Good Old Fashioned ????? and Moneysaving - bedspreads

Queenie

Good Old Fashioned ????? and Moneysaving

Bedspreads

Since duvets became so popular, you don't see as many bedspreads as you used to. Do you use a bedspread? Do you even know it's 'function'?

I was reading an article some time back about ... bedspreads I was talking about this with a friend and they were saying how "old fashioned" they are and nowadays if you "want to make the bed look pretty" a throw over the end third does the trick, is cheaper and easier to launder.
True enough, I thought, but she's missing the whole point!

Bedspreads were not simply to "make the bed look pretty" but served a 'function' - that of basically being a 'dust sheet' to protect your bedding/pillows.
Who wants to lay down on a pillow that is covered in the day's dust and cover themselves over in a duvet equally covered in dust, then spend the rest of the night inhaling it all?
So, for health and hygiene, bedspreads are surely a worthwhile investment and modern 'throws' nothing more than a waste of money on a decoration with little practical value.

Good Old Fashioned ????? and Moneysaving:-
What other old fashioned items have we abandoned without fully appreciating their practical, longer term benefits and settled for a modern alternative which can in reality be nothing more than a money waster instead of a money saver?

nearlyrich

Maybe in the good old days of open coal fires there was a lot more dust around, no central heating in our house so it was a case of grab as much bedding as you can to keep warm whilst Jack Frost drew on the inside of the windows in the night. I miss my eiderdown too!

Queenie

Good point, nearlyrich, yes, coal fires would have made things 'dustier' thing is, dust still exists even with central heating.

Good Old Fashioned ????? and Moneysaving:-

Pinnies/Aprons - how many splatters and splashes have we had on our decent clothes simply by not using a pinny! I love my pinny

Edinburghlass_2

Don't know about bedspreads when I was just a little tot but we had eiderdowns, funnily enough made out of eider down

I well remember my Grandpa's eiderdown as he lived with us and I used to pop through on a Sunday morning and creep under his eiderdown and read to him from his Readers Digests!

Long before the advent of duvets we had a Norwegian company open up and they used to make and sell downies, my Mum had Grandpa's eiderdown made into a single downie for me and I still have this today. Its the cosiest, lightest and warmest ever and I have since had it recovered and my daughter now uses it.

Good bit of recycling

taplady

Hi Queenie!
I have just purchased beadspreads for all the family, they are like a big fleecy blanket and look really nice, snug and stylish!;) They coordinate with the decor so it doesn't really matter if your bedding is all colours etc it makes the room look good! plus they will keep us nice and warm too!

Gingham_Ribbon

That's an interesting puzzle, Queenie. Because my initial impression was that I should use one as I have a dust allergy. But then I thought about it some more. Airing the bed is important in the control of dust mites. If you cover the bed, surely the dead skin and sweat from during the night gets trapped under another cover and would have the opposite effect. Although I appreciate that if you have a coal fire this might be preferable to adding dust from that during the day.

My method of dealing with this is cheaper but more work and certainly not as pretty. I don't make the beds. The quilt gets folded back to air the double bed. DS's quilt gets drapped over a chair and his matress stood on end to air. (although when he has a full sized bed, it'll probably just get aired like ours.)

The pinny? Learned the hard way. Can't live without it!

Other ideas? I think it's a shame that so few people use shopping bags. And I'm sure lots more people could manage the shopping trip without the car if they had a shopping trolley.

Lillibet_2

I haver bed spreads!! I bought them in India & they are lovely cream linen with cream chain stitch embroidery in "silks" all over! They cost me in the region of £3 each:D I love them because it means I don't have to worry about what duvet covers I use, doesn't matter if they are old or clash with the room as they are hidden under my lovely bead spreads;) TBH had never thought about it from the dust angle, but as hubby is asthamatic they must serve that purpose too:T I just bought the cheapest duvet covers I could find & didn't worry about whether they matched as we have a Super-king size bed & bedding for it is very expensive, I just buy whatever is best value in the sales & hide it under my bedspreads. I also have a summer broider anglaise one which my mum found at a car bootsale which looks lovely with a strong coloured duvet underneath it & a HUGE white Victorian table cloth which I use as a bed spread in winter as it is thick & warm:D


I also have aproms, although admit I don't wear them as often as I should:o

Icemaiden

I used to love the feeling of been sandwiched in bed when my mum used to tuck us up for the night. The weight of the blankets and crisp sheets was ever so snuggly.

Queenie

And the dust off your bedlinen too, I hope :laugh:

Good Old Fashioned ????? and Moneysaving:-

Picture rails/dado rails:

Picture rails meant no nails in walls or lumps of plaster being gouged out - wonderful invention

Dado rails protected your wallcoverings from the knocks and bumps of furniture.
I've seen some 'reality' TV (shame on me! ) and they place their dado rails at quite peculiar levels/heights which defeats the whole purpose!

Queenie

Gingham_Ribbon wrote:

That's an interesting puzzle, Queenie. Because my initial impression was that I should use one as I have a dust allergy. But then I thought about it some more. Airing the bed is important in the control of dust mites. If you cover the bed, surely the dead skin and sweat from during the night gets trapped under another cover and would have the opposite effect. Although I appreciate that if you have a coal fire this might be preferable to adding dust from that during the day.... .

Ah but airing the bed (and room) in the morning before making it is all part of the routine!

Lillibet - they sound gorgeous!! Great bargain too :T

taplady

Queenie wrote:

Picture rails meant no nails in walls or lumps of plaster being gouged out - wonderful invention

quote]

We have picture rails in most rooms but have never been sure what they are for are you supposed to hang your pics from them then? I just find them to be dust traps and a pain for painting! but they look ok I suppose! tried taking one down once and the hole it left in the wall was unbelievable!:eek: wont be doing that again in a hurry!:rolleyes: