chicagojlo

I believe it is a square (ish) one?

mellybrown

hehe i was having such trouble with this last week when I went to buy my bedding and realised I had NO idea what a sham or a comforter was!!!!

Tarkak9

A busy person makes the time!

meauxna

Did I say something dirty?

fatbrit

Applying the prefix Euro- to anything in American English suggests quality, design and expense when referring to consumer goods, or Communism when referring to politics.

Jerseygirl

It's a large square sham...not rectangular as in the US and UK.

meauxna

C'mooooon you guys.. that's the best you could do? I was hoping for something funny!
(figures, the first time I'm taken seriously around here...)

another bloody yank

Or a crappy trim package when referring to mid 80's Chevys.

fatbrit

Exception to prove the rule, I think.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Well done. Congratulations, you have figured us out. Please come to the window to receive your prize (a super sized portion of freedom fries.)

RoadWarriorFromLP

A comforter is just a term for duvet. I would suggest that if you have a choice, that you get a comforter that is one sized larger than the bed. So for a queen sized bed, get a king comforter.

I never thought much about beds in Britain or how they might differ from their Yank variants, so perhaps this will help:

-You should get a frame. Chances are pretty good that the frame will just be some plain ugly gun metal thing that is functional, not decorative.

-On top of that goes the box spring.

-You'll probably put the dust ruffle on the box spring. Its function is to hide the ugly frame that you might be using for your bed. If you have an attractive frame, you may not want to use the dust ruffle.

-On top of that goes the mattress.

-Put a mattress pad on top of the mattress. (This is a thicker cloth thing that you attached to the mattress.)

-On top of that goes the fitted sheet. (It has an elastic band to attach it to the mattress.)

-Then, put the flat sheet. It's there so that you don't make much direct contact with the comforter, which keeps it cleaner. Nothing wrong with using these.

-Put the comforter inside of a comforter cover (sometimes called a duvet cover) and put it on top of the whole thing.

Now you'll be ready for sleep, or whatever other activities that you may have in mind. (This is America, so please behave yourself.)

Jerseygirl

I hate those nasty bed frames...they seem so old fashioned.

lj2

I just bought a bed from Ikea - the mattress was too short so I called and they are coming out... apparantly the mattress I bought takes two weeks to grow into the bed frame? Seriously strange... not an American strange thing, just a strange strange thing.

Hopefully, they are bringing me a normal mattress on Saturday. Bed making is confusing at the best of times let alone in a new country where everything is different! I have had my square sheet wrapped round my mattress since I moved in here, with a duvet and duvet cover bought from Ikea keeping me covered. I detest sleeping under a sheet and comforter personally, but each to their own. Fortunately, my cleaner will have "change the bed" on the list of here jobs every fortnight!

Sally Redux

I prefer the lower height of the European beds.

fatbrit

Me, too!