Linen sheets to temperature-regulating duvets: bedding to help you stay cool on hot summer nights

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      It hasn’t happened quite yet, but as we move into July, Vancouver nights will become sweltering enough to make you feel like you’re caught in an endless, sweaty loop of Body Heat—except that you look like a hot mess instead of Kathleen Turner in a pristine white dress.


      The fact is that sticky weather can take a toll on your sleep—something you need a lot of in the face of our pandemic times. Here are some bedding essentials that can actually help you cool off, from the natural and organic to the high-tech.

      Last Light linen sheets from Provide.
      West Elm's hemp sheets


      SHEET SENSE

      For cool sheets, 100-percent linen is a classic that looks straight out of a magazine spread. Vancouver’s Dream Designs crafts pure-linen, eco-conscious sets in-house (starting at $349 for an entire set, $149 for a fitted sheet, dreamdesigns.ca/). Sourced from flax that’s spun in Italy and woven in Portugal, featherweight Last Light is another alternative; it breathes and has a stonewashed, lived-in feel. You can opt for driftwood grey, but we like it in beyond-crisp white ($82 to $386 at providehome.com/). Hemp is another breathable alternative, and it’s a more sustainable crop than cotton. West Elm’s Hemp & Cotton Sheet Set comes from Fair Trade Certified, organic materials that get softer with every wash ($270 to $315 at westelm.ca/). Or go beyond basic white with Dream Designs’ silky organic cotton-sateen sheets, durable but soft and airy at a 250 threadcount; we suggest summery turquoise Sea Glass or a hit of festive Paprika (starting at $229 at dreamdesigns.ca/).

      The Casper Humidity Fighting Duvet


      DUVET DREAMS

      Consider Eddie Bauer’s FreeCool PCM Down Alternative comforter: hypoallergenic, it boasts truly space-age technology, using so-called micro-encapsulated Phase-Change Materials originally engineered for astronauts to regulate temperature fluctuations. (The queen was on sale for $182 at last check at eddiebauer.ca/.) It has a 100-percent-cotton cover and the added bonus that you can throw it into the washing machine. Meanwhile, the Casper Humidity Fighting Duvet is designed to do just what it says: it’s made from a mix of fluffy down, lightweight cotton, and—wait for it—merino wool, which, as any Wet Coast hiker knows, is sweat-wicking and moisture-absorbing, and regulates temperature. Small, rectangular chamber construction keeps the fill consistently distributed ($400 to $550 at Casper.com).

      Martha Stewart Floating Leaves cotton quilt at the Bay.

      UNDER COVER

      At the height of summer, if a duvet seems like too much, a light coverlet works well—and looks good during the day. Canada’s Au Lit Fine Linens offers a Washed Waffle Ecru made from a Pima cotton woven in Italy; it’s a neutral beige that looks serene with white sheets ($184 to $266 on sale at aulitfinelinens.com/). A far less expensive option with the same waffle look is IKEA’s cozy-but-cool VÅRELD style; it’s $49.99 for white at Ikea.com, but the lime-green version pops and is on sale for $39.99. At Hudson’s Bay, Martha Stewart’s white Floating Leaves Cotton Quilt ($200 to $280 at thebay.com/), with its scrolling design and scalloped edges, makes us think of waking up in the Algarve. g

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