Do You Need a Duvet?

A reader writes:

Dear Sleeper,
Do you have a take on duvet covers?  We have bought a nice cotton one in a bright pattern that really makes the room, but as I'm spending money on an expensive down comforter that is designed to be lightweight, it seems  I'll be weighing it down with the cotton duvet cover. The comforter maker recommends finding a very light duvet cover to see the benefits of the light down comforter.  So... do you then have to buy a separate bedspread if your duvet cover is plain?  Does that then weigh the down comforter so it's no longer as "lofty"?  I'm trying to find a balance between getting the look and feel of a light, airy, cloudy bed and still having a bed cover that looks great from a design standpoint.

Puzzled in Duvet Land

___

Dear Puzzled:

Here are the disadvantages of duvet covers:
1. Truly annoying to get the down comforter in and out of them.
2. Weirdly expensive, like certain other items in the world.
3. Bad design.

Here are the advantages of duvet covers:
1. They keep your down comforter clean.

Now, you do have to keep your down quilt covered, unless you live in a dirt- and dust-free, child-free, pet-free, food-crumb-free, human-free home. You shouldn't clean a down quilt more than more than once a year — no matter what the label instructions say — because it damages the tiny goose feathers and shortens the life of your investment.

You don't need to shell out for a duvet cover, though. You can use a lightweight blanket as a coverlet over the quilt, then tuck it and the comforter in around the mattress. Because there's just a top sheet between you and the quilt, you'll still get that fluffy feeling. (There are a lot of swell blankets out there now; Area's "Harry" blanket is pictured at right.) If you prefer the floaty feeling, you can buy a couple of lightweight queensize sheets (Donna Karan and Calvin Klein make nearly transparent sheets, often available at discounters) and have your dry cleaner stitch them into a duvet cover for a relatively cheap price. If the lightweight sheets are a plain solid color, you could drape a spread over the foot of the bed, or choose some knockout sheets and pillowcases to add design interest.

I never quite understood the appeal of the free-floating down comforter, though. To me, one of winter's chief pleasures is covering yourself with some heavy bedding. In New York in February, I would be oh so happy in a queensize panini press.

Yours amidst the sound of knocking radiators,
Sleeper