Differences between Boat Bedding and Home Bedding Ensembles
Putting together a bedding ensemble for a boat is usually quite different than making a bed at home. Big, fluffy Duvets paired with quilts and blankets are very popular in the residential world. However, on a boat, unless you have a yacht with a pretty large stateroom, this tends not to work out very well. Why?
Staterooms are typically tight quarters, even on larger boats. Having big, fluffy things are an issue.
Boat beds are not standard and are often configured in weird shapes. Think V-Berths.
We tend to boat in warm weather. How much stuff do you want on top of you?
It's a moving vessel. Things tend to shift around in high waves.
For those reasons, I believe in a more structured, tailored approach for boat bedding. Below are three items to consider when crafting a bed ensemble.
The Fit: Boat Bedding Custom Tailored
First and foremost; it's about the fit. From mattress pads to coverlets, your linens need to be custom-tailored. Again, unless you have a stateroom you can easily access on 3 sides, it's never easy making a boat bed. The difficulty is compounded when the shapes don't line up. For a proper fit, everything needs to be custom-tailored. That requires a template to be made of your mattress. The drop lengths, location of where you place your head, obstacles like built-in ledges and side walls are some of the notes taken. I like a defined edge around the top of the mattress whether it is corded or not. Besides looking great, it also helps with making the bed and the bedding staying in place while underway.
The Fabric: Customized or Semi-Customized Bedding Option
With the custom bedding option, we take fabric and have it custom-quilted and sewn from scratch. This is typically the most expensive direction due to the added step of having something custom-quilted. This step also adds to fabrication time. However, the beauty of it is the whole world of Decor fabrics are at your disposal. You can check out some examples on our website: Customized Just for You.
With the semi-custom bedding option, we eliminate the quilting step which decreases the fabrication time and the price of boat bedding, while maintaining a quality bedding option. The steps in the process involve the following:
We take quilted fabric and tailor it into a coverlet.
The other growing popular approach is to take heavier fabrics and either:
Cut and sew with just the single layer of fabric.
Line it to create a heavier shaped coverlet. Sometimes a lightweight fill may be sewn in.
The issue to watch out for is unquilted spreads tend to show more wrinkles.
The Mash Up: Pulling it Together for a Finished Look
Finally, the Mash Up! As an Interior Designer, I love creating a good bedding mash up. What do we mean by Mash Ups? It's where I take bedding elements from a variety of resources and pull them together for a unique custom ensemble. We have a variety of Bedding Vendors that we source from. I mix in custom elements and voila… a new ensemble!