History of the Duvet

Continuing my ongoing research into the world of beds I have recently looked into some history and information of the Duvet and have put together a brief overview of its roots as well as some interesting statistics on how it got here.

In Germany back in 1749 Thomas Nugent observed that the German People used Feather-Beds both above and below their bodies, which worked well in the winter months but was far too hot in the summer months. These “feather beds” he describes were basically duvets.

Duvets are most commonly used in Northern Europe because of the lower temperatures that are experienced here, but its popularity only went worldwide in the late 20th century. Strangely, despite its popularity around the rest of Europe people of the UK still relied mostly on blankets and sheets until around this late 1960’s too.
The duvet that we know today was originally created and shipped in by large department stores in the 60’s from Scandinavia. These department stores also offered a range of duvet covers and other bed decorations and it was around this time that decorating your bed in the way we do today became popular.

Traditionally Duvets were filled with down feathers from the Eider Duck, well known for its insulating benefits. Duvets today are normally made up of manmade fibres such as polyester as well as other natural materials such as silk, wool or cotton, but traditional feather duvets are also available, however some people find these too warm in the summer months.

The Tog rating of a duvet is used to measure its thermal resistance. Duvets are normally a 4.5 – 13.5 tog, with 4.5 being the thinnest (coolest) and 13.5 being the thickest (warmest).

Modern Wooden Bed

Duvets are just as important as your mattress and bed frame when you are purchasing a new bed, whether it is a leather bed, wooden bed, metal bed, guest bed or day bed you should make sure that you, your family or your guests are able to get the best night of sleep possible.

Those with allergies should keep away from feather duvets and pillows and look at purchasing a suitable hypo allergenic style.

Make sure that the thickness of your duvet is suitable for the current season and will keep you at a comfortable temperature during the night.

Finally, make sure that the mattress and bed are still offering you the support and comfort you need to get a good night of sleep as many people suffer unnecessarily from tiredness because of old mattresses and sagging supports on their bed frames.