Home Help: 3 August

Don’t let bedtime be boring – give your linen a splash of colour, says Hugh St Clair

By Hugh St Clair

Bed linen doesn't have to be just bright white, black or red – the latter suitable only for a Lothario's lair. It doesn't have to be expensive either. A bedcover may not be needed if you have an attractive duvet cover and matching pillowcases.

Harlequin, supplier of fabric and wallpaper, has put careful thought into designing lovely bed linen – soft, fresh images of seed heads, foxgloves and poppies in pink, lime green and mustard have a hand-painted feel. Fashion designers have been focusing their talents on the bedroom, too. Matthew Williamson has adorned sheets and duvet covers with butterflies. Betty Jackson's range of bedding depicts camellias in a host of colours. In fact you can buy a whole garden of plants on bed linen.

Designers Guild has dahlias, irises and Japanese blossom. Check out its Amala range (£99 for a double duvet cover). For a more masculine feel, Ben de Lisi offers multicoloured, striped bed linen in purply greys, sky blue and yellow. His image of the London skyline printed on a duvet is fun for a boy's room, from £45 at Debenhams.

Designers Guild has great ideas for children's beds, too. Around The World has boats and continents printed on single duvets, and Daisy Daisy (both from £12) has a mix of polka dots and flowers. Anthropologie's duvet cover Isleta was inspired by its buyer's road trip through the West of the USA. The upper side is embroidered with black abstract arrow motifs and a desert-yellow pattern.

All the stores mentioned have websites and buying bed linen from them is easy, but there are many third-party websites offering designer linen at discount prices. If ordering from these, make sure they have a reasonable returns policy and a customer helpline. Read other customers' experiences when considering buying from discount websites.

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Kimono Blossom Double duvet cover, £99; pillowcase, £18, Designers Guild: 020-3301 5826, www.designersguild.com
Delphinia Double duvet cover, £70; pillowcase, £12; housewife pillowcase, £15, Harlequin: 0845-603 0861, www.bedeckhome.com
Purple 'Pansy' Double duvet cover, £45; pair of pillowcases, £24, Betty Jackson Black at Debenhams: 0844-561 6161, www.debenhams.com
Isleta Double duvet cover, £348; pillowcase, £88, Anthropologie: 00800-0026 8476, www.anthropologie.com

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White Butterflies Double duvet cover set, £50, Debenhams: as before

Email your design enquiries to Hugh St Clair at homehelp@lady.co.uk

Daily tip from the lady archive

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The Lady. The Blessing of Old Health, 18th November 1920

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Home Help: 3 August

Don’t let bedtime be boring – give your linen a splash of colour, says Hugh St Clair