The Sleep Sanctuary

Hungarian luxury pillows are a real treat for yourself and your family. When we refer to Hungarian Luxury Pillows we are specifically meaning those filled with Hungarian Goose Down.

Here at The Sleep Sanctuary we took several months evaluating every pillow from every manufacturer to come up with what we genuinely feel are the very best available anywhere in the UK. We are in the fortunate position that being completely independent we are not tied to any one supplier or manufacturer, we are able to stock any Hungarian Luxury Pillow currently available.

The factors that are important when choosing the best Hungarian Luxury Pillows are as follows.

Where does the down come from and what makes it the very best?
What percentage of the filling is down and how much is feather?
What is the outer casing made from and how good is it at keeping the down inside and not leaking out?
How much down is in the pillow, too little saves on costs but gives a very ‘limp’ pillow with little support?
Compared to other pillows is it good value for money?

Lets now look at each of these factors, why are they important and how do our pillows measure up.

Where does the down come from and what makes it the very best.

Obviously down comes from birds, they are the small soft feathers that lie beneath the main flight and protection feathers. The most thermally effective down comes from birds that are bred in very cold climates as the cold stimulates the bird to grow thicker more efficient down. Commercially, down is taken from chickens, ducks or geese.

Chicken feather and down is the cheapest as it is just a by product of the food industry  the birds have not been bred for the down and they almost certainly have not been raised in the cold climates required to produce the quality required. Chickens, being the smallest of the three also by their nature have the smallest down feather. Therefore we can discount chicken down for a luxury filling.

Duck down is better, the down is larger but there is still the issue of climate. Goose down is better still as the birds are larger producing a larger thicker feather with better insulation properties. It is generally accepted within the manufacturing world that geese will produce a better feather for filling bedding products. We then needed to look at the location the goose is reared in, because at the end of the day geese can live anywhere in the world. Hungary has a very cold climate for much of the year and the Goose there is bred especially for its feather and down, specifically for the bedding industry, because of this Hungarian Goose Down has become seen as the best available in the world. However we still looked at other potential climates including Canada and Serbia but the quality provided by the Hungarian Goose still proved to be the best.

What percentage of the filling is down and how much is feather

This is another important factor when choosing a luxury pillow. Feathers are larger and stiffer than down, in fact the two are designed to do two different jobs on a bird, feathers are for flight and protection, down is purely for warmth. Feathers have a stiff spine down the middle called a quill,  a pillow made from feathers rather than down will have lots of these quills throughout it, you can feel them through the cover. Now this is where it can become a little confusing. There are feather pillows (all feather, no down), there are feather & down pillows (mostly feather with some down) there are down & feather pillows (mostly down with some feather) and down pillows (almost all down). From these you will se that the more feather content the cheaper the pillow will be but also less thermally efficient and less comfortable it will be. Even pillows described as down will have usually around 10% feather as it is impossible to remove all traces of feather from the mix.

What is the outer casing made from and how good is it at keeping the down inside and not leaking out

A pillow filled with down products needs to have a good quality cover with a close weave otherwise over a period of time filaments of down and feather can work their way through the cover, this of course can not only be unsightly but as your pillow loses its filling it becomes less effective and more uncomfortable. For this reason all of our pillows use a high quality cotton cover made especially to contain the down.

How much down is in the pillow, too little saves on costs but gives a very ‘limp’ pillow with little support

Our pillows have varying fill levels according to their type, however all have the maximum fill required to suit their usage, with some having extra fill to provide extra firmness and support

Compared to other pillows is it good value for money

Our down filled pillows are manufactured to the highest quality and fill levels, they are not aimed at the budget buyer, they are designed to provide the maximum user experince in terms of softness, comfort and support. They only use genuine Hungarian Goose Down. If you are determined to have the finest pillows currently available then there is no other choice, anything less is a compromise.

Call us now on 0151 608 4154 to arrange to view our range or if you prefer to buy online you can see the range here Hungarian Luxury Pillows

Eveyone will be aware of the classic striped sheets that you see on the beds at luxurious boutique hotels throughout the world, well now you can have the very best on your own beds at home. Family and friends will be impressed by the under stated elegance combined with the indulgent luxuriousness of your chosen bedding.

The Sleep Sanctuary are proud to offer this Luxury Bed Linen with striped sheets to all who feel that they deserve the very best. The stain stripe offsets the crisp white perfectly. There are fitted sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers to complete the overall look.

These are manufactured from the finest egyptian long staple cotton that has been combed for extra fineness, lustre and durabilty to produce a fabric with an incredible 550 thread count.

luxury bed linen with striped sheets

Go to our bed linen page for more information here luxury bed linen with striped sheets

400 thread count Bed Linen is a luxury, but nevertheless one that you will feel the benefit from. But first before going any further lets clarify what thread count actually means. The thread count is just that a count of how many threads make up one square inch of the fabric in question, the threads are counted both from top to bottom and side to side. So if you counted 50 threads from left to right and a further 50 went from top to bottom then the fabric would have a thread count of 100, this is a low count. Standard quality bed linen tends to have a thread count of 180-200, as the thread count increases then so does the quality, feel and softness, but only to a point. Once you get beyond say a thread count of 550 then the quality can actually reduce. The reason for this is that beyond this point the thread count becomes purely a marketing factor. So that one manufacturer can say mine has more than yours. But in reality to achieve thread counts at this level the threads are either very fine (possibly nice and soft but quite thin and not very hard wearing) or multiple threads have been wound together before weaving (which could result in a harsher fabric, but with an artificially high thread count).

So what about our 400 thread count bed linen, well its right at the top of the quality level range with a great combination of comfort and softness combined with a hard wearing long life. They are manufactured using the highest quality long staple 100% Egyptian Cotton. Egyptian cotton is deemed to be the finest cotton available with the softest feel, the yarn is then combed to make it even finer and more lustrous and durable. It is available in a wide range of sizes and in White or Ivory

400 Thread Count Bed Linen

Call us on 0151 608 4154 to arrange to view this range in our showroom or if you prefer to buy online then you can see them here 400 Thread Count Bed Linen

 

A takeaway mattress is the perfect solution for everyone.  Traditional mattresses consist of a framework of springs inside a multi layered outer covering, this means that although they can be perfectly comfortable to sleep on, they are not the easiest things to buy and then transport home, they cant be folded in half and as for getting them up that staircase with the tight turn and the low ceiling bit, you can pretty much forget that. What about through the bedroom window on the end of a rope? Just not practical is it.

However there is an alternative. A memory foam mattress from The Sleep Sanctuary is supplied vacuum packed and tightly rolled up. This means that a single mattress is supplied to you in a box that fits in the boot of most cars, a double is in the same box just slightly longer and a king size is in a box approximately 5 foot  by 15 inches x 15 inches (150 x 38 x 38cm). So not only are they easy to get home but getting them upstairs to the bedroom is much easier too.

This ease of transportation is only part of the story because a memory foam mattress is also much more comfortable to sleep on than a traditional mattress, the foam moulds itself to the contours of your body ensuring that there are no gaps or pressure points. The Comfort and convenience of a takeaway mattress needs to be experienced to be believed.

The comfort and convenience of a takeaway mattress

Jersey Bed Linen is ideal for use with memory foam mattresses but not exclusively so.

Jersey fabric is created using a knitting process unlike traditional bed linen which is woven. The benefits of this are that a knitted fabric can stretch in both directions, but a woven fabric can only stretch in one direction. For the more usual sprung mattresses this is not a problem but for a memory foam mattress the ability to stretch in both directions is very important.

To understand why this is important we need to understand how a memory foam mattress works and how it is constructed. A memory foam mattress has no springs at all, it consists of two pieces of foam sandwiched together. The lower section of foam is a support layer, without this you would sink too far into the mattress. The upper section is the memory foam. This foam reacts with the warmth of your body and moulds itself to every contour adjusting as you move to provide continuous support throughout the night.

If the bed linen that you are using is woven rather than knitted then the fabric cannot mould with the mattress and you are effectively minimising the effect of the memory foam, in addition the single directional stretch means that woven sheets are much more likely to ‘pop’ off the mattress at the corners and sides particularly if you sit on the edge of the bed. For this reason Jersey Bed Linen is recommended for use with all memory foam mattresses.

That’s not to say that you can only use Jersey Bed Linen with a memory foam mattress, Jersey Bed Linen can be used with any mattress type but is essential with memory foam. Jersey Bed Linen can be manufactured using 100% cotton or a polyester cotton mix.

Jersey Bed Linen from The Sleep Sanctuary is manufactured from luxurious 100% combed cotton, this provides exceptional softness and comfort which like memory foam retains its shape after being stretched. It is available in both white and ivory, in two mattress depths and in most popular mattress sizes.

You can see these in our showroom or if you prefer you can order them online here - Jersey Bed Linen

If you are looking for the firmest pillows available then you need to consider memory foam pillows. The reason being that ‘normal’ pillows are manufactured from either a combination of feather and down, or from a man made filling that is usually trying to replicate the feel of feather and down. If you see a pillow that is described as microfibre then it is going to be soft and comfortable to sleep on but it certainly won’t be one of the firmest pillows available. Memory Foam works very differently from other pillows. The foam moulds itself to the contours of your head and supports it, the foam compresses to a point where it cannot compress any further and because the filling is made from one complete piece of memory foam there are no individual fibres to move around inside the casing. This makes memory foam absolutely ideal for someone who needs the firmest pillows available.  

Memory Foam pillows are amongst the firmest available

At The Sleep Sanctuary we have a range of memory foam pillows in stock to satisfy your need for a firm pillow.

Our Pillows page Can be found here The Sleep Sanctuary - Memory Foam Pillows