Letter Six Things Sunflower Bedspread Sheila
I took a photo of my sister's spare bed. Then I came home and looked at mine
Six things this quilted bedspread set gets right that forty years of duvet covers never did, from a woman who thought a bed was just somewhere to sleep.
Sheila Bradshaw · Customer · York · 5 min read
I'm Sheila, I'm 67, I live in York, and I have never in my life written to a shop about bedding. I've made a bed every morning for the best part of sixty years, and in all that time I don't think I once stood back and looked at it. It was a duvet, a cover, a couple of pillows and a throw on top, and as long as it was straight, that was the job done.
The bedspread I'm writing about is called Sunflower Fields, from Beatrice London, a small British shop. When they asked if they could share my letter with other women, I said yes, as long as I could say exactly what I thought.
It started in April, with a week at my sister Margaret's cottage in the Cotswolds. She put me in the spare room, and the bed had this quilted bedspread on it, sunflowers all over, with two matching pillowcases propped up at the top. I walked in with my suitcase and actually stopped. It looked like a room in one of those country B&Bs you see in the magazines. I took a photo of it, which I've never done with a bed in my life.
Then I came home, walked into my own bedroom, and saw it the way a visitor would. A duvet cover washed so many times the pattern had gone grey. Pillowcases that didn't match it, or each other. And a throw that had gone bobbly years ago. It wasn't dirty. It was just tired. And I'd been sleeping in it every night without noticing.
Sunflower Fields on my own bed now. The photo from Margaret's spare room is still on my phone.
Here's what I'd worked out about bedding by then. It comes in two kinds. The good set, which is heavy, a nightmare to wash and a wrestle to get on the bed, so it lives in the airing cupboard for when visitors come. And the everyday set, which is easy enough, but so faded and mismatched you'd shut the bedroom door if anyone came round.
The nice bedding was too much trouble to use. The easy bedding was too tired to look at. And I'd been choosing the tired one every day for years.
Sunflower Fields is the first bedding I've owned that's neither. I've had it on the bed for a few months now, through the cold nights and into the warmer ones, and I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The day it arrived: the bedspread and the two pillowcases, still folded. I expected thin and cheap. It wasn't.
It makes the whole room look finished
One bedspread, thrown over the bed, and the room looks done. Not tidy, done, the way a hotel room looks when you walk in. The quilting gives it a bit of depth, so even the way the light falls on it is nicer than a flat cover. I've caught myself leaving the bedroom door open just so I can see it from the hallway.
My bedroom finally looks like someone cared about it. My daughter walked in and asked if I'd redecorated. I'd only changed the bedspread.
Helen M., HarrogateIt comes as a proper set
The bedspread comes with two matching pillowcases, the same quilting, the same print. No hunting through the shops for something that nearly goes with it, no odd pillowcases left over from three sets ago. You open the parcel and the whole bed is sorted.
The two pillowcases. Matching, which in my house was a first.
Love that it comes with the pillowcases. Everything matches, and it looks like I spent a fortune.
Carol T., ShrewsburyMaking the bed takes a minute
This is the one my shoulders noticed. There's no wrestling a duvet into a cover, no hunting for the corners inside. You pull the sheet straight, throw the bedspread over, smooth it down, prop up the pillows, and that's it. It's light enough to lift and spread out on your own, which at our age matters more than any print.
With my shoulders, changing the duvet cover had become a real chore. This I just throw over and smooth out. Done in a minute.
Pam W., LincolnIt works in every season
It's light enough to sleep under on its own on a warm night, and we had a few of those last summer. When it turns cold, it goes over the top of a blanket or the duvet and keeps everything looking neat. I haven't had to put it away once since it arrived.
The quilting up close. Light, but not flimsy.
On the warm nights this summer it was just the right weight. I slept under it on its own and didn't wake up hot.
Kay D., TruroIt goes in the machine and dries on the line
Cool, gentle wash, on its own, then out on the washing line. No dry cleaning, no ironing, no special treatment. A dry, breezy morning and it's back on the bed by lunchtime. The good set in my airing cupboard has never been anywhere near that easy.
Washed it three times now and it comes out looking the same. Dries quickly on the line too.
Gwen H., KendalFour sizes, and thirty-six designs
It comes in single, double, king and super king, so it fits whatever bed you've got. And the sunflowers are just one design of more than thirty: sea turtles, a lighthouse, roses, dragonflies, woodland animals and more. Which is how I ended up with a king for my room and the one with the big brown bear on a single for the spare room, for when the grandchildren come to stay.
The spare room, ready for the grandkids. The bear was their pick, and now they fight over who gets that bed.
Bought a king for us and a single for the spare room. Both look beautiful and the grandkids love theirs.
Jan S., ChichesterThis bedspread set, against the bedding you've been putting up with
You can buy bedding anywhere. I've bought plenty of the forgettable kind myself. Here's the difference, laid out plainly.
Faded after too many washes
Pillowcases that never quite match
A wrestle to get the duvet in
Too hot in summer, too thin in winter
The bedroom door stays shut
Quilted, with a print that stays bright
Two matching pillowcases included
Throw it over and smooth it down
Light on its own, layered when it's cold
A bedroom you'll want people to see
About the price
The single is £89.95 at the moment, down from £299.85. The double is £94.95, the king £99.95 and the super king £119.95, all down from well over three hundred. Buy two and you get 10% off, three or more and it's 15%.
I'll pass on what the shop told me: each set is made to order, so the popular designs can run out in some sizes, and once they do, it can be a while before they come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you is that when something's 70% off I usually start looking for the catch, and a few months in, I still haven't found it.
I don't trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.3 stars, which sounded like real people rather than robots. The same six things I've just told you about kept coming up, in other women's words.
Sunday morning, tea and toast in bed. I never used to bother. Now I do.
If your bed is still wearing a tired duvet cover and odd pillowcases, or if the good set is sitting in the airing cupboard waiting for visitors, have a look while your size is still there. You sleep in it every night. You might as well enjoy walking into the room.
Sheila
P.S. I sent Margaret a photo of my bed. She sent one back of hers. Neither of us said a word, but I know we both smiled.
Sunflower Fields | Quilted Bedspread Set
- Quilted bedspread that finishes the whole room
- Two matching pillowcases included
- Light and easy to throw over and smooth out
- Light on its own, layered when it's cold
- Machine washable, dries on the line
- Single, double, king and super king · 30+ designs
- Free delivery to the UK and Ireland
Buy 2 for 10% off · Buy 3 or more for 15% off