I think the idea of a white quilt or comforter is a good one. and then the hotel idea of a throw at the end and some decorative pillows......

Well, Costco's Supima sheet sets got rave reviews, and I think, I saw them for 70.00 for a 6-piece set.

I also love the Ikea duvet covers, especially the linen set (below) and the Stra, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00046480/#/00046475
It is very soft and has small pleats.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea linen duvet

Duvets are too warm, we don't have A/C and DH sleeps very hot! Thanks for the suggestion though :)

Duvets are not comforters, they are sheet like material that you slip a quilt or comforter into; sort of like a pillow cover only larger. Was at IKEA yesterday, they have some really fun new prints. I love blue and white but think you definitely need some type of print and textures to bring the room to life.

Check out the mattelasse bed covers at, like JCP. If you get lucky, you may find one in a blue that matches or blends with the wall color. If not, you can always do white, and add some throw pillows to tie in the color if you want, but the texture will add a lot of warmth to the space without adding so much warmth to the bed. DH sleeps very hot and I got him a coverlet that works well for him....he couldn't tolerate a full blown bedspread and certainly not a quilt or comforter.

You could always try a duvet cover too, only stuff it with a blanket instead of a quilt.

Here is a link that might be useful: JCP mattelasse

We have a thin quilt with duvet cover at one point and the air trapped by the duvet cover actually made it as warm as a light comforter. The quilt on the bed now is a very thin cool one but it's old shabby and ivory, needs replacing!

I have considered putting on a blanket and covering with a nicer looking quilt which just gets pulled off at night, but I'm not one to really make beds in the morning other than throwing the covers back up so I anticipate what would happen is that the quilt would end up laying in a corner all the time! I just saw some nice ones at RH but they are $$$, sigh.

At least it sounds like white is the way to go, rather than a pattern. THe walls are BM Wedgewood grey which is obviously more of a blue and I love it, it feels so serene.

Any ideas for art above the bed? I initially thought a landscape-format piece with silver frame, but have had a hard time finding something I like.

Have you tried The Company Store? They have some great, very simple comforters that are lightweight. The are pretty reasonably priced too.

I've moved completely to natural fabrics for bedding because dh and I both overheat these days. If you buy a thin quilt or bedspread etc, make sure both the outer fabric is cotton and the inner batting is either cotton or bamboo. A lot of quilts have a polyester batting inside because it's cheaper but it really does trap the heat and so do some fabrics that they cover them in so in a very short amount of time you're overheating. The polyester battings actually do feel more lightweight than the cotton ones so you may think they'll be cooler, but they don't allow any heat out, whereas the natural fabrics and battings may feel heavier but will breath so surprisingly they are much cooler, so pay close attention to the materials in whichever bedding you buy because it makes a huge difference.

trancegemini_wa I agree - the reason I have stuck with the shabby old one so far is because it is bamboo and stays nice and cool. We love our Tempurmedic mattress but we certainly can't layer warm covers on it or we'll cook!

Got a nice textured white quilt/shams on overstock.com!

{{!gwi}}

For art, I'd consider looking on Etsy. I've found some beautiful things there. They're not always inexpensive, but I don't find them outrageous at all.