All About Linens

By Teri Brown

When shopping for linens, take the sheets or pillow cases out of the package and test with your hand to determine if the feel is right for them.

"Some people like to sleep on silk linens; others can't stand the 'slip' of silk and prefer cotton,"Madden says. "Then there's a men's shirting cotton such as a fine chambray, or a smooth Egyptian cotton that is, frankly, what I prefer."

Madden advisespeople not to be afraid to mix and match linens for a very personal look. Mix patterns and colors, stripes and florals and different colored solids. Also mix textures when making a bed. Use a quilt with a down comforter, a wool blanket with fine sheets, and don't forget to indulge yourself with pillows.

Klaudia Keller, owner of Choice Linens and Chair Covers in Seattle, Wash., rents out table and chair linens for upscale parties, and her taste is impeccable. Though she loves rare antique linens, in her business, practicality is key. She believes that quality table linens can be sumptuous and practical in the same package.

"Darker colors are better for spills and will hide a multitude of sins, but the white linens with a faggoted hem are what our mother's mother used and will be with us through generations," Keller says. "Those tablecloths that won't wash are not practical, and using a cloth just once seems such a shame. We have had numerous clients request Dupioni silk. The colors in Dupioni are gorgeous and the look fabulous, but [Dupioni] can only be used once as the laundering takes all of the life out of the cloth."

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