay someone to iron for me.'
It uses Irish flax that is woven in Guimarães, northeast of Porto in Portugal – a region known for its weaving – and dries faster than cotton. Its long fibres make it smooth to the touch and give it tensile strength, she says. 'It's also low maintenance. You just wash it and hang it out on the line.'
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Foxford's new shop in Dundrum Town Centre
Now you can see and touch this bedding range in the new Foxford shop in Dundrum Town Centre, as well as other outlets such as Arnotts, where Mags Fitzgibbon is the brand manager.
'One thing Foxford has always had is distribution in the tourist industry, but it is more than that, it is a lifestyle brand,' says McAlinden. Indeed, its throws drape beds in ultra-luxe hotels such as Ballynahinch Castle and Ashford Castle and have found their way on to overseas hotel beds, including the Cornwall-based Hotel Tresanton, part of the Polizzi Collection.
In addition to bed linen and throws, Foxford can supply almost all bedding needs, except the mattress, she says. For that she opts for a King Koil design, made in Ireland.
Pure linen blush pink duvet set; double €289, king €319 and super king €355
She then layers her bed, starting with a mattress cover, made in Co Mayo for Foxford. A fitted bottom sheet is her foundation garment. Foxford's new linen range has a generous depth of 40cm so it will fit any mattress height and stops you having to wrestle with the base to try to get the bedding over the mattress corners.
She also insists on luxuriating under a top sheet, a touch that works in summer, on hot nights. Then it's a featherlight duvet.
Her main bedroom is bedecked in the aqua colourway, for it works with the warm grey of the walls, painted in Athena 858 by Benjamin Moore, and the seascapes of Dublin Bay that she can see from her home in Blackrock. The colours work with the animated greys and greens of the water breaking below.
Her down duvet is Danish band Danica. 'I spent €300 on it when I didn't have €300, bought it in Copenhagen airport and carried it home as hand luggage. It's the only thing I can sleep under.'
On the nights when there's a chill in the air, she adds a honeycomb waffle 100 per cent cotton throw, €139, also Foxford.
Helen McAlinden's guest bedroom with linen white Lumi print, waffle bedspread and Foxford cushions. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
The feather and down pillows are part of Foxford's bedding range, made in Mayo. She opts for the empire-size, two of which will fit across her super-king bed. 'It is an Irish-designed bed.'
The new collection, launching in the autumn, will feature additional colours, including a denim blue, a deep inky green, a mauve and nacre, a pearlescent colour. There will also be stripes, fresh takes on toile de jouy, and contemporary checks for the Christmas market.
The brand also offers a 400-thread count boxed cotton bedding set that can be customised with monogrammed embroidery or another such message, a great wedding gift to give.
A well dressed bed
Easy ways to ensure your bed is well dressed, according to Mags Fitzgibbon, brand manager for Foxford at Arnotts
Pillows should fit the width of the bed. If you sleep on a king-size bed buy king size pillows, which measure 50cm by 90cm instead of the standard 50cm by 75cm. This will fill in the gap in the centre of the bed.
Continental pillows, 65cm squares, can be used to dress the bed. They also prop you up if you like to read or watch TV in bed.
Mattress depths vary. There are about 10 different depths available. Before buying new fitted sheets, measure the depth of your mattress, to include any other layers; toppers, covers or electric blankets that will add to its height. Sales staff can then direct you to the brands that do those sizes.
A flat sheet or top sheet has two purposes. It cuts down on how often you have to launder your duvet cover, and it adds a layer that feels silky to sleep under.
When choosing a duvet, pick a size up from the size of the bed it will cover. Lay a king-size duvet on a double bed, for example, and so on. It gives a better look to the bed and hides part or all of the divan sides. It also gives enough cover to accommodate two people.
The standard pillowcase with an inside flap, also known as the housewife, is so-called as it was developed in the 1880s by the Housewives Co-operative in Bolton to keep the pillowcase in place. Before that pillowcases were simple sleeves.
Oxford pillowcases have the same internal dimensions as the housewife, but have an external edging.
Bedding trends
Vesteroy mattress, Ikea
The pocket-springs in the
Vesteroy
mattress have been designed to respond independently to each other, meaning you can have a great night's sleep regardless of whether your partner tosses and turns. The springs also allow air to circulate whilst you sleep. From €318 at
.
Curve appeal
Rimel bedside table, La Redoute
Rimel is a
lacquered metal bedside table
that comes in two colour options, the teal, pictured and a bone white. It stands 61.5cm high and has a circumference of 48cm, with a rattan top covered with tempered glass and a secret storage. €234.99 from
.
Baby pink
Joules Thornton bed, DFS
Joules Thornton king-size bedframe, €1,625, exclusive to DFS, comes in a blue stripe, floral or pink, to order.
Tropical taste
Fia rectangular cushion, Harvey Norman
This velvet feather filled cushion, Fia, 40cm by 60cm, €58, also comes in 58cm squares, €75. The print will add a taste of the tropics to summer nights.
Frill seeking
Birdie striped duvet cover set The French Bedroom Company
This Birdie pistachio and petal coloured, frill-edged duvet cover and matching pillowcases set is a frivolous way to bring the trend for stripes into the boudoir. About €84 excluding delivery and charges from
.
Mood lighting
Rechargeable wireless lamp,
This white gold confetti-effect glass lamp, €59, from
, looks good and is wireless and rechargeable.
Secret storage
Bedside table, JYSK
This bedside table in natural oak has tambour doors to hide all your bits, €100,
Statement lamp
Favour lamp, Pieces
This Favour lamp has a powdercoated steel frame and an acrylic shade, €105, from
.
Barefoot luxury
Maze rug by Kukoon, at EZ Living
A rug underfoot softens the feel of timber floors. This Maze design by Irish company Kukoon is available at EZ Living Interiors, €120 for a 120cm by 170cm size.
