
About a year ago, our friend Ellen Silverman came back from France with a beautiful linen flat sheet that she’d seen displayed in a Paris shop. The salesperson encouraged her to buy a king size sheet and use it as a coverlet that would drape on the floor and become it’s own “dust-ruffle”, hiding whatever lay hidden under the bed. It looked so pretty, and seemed like such a practical idea, that we hatched a plot to photograph it; both being so crazy-busy we still haven’t gotten around to it.
So I was pleased to stumble on a similar image buried in a recent Remodelista house tour. This huge flat-sheet coverlet is made of gauze but linen is lovely, washable, comes in a variety of colors, and doesn’t need to be ironed. Wrinkled is fine, as are ripped edges. We’re wondering what would happen if we used a flat sheet between the boxspring and mattress, to make a rough-hewn drapey dust ruffle. (We’re planning to try it and will report back.)

As for sources: We’re going to check out Linoto‘s and Restoration Hardware‘s linen sheets. Remodelista recommends Garza Linen Gauze Sheet
via Remodelista
Photos: Richard Powers for Tsao & McKown Architects via Home Life.
Related posts: unhemmed (ripped) linen with yarn stitching
pretty, multi-purpose find: turkish towels
the joys of unorthodox tableclothes
chic’d-up paper towel napkins in a fab minimalist setting
chic, not shabby, drop cloth-draped sofa
I have several French friends who sleep on linen sheets and say they’re the best. I’m going to search them out on this side of the pond. H
Restoration Hardware has linen sheets, but I don’t believe they are sheer kike the one shown.
Hi Sally,
Given your recent bed skirt experiment (lovely!) what linen weight do you think is indicated for this bedspread effect?
Anne
I bought Rough Linen’s summer weight spread, and find it a tad sheer, though still really pretty. The sheerness gives the room a lighter, crisper look than a heavy-weight linen. I’d go to their website and order a sample card. It will give you a sense of weights. You can also just buy some scraps of linen and tuck them between mattress and platfrom, hanging down, to get a sense of drape and look.