Photography: Alana Landsberry / Styling: Nonci Nyoni / Loui Burke (inset): Photography: Leon Schoots
We love Loui Burke. The interior stylist and social media star has twice been a guest on Home Beautiful‘s The Edit podcast, and each time he’s brought a new raft of fascinating insights and tips. On his most recent episode, however, we were floored to discover he has at least 22 different quilt cover sets.
“I think I have about 22 duvet sets, and about 15 sheet sets,” he told Home Beautiful editor Elle Lovelock. “I did do a cull, but that was the last time I counted.”
Cue our jaws on the floor!
In Loui’s defence, this is largely due to the nature of his work as a content creator and interior stylist. Partnering with brands like Adairs, Pottery Barn, Pillow Talk – to name only a few – certainly has its perks when it comes to stockpiling linen.
Listen to Loui Burke on The Edit podcast:
However, this fun fact about Loui did kick off a lively conversation in the office, in which we were all wondering: How many sheet sets should a person have?
How many sheets and quilt covers do you need?
We’ve all debated the virtues of a top sheet (or lack thereof), but when it comes to quilt covers and sheet sets, how much is the right amount?
A quick poll around the office returned an almost unanimous reading of two sets per bed. The reasons for this varied: One for regular use, plus one spare, or two sets so you always have one set ready to go when your other sheets are in the wash.
“I’m sensitive to dust so anything stored for too long is too much work for me to wash,” argued one staff member with a very fair point.
Loui agreed on two sets, minimum. “If you’re changing your bed linen weekly, you need to have a minimum of two because when you strip the bed off, you want to put it back on straight away. You don’t want to be doing that thing where people wash and they’re waiting for it to dry,” he pronounced.
However, ultimately, the ‘Chic or Cheap‘ champion settled on four sets total: “Two for each season. Two for summer, two for winter. That’s it.”
This is also a fair point, given you may like to switch up your fabric compositions and colour palettes between warmer and cooler months. There are, after all, specialised cooling sheets for summer, like those made with cotton percale, and heavier sheets for winter, such as flannelette.
So, which does Loui recommend?
Despite his extensive collection of sheets and doona covers, Loui admitted to being a “100 percent linen sleeper”.
“I love linen. Washed cotton and soft cotton has come back through, [as has] Egyptian cotton, which I do like. But it’s a different sensation,” he explained. “Linen is thermo-regulating so you can use it year round. It caresses you, it’s softer, but you’ve got to beat the death out of it. You’ve got to put it in a hot wash and put it in the dryer to make it soft.”
So, what do you think? Is it time to buy more sheets?
Watch Loui Burke’s episode of The Edit on YouTube, or listen on your chosen podcast platform:
