Virtually There - September 2008

Have you tried to buy bedding lately? I have and I’m still reeling. I am the product of a time of candlewick bedspreads, large itchy check blankets and, if you were fancy, eiderdowns. As a result I struggle to tell a duvet from a doona and a comforter from a continental quilt. Add to that confusion a choice of feather, wool, down, cotton or polyester filling and my freak-out is almost complete.

 

 

Fairydown helped me pull myself together, however, with its excellent online bedding preference calculator (fairydownbedware.co.nz). Given that I like a little weight and I like to be toasty, but I’m prone to sneezing and don’t like the puffy look, wool would seem to be my choice. Things are never that simple of course.

Silk Sensation  offers serious bedtime luxe in the form of silk duvet inners. Match them with silk sheets from Cocoon . Pelage has a fabulous range of possum fur bedspreads and merino blankets. The Linen Boutique  has blankets in mohair, cotton waffle, feather and down.

 

At this point my nostalgic soul cries, “Isn’t a down blanket an eiderdown?” If, like me, you really can’t let those eiderdowns go, there is another option – you can have old eiderdowns remade. Anita  will take the musty, ancient old rag lurking at the bach, under the spare bed or in the bottom of the linen cupboard, rescue the down, top it up if necessary and use a fabric of your choice to craft a new eiderdown that not only matches the decor but also fits the bed.

 

Even cleverer is the Marriage Saver duvet collection from Dunedin company Novadown . Your choice of duck or goose down, with one half in winter weight and the other in summer weight. This is true genius. They also offer a down and feather rejuvenation service for duvets and pillows.

 

Bedding is, of course, nothing without the bed. Choosing the correct bed is even more stressful than choosing the bedding, especially if, as with the duvet, you have to share. Design Mobel  is an innovative New Zealand company that might just have solved the problem. You may have heard of the firm (it received international press coverage a year or two back with its first iPod-compatible bed), but you may not know about its online Bodyfit Prescription service. Simply input the vital statistics and sleeping preferences for you and your partner and it will compute the perfect pillow, mattress and base requirements.

 

The prize for the daftest bed goes to PoshTots . The ‘Fantasy Coach’ bed – “wave your magic wand and this carriage may appear to make your little princess’ dreams come true” – looks like an explosion on a Disney back lot and costs a mere US$47,000. Plus shipping. Gave me nightmares. 

 

 

Site-seeing If you are travelling to the United Kingdom and plan to spend time in or around Oxford, have you thought about staying in one of the historic colleges? Bed and breakfast accommodation (with en suite) can be booked online in real time (meaning instant confirmation) at OxfordRooms.co.uk. Rooms are available all year, but obviously more are available in the holidays (Christmas, Easter and summer). I’ve just made a booking at Keble College, my father’s alma mater.  How cool is that? Obviously there will be some tedious hours in the air to endure before you reach the UK. You can minimise the horror to a certain extent by visiting SeatGuru.com to check that you have not been given the worst seat on the plane. Too close to the toilets? Under-seat storage restricted by a large entertainment unit? Know the worst before you fly so you have time to request a change of seat. And, before you leave, don’t forget to visit your airline’s website to see if online check-in is available. It really is simpler and quicker.