I like to change up my bedding colors throughout the year, so duvet covers make more sense for me as the ones not in use store in a smaller space than comforters.

Definitely duvet cover. I don't use them now but I have used clips that hold the duvet corners to the inside corners of the cover. I suppose it is a pain to stuff it-- but I love the way it looks when I am done so it doesn't bother me nearly as much as other chores :)

Comforters seem really dated to me, I prefer duvets lined with either down "comforters" or for a flat look, a whole cloth quilt or using a quilt as is.

I have to second sasafras.. I went through both options and ended up with quilts too. You get a blanket or two in neutral colors, then get a quilt for looks.

Quilts are the best option - I hate stuffing duvet covers too, they don't look nice anyway, and I'm afraid I'm going to break the washing machine with a king sized comforter.

I use comforters now but it's because the duvets are too heavy...with our new house, we keep the heat up in the night too so we don't need the heavy down comforters like we did.

"I use comforters now but it's because the duvets are too heavy""??

Duvets ARE comforters.

Duvets have a duvet cover which is removable.
Comforters do not have a removable cover.

One bed had a quilt. Two have comforters.
Our bed, the most used, has down in a duvet cover. The cover gets washed a few times a month.

I agree with LuAnn. A duvet is the same as a comforter. A duvet cover goes over the duvet/comforter.

My boys have quilts on their beds. Our bed and the guest room bed have quilts/coverlets with down comforters/duvets inside duvet covers folded at the foot of the beds.

I use a duvet cover because I love not having to use a top sheet. I don't heat my bedroom, so it's very cozy in the winter with a down comforter and in the summer with a down blanket inside. I started buying velvet flannel from Company Store and they are such a dream to sleep in. Their covers and comforters have ties and anchors in the corners so they always stay in place. I also have a very soft cotton cover from Garnet Hill for when I want a different look or if the weather gets too warm.

I think once you are used to sleeping under down the weight of a quilt seems quite heavy to me. Or maybe people fold them down at night?

I'm with olychick.

We have a down duvet with covers in sheet material, and the covers are changed and washed with the sheets.

It makes for a rather informal bed, with just pillows and the fluffed up duvet, but we like the simplicity of it - and the kitties sleep on it all day and part of the night with us, so it suits the whole household.

And it's comfortable year round.

Quilt lover here. I buy lightweight quilts for summer and heavier one's for winter. I lay a solid color blanket at the foot of the bed if we need it in the winter. I love the extra color and patterns that quilts give off.

Quilt girl here...I do like the look of some of the down blankets. We keep an extra quilt/throw at the end of the bed to pull up if we need it, plus it adds color to our neutral quilts.

White down duvet with duvet cover. The covers usually
have ties inside that attach to the duvet. This winter (we live in NE) I have a white Lands End flannel cover on it.
I change covers with the seasons.

I love sleeping under down comforters with duvet covers. I actually have a silk quilt, too (though really just for looks). I agree that they tend to look less refined; even when I fold down the duvet like they do in magazines, mine looks kind of silly. :)

I have a couple of duvet covers that I switch out. I wasn't in love with it at first, but I'm really liking my RH linen duvet cover; it wears well. Both my duvet covers and comforter have ties so the comforter can be tied into place. Still kind of a pain to put them back on, but duvet covers are pretty easy to wash and I do like to be able to wash them regularly.

When did bedding get so complicated? For many years, I used sheets and blankets.More blankets for cool weather, fewer or none for warm weather. I used a bedspread all year and I took it off at night. Now, I have quilts and comforters and matelasse covers as well as blankets. I also have pillows for my head and pillows in shams, both standard and European. I refuse to get decorative throw pillows. Enough is enough.

Anyway, I find a quilt over a down comforter is most comfortable for me in the winter. In the summer (with AC) I just use the quilt. I think duvet covers are a pain and look messy, but maybe I am not patient enough.

Quilts are my favored top layer. My quilt is all white. You can layer a top sheet, one or more blankets, then a nice, soft, drapey quilt for a lightweight but insulated top layer that looks great. Add or remove layers through the seasons (and the night) as needed. Comforters are good if you want to make it very easy to make the bed, or if you want a particular color or pattern. Used them on my kid's beds, and when I was enamored of a pattern or two of Ralph Lauren bedding. Anytime I've tried a duvet and cover, it felt like it weighed 100 lbs and was too hot.

duvets are not comforters imo....duvets are covers for quilts that are usually down so not easily washed...that's why you cover them. a duvet cover means 3 layers....the top of the duvet, the bottom and the down comforter in between. A comforter is usually a polyester or other kind of batting filling that needs no extra covers as it is usually quite washable. The extra layers of the duvet cover over the down makes it much heavier and warmer vs. the one-piece comforters.

DH used to use the duvet cover instead of a sheet and just flip it and wash it like a top sheet with no other blanket....I wouldn't do that with a comforter....

A duvet is a cover that you put a down comforter inside of, either to protect it (ideally), or a duvet (with a comforter inside) can be used as a decorative element on the bed. All depends on your decorative/fabric taste.

We have a few 2 comforters that I switch out in a duvet depending on the season/temperature.

The word (duvet) comes from French. It means down-as in that which fills a comforter. It does not refer to the removable, washable cover. Whether you use it that way or not, it does mean comforter.

..or specifically a down comforter. Not the poly or cotton filled comforter Annie mentions.

If it were the cover only, wouldn't calling it a duvet cover be redundant? ;)

You mean like coronary heart disease?

These terms have gotten so muddled in the US. I blame retailers for mis-using them. I remember a catalog that sold "duvet fillers," which, upon reading the description, were basically a white, poly-filled comforter. I think the catalog called them duvet fillers to help people who wanted to buy a duvet cover, but didn't know what to put in them. The same catalog also sold "sham fillers" for people who didn't know that pillows go into shams.

Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions:

Comforter: a thick bed covering made of two layers of cloth containing a filling (as down)

Duvet: comforter

Comforter seems to be of English derivation, duvet is from the French.

In retail, I think that comforter tends to mean a stand-alone item, something that already has a decorative cover sewn right on it. And duvet tends to mean a plain comforter that you would put a cover on. But in general use, I think the two terms are pretty interchangeable. There are tons of down comforters sold and marketed as "down comforters" that clearly most people would put a duvet cover on.

And to further muddy the waters, what's a quilt? To me a quilt is two pieces of cloth, one of which might be pieced together from smaller pieces in a decorative pattern, with a filling, usually cotton but possibly poly, and stitched together, again usually in a decorative pattern. But people refer to matelasse "quilts" when clearly, there's only one layer of fabric.

Duvet covers all the way. I hate wrestling with top sheets and blankets etc. Easier to make the bed, too.
In the summer, I just use the cover or a very thin insert. In winter a down insert. Basically, you put a duvet cover over whatever insert, which could be a 'normal' comforter.
I wash the covers just like regular sheets and change once a week.
So, I'd say the question is:
1. Do you put a 'case' or bag (duvet cover) over whatever you use to keep you warm at night and wash that 'case' with your sheets, or
2. Do you have two separate pieces, i.e. a cover/quilt/comforte and a top sheet and wash that top sheet regularly and your comforter/quilt every now and then.
I prefer option 1.

Has anyone used a regular comforter and put it inside a duvet cover? I want to change out my bedding and like many of the duvet cover that I see. We don't use a top sheet or blankets - only the comforter. I wash the comforter once a week.

Will a king comforter (that was sold as a set) fit inside of a duvet cover?

"Has anyone used a regular comforter and put it inside a duvet cover? "
A duvet cover has a comforter inside.
Not sure what you mean by a 'regular comforter'.....

"Will a king comforter (that was sold as a set) fit inside of a duvet cover?"

Yes. You just need to get the right size duvet cover. Most duvet covers will list the measurements on the package, or the website will have the measurements--not all king size duvet covers will be exactly the same size. It varies a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer.

So you'll have to measure the comforter you have and just make sure that the duvet cover is at least that size or a bit larger and you'll be fine.

Rob - Duvet covers come in standard sizes. You'll need a king sized duvet cover to fit your king comforter.

By regular I mean it is not a down comforter that would normally be covered for use. It is a stand-alone type comforter (the type that is sold as a Bed-in-a Bag).

Rob- I have done that; just make sure, if your comforter has a pattern on it, that it doesn't show through the duvet cover.

I like down comforters, so I use duvet covers on them. I like heavy bedding and keep the house cool at night; we actually have two down comforters in our master for winter nights. Wrestling the duvet into the cover isn't the most fun task, so I use a top sheet to avoid having to remove the duvet cover as much. The duvet cover I have came with two ties on the inside, and I sewed in two additional ones in the other corners. It keeps everything in place, more or less.

In our guest bedroom, there is a top sheet under a down comforter w/ cover and a quilt folded on top (at the foot of the bed.) I think this gives my guest some options based on what they like to sleep with.

Rob - I have done that with some bedding that looks like a Bill Cosby sweater. I don't want to throw the bedding away, so that dressed it up.

Since a duvet cover is fundamentally a bag made out of sheets, you can stuff it with anything you want, or nothing at all. You can stuff it with a blanket if you want a lighter result or you can stuff it with a poly-filled comforter or a down-filled one.

Sleeping comfort is so personal and home environments and temperatures are so different, that whatever works for you, works.

I love my duvet, but I am allergic to down so its a down substitute, I like the lightweight warmth. I do use a top sheet so I don't have to wash the cover all the time, just the sheets. I actually like the look of a comforter or quilt better, they just look neater, but I am not willing to give up my light weight duvet, its just too comfy. Also I like that I can change out the cover.

Another duvet user here, though I use mine with top sheets so I wash less often. In my MBR I fold at the base and use along with a matalasse coverlet. I like both looks and function. When it's cold I pull up the duvet, DH typically leaves it down on his side. For DD I use a down substitute (sold from Pottery Barn). I like being able to wash the bedding as needed without always washing a whole comforter. It works well for my kid's bedding too since they do homework on their beds and so I can wash more often, and the insert less frequently. I also like having a quality filler and being able to change the look more frequently without investing in a high quality insert every time I want a different look. Also, my duvets are either 100% cotton (kids) or linen (mine), better for allergies or sensitive skin. Same rational for my matalesse, easy wash and all cotton, which essentially is about the same warmth as a quilt. For guest room I also layer duvet folded at base with quilt above. I hadn't thought of skipping the top sheets, though my kids essentially do that and the "top" sheet is left at the base when they make the beds.

Re: question of using a top sheet vs no sheet and weekly washing of the duvet cover... I use top sheets, and my duvet covers are rather fancy (cut work, another embroidered white on white, etc.); I would not want to wear them out through frequent washing. Also would not want to deal with a frequent hassle of getting on the cover. In the winter, though, I use a quilt on top of my down blanket, and for the rest of year, encase the down blanket in a cover. Works for me.
(edited for clarity)

This post was edited by peegee on Mon, Mar 4, 13 at 18:48

I had duvet cover, with down duvet inside. It was nice to be able to take the cover off, wash it, and put it back on, just like pillow cases.

I'd have kept using the duvet cover, if the tiny fluffy down hadn't started escaping from the down duvet. For the record, it was a $600 down duvet. When I bought it, I never thought there would be such a problem.

Anyway, after struggling a few times with the down cloud in the air, I switched to a comforter.

Now, the problem with our king-size comforter is, it doesn't fit in the washer. I broke a washer once before, by forcing a queen-size comforter in. I wouldn't repeat my same mistake.

So our temporary solution is, my husband hand washes the comforter in our bath tub, and hangs it somewhere sunny in the house.

I am going to switch back to duvet cover. I just need to find a high-quality down duvet, from which down won't escape.

I have a down comforter with dust mite encasing and then a cover. No blanket and no top sheet. We both have dust mite allergies so I wash all of our bedding that is not encased every week--on hot. I don't need even more stuff to wash. This is the minimum for laundry purposes. And as to needing to replace the cover, well, so far ours have held up for years to this regime and by the time they are done for I am more than ready to get new. :)

I have several duvet covers, either bought in Europe, or now at IKEA and switch them out regularly. For the most part, they have held up really well.

Hi,

I will go with Duvet Covers. They are not only comfortable but exquisite as well.

Here's how I solved my Duvet problem....I also put a sheet under my Duvet cover.............. I was finding it difficult when sleeping with the Duvet and the cover being used as a blanket , then, in the morning it was my bed cover....I'd be all wrapped up in it & it would get twisted as a blanket would.. I felt my bed was never completely made..How I solved this problem was...I bough & put on my Duvet, a White cover. Then I purchased 2 fancy Duvet covers , I like a change... I have the Duvet with the white cover tucked in at the foot of my bed...When I make my bed in the morning, I pull the Duvet up as you normally would..Then.., I just lay my fancy cover right over the top of the White one,,I also tuck that in at the foot of the bed. You would never know that the Duvet itself isn't stuffed into the fancy cover.. At night, I take the fancy one off & sleep with the white one that is permanently on the Duvet. That's the one the gets washed every so often.. You still can't get away from that lumpy look but I don't think its quite as bad when covered with the fancy one,,,..I guess there's no way of getting away from that completely.....It's a matter of getting used to.. Works for me......

I've been doing quilts for years now and will never go back. Much easier to care for.

So glad this came back up. I wanted to add that I love down comforters (duvet) with a cover because they are so light, but still so warm. As far as care, for the duvet, it gets aired out outside, in winter when the temps are below 32 degrees. The cover is washed regularly.

Having grown up using duvets and covers after sheets and blankets went out of fashion then moving to the USA where you find comforters and need to use top sheet I never liked the comforters bedroom gets boring there's no change and most are dry clean only. I searched and did research trying to find what I was used to while growing up. Pier 1 has nice size duvets and covers the only thing I am trying to get used to is the noise of the duvet insert it crackles like paper when making the bed its noisier than when you under the duvet. Besides this the covers was well and fit the insert correctly with no bunching the weight is fabulous not too heavy just right. Due to Pier 1 having their own standard size of duvet inserts I can't as yet find an alternative place to purchase covers that will fit. Where I live I need washable there's far too much dust I change sheets and wash beding at least once a week in the winter summer I wash and change bedding more often.

Try Ikea, lots of lovely duvet covers!

We have a rather strange set-up on our king size bed, top sheet, then blanket and then comforters in three different designs, with two different underskirts and drapes, which vary by season and inclination. If we're still cold we throw a duvet (without cover) on top of that, and that gets rolled up in the morning and put in the closet. To make the bed we straighten everything, starting with the top sheet, and then put decorative pillows on the made bed. At night I push the cover down about two feet so it doesn't get near our faces. I know, pretty weird, but I don't care about fashion, just about what's comfortable and how I like the made-up bed to look. Lived in Europe as a child with the duvets and even here growing up but don't like them.