SLEEP LIKE THE SCANDINAVIANS DO
Visitors to Nordic countries are often surprised to see two duvets on the double bed of their hotel or hosts. But this is how Scandinavians have slept since forever.
Considering sleeping Scandi-style? Here’s what you need to know.
Two-duvet advantages
Temperature: everyone is different. Some slumber best in a warm, sealed room. Others can’t sleep without a cool breeze coming from the open window. With two duvets, you can choose the weight and warmth that suits your body best.
Fidgeting: you can stick your arms and legs out of the sides, pull the duvet snugly around you, fold it down, push it away, pull it up over your head, or even sit up and read – all without disturbing your dozing partner.
Peace: fighting over the duvet is a thing of the past. You will no longer wake up freezing because your partner has all the bedding or open your eyes to a bad atmosphere because you’ve done the same.
Escape: can’t sleep and need to decamp to the sofa? Maybe you forgot to send an urgent email in the day or simply need a break from a certain someone’s snoring. You can take your still-warm duvet with you and cosy up with it elsewhere.
Taste: he likes monochrome stripes; you prefer tropical birds. Having separate duvets means you can indulge in individual duvet covers. If they look a little mismatched, it’s easy to hide them in the day with a super-stylish throw: that’s very Scandi, too.
Two-duvet disadvantages?
Intimacy: do separate duvets signal the end of romance? Hardly! Simply snuggle up under one duvet or overlap the two. Duvets don’t create barriers; they merely give you more choice.
Bedmaking: some argue that beds with two duvets look untidy. But here you can use a little imagination to create an elegant arrangement. Perhaps fold both duvets in thirds, arrange them on the bed and drape a gorgeous throw over the bottom half. Or, if you’re pushed for time, simply spread them out side by side to meet neatly in the middle.
Go Scandi
To complete your Nordic conversion, sleep only with a duvet encased in a duvet cover.
No top sheets that either ball up at the bottom of the bed or are too-tightly tucked in. No blankets or covers weighing you down and creating clutter. Just a simple duvet cover that can be washed as often as you like.
