Happiness lies in spending money where you spend your time, which means for most of us, investing in the best sleep setup is more than worth the time and cost. To that end, we’ve pulled together a list of the very finest bed linen brands so you can enjoy a flawless eight hours of sleep a night, ensuring you’re rested and ready to tackle the next day.
Dive into our selection of the best bed linen brands in Australia, kicking off with our top picks for linen and organic cotton (with pricing), before analysing why linen is the choice of the serious sleeper and much more. Let’s get into it.
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Boss Hunting’s Favourite Luxury Bed Linen Brand
Sheet Society
Excellent
95/100
SCOREPROS
- Great range of colours and styles
- Pre-washed
- Extremely comfortable organic cotton options
CONS
- Hard to fault
This list features the best bed linen brands Australia has to offer, but Sheet Society is the only one offering absolute customisation, made easy with their innovative Bed Builder, which will soon add the power of AR, to allow customers to view their choices on their own bed before purchasing.
Not only will Sheet Society let you select different sizes and colours for your set, but you can also choose from the largest range of materials on this list, including organic cotton, linen, waffle, corduroy, quilted and subtle printed and striped styles. As an owner of linen sets from both Bed Threads and I Love Linen, I mixed it up with organic cotton from Sheet Society — opting for a blend of Moss & White.
The silky cotton arrives pre-washed, in premium individual packages and boasts the best-fitted bed sheets I’ve ever used, wrapping right under the mattress, which is important for lovers of firm beds that are typically thinner. In my opinion, organic cotton feels more luxurious than timeless linen bed sheets, especially when paired with a flat sheet — recreating that sumptuous hotel vibe. Suffice it to say you won’t be disappointed.
The Best Bed Linen Brands In Australia Right Now
Dri-Glo — $
Melbourne company Dri-Glo has been around since 1930, but the brand didn’t really slide into prominence until the Australian-grown premium cotton was chosen as the athletics towel of choice for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Today the Australia-born bed linen brand has never been more accessible, having launched a direct-to-consumer online store in recent years to make its best sheets available to everyone.
Now the Australian-made Dri-Glo is one of the best options if you’re looking online for a more affordable entry into great quality linen sheets. A linen sheet set from Dri-Glo is currently going for $250 (Queen) with two standard pillowcases, and both a fitted sheet and a flat sheet, while a King set will set you back $280. Considering the quality of the linen, that’s some of the better value around.
Bed Threads — $
Bed Threads founders Genevieve and Alan began their business to prioritise high quality, pure, 100 per cent French flax linen at a price point you won’t lose sleepover — and they delivered. BT is a great starting point for those interested in getting into quality bed linen due to their accessible price point and their ‘Special’ sets — being able to buy combinations with a larger flat sheet or doona cover.
Interestingly, the quality of their Flax linen, grown in France and assembled in China, is on par with my last linen set from I Love Linen, which costs quite a bit more. Like The Sheet Society, Bed Threads have the option to build your own bundle from their excellent range of colours, although it’s far more primitive.
I Love Linen — $$
I Love Linen was created by Lauren Roe in 2013 and specialising in French flax linen and organic bamboo sheeting as well as bedding accessories and homewares, with one of the largest colour ranges online. I Love Linen produces its products across the globe, with the core of its sheet range in Shenzen China.
Inspired by her travels, Lauren has introduced a Hotel Cloud Collection featuring luxurious mattress toppers, doonas and ‘sleep easy’ pillows, which promises to elevate their products one step further. She also makes cot sheets for that little person in your life. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with choice, I Love Linen’s signature colour bundles are a great place to start.
IN BED — $$
Like I Love Linen, IN BED helped pave the way for bed linen brands, bursting onto the market in 2013 and quickly becoming a favourite by producing timeless, utilitarian and beautiful products.
IN BED is one of the most transparent operators on this list when it comes to where and how their products are made, with both their linen and cotton bedding being produced in a family-run factory in Guimarães, Portugal, while sustainable packaging adds to the brand’s conscious approach.
CULTIVER — $$
Founder Nicolle Sullivan’s vision for CULTIVER was to offer a curated collection of the best items for homes that elevate every day. CULTIVER produces linen designed to showcase the best bed sheets linen has to offer, incorporating an enzyme wash to accelerate the softening process that naturally occurs with each wash as linen ages.
CULTIVER flax is grown in Belgium and France before being woven and manufactured in China, delivering accessible prices and a diverse range to their clearly very happy customers. Their swatch booklet is a great option for those struggling to decide on colour, or who want to feel the product before committing to an order.
EVA Hemp — $
Not content with being one of the best mattress-in-a-box brands in Australia, EVA has also taken to producing some of the best value bed linen sheets in the country. The difference here is that EVA uses high-quality, sustainable hemp linen to put together their sets, since hemp linen is also naturally thermoregulating so will keep you at the ideal body temperature despite how hot or cold it is outside.
EVA typically opts for neutral tones in almost everything they do, so it’s mostly grey and white you’ll be playing around with here, but the more earthy tones like terracotta and mustard look infinitely more attractive and help the brand stand out a bit better, from their duvet covers to their sheet set. Plenty to love here.
Loop Home — $
Loop Home, based out of Melbourne, specialises in contemporary organic Aegean cotton bed and bath linen with minimal designs. The simplistic and clean look of their products is incredibly attractive at this price point.
All of its products are farmed and woven along the Aegean coast of Turkey, produced to a very high quality in accordance with the Global Organic Textiles Standard, which is the leading international standard for organic farming and labour protection in the fashion and textile industry.
The entire business is based on circularity — hence the name — so a strong reason to go with Loop Home is the numerous reversible designs to maximise each product’s value, as well as a closed-loop recycling solution called Re-Loop where you can return goods for credit. They are then upcycled into new products.
MAJOR-MINOR — $$
MAJOR-MINOR was created by mother and daughter team Anne and Hannah, based in Berry, NSW with a focus on simple design, thoughtful construction and consumption, and responsible sourcing. They’re also one of the most transparent brands in the space.
MAJOR-MINOR’s OEKO-TEX-certified linen is grown, woven and sewn in Europe with flax sourced from France, Belgium and the Baltics. Rustic colours contribute to a coastal meets country aesthetic, reflecting the town from which the brand originates and their detailed manufacturing information page shows they’ve got nothing to hide.
bedouin SOCIETE — $$$
Virginia Fledtman founded bedouin SOCIETE in 2011 with a focus on making refined, simple, sustainable and genuine products that provide a sense of revelation and intimacy, in tune with our everyday lives. The aesthetic is timeless, understated elegance, in muted tones, with the brand’s eco-friendly textiles produced by quality, accredited, ethical and sustainable manufacturers.
Cleverly Laundry — $$
Cleverly Laundry is well regarded for its loungewear, although its linen bedding deserves a closer look and certainly earns the brand a place on this list. Amelia McPhee and Roshana Lewis founded Cleverly Laundry out of Perth, but their products are manufactured out of Portugal.
It’s about 100% superfine cotton with their generously priced sheet sets, which come with 7 pieces and include 4 pillowcases, while the standard is usually 1 or 2. That makes Cleverly Laundry a great one-stop shop if you’re looking for cotton bedding during those cooler months. The only problem is that it’s either plain white or nothing here, which doesn’t leave you with many options if you want something a bit more design-focused.
Sheridan — $$$
Finally, Sheridan has been creating premium quality home and lifestyle products for over 50 years, founded in 1967 by Italian migrant and visionary entrepreneur Claudio Alcorso, making them a natural inclusion on this list.
Devoted to quality, craftsmanship and sustainability every piece has been crafted and tested to the highest quality standards by Sheridan’s in-house team. Their Abbotson Linen is produced from 100% Belgian linen flax and manufactured in China, which is interesting given the high cost of a set.
There are plenty of material and style options at Sheridan although one must question the perceived value of the brand with so many great brands to choose from today.
Hale Mercantile Co — $$$
Melbourne’s Hale Mercantile Co is committed to providing lasting quality and supporting the European region in linen production. HMCo yarns are individually yarn dyed and spun from premium grade flax sourced from France and Belgium, unlike Bed Threads, handmade by Europe’s finest, and you pay a serious premium for the pleasure.
I for one am intrigued as to what benefits superior linen that is grown, spun, dyed, woven and sewn in Europe, has on my sleep, especially in winter. Assumedly, the source of flax holds little relevance if is not spun and woven by equally premium craftsmen and this is where HMCo promises to deliver. However, even as a self-proclaimed bedding enthusiast, I doubt my ability to ever spend the money HMCo are asking for their products, as lavish as they do look.
Why Linen?
Linen is a natural fibre made from the stalk and root of the flax plant, an eco-friendly, resilient and sustainable crop that amongst other outputs, produces the strong fibres that are woven into luxury linen fabric.
The best linen flax is grown in cool gentle climates, most notably in Western Europe, specifically France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as Lithuania and India. In many cases, the plant is grown and harvested before being shipped to manufacturers in China.
The quality of flax, weaving, the dyeing process, sewing and stone washing will all have an effect on the quality of the finished product. Flax that is grown, spun, dyed, woven and sewn in Europe, naturally, comes at a higher price.
Aside from the environmental benefits relating to growing and harvesting, linen offers sleepers positive benefits in all seasons. Linen is highly breathable and naturally absorbent meaning it is comfortable in hot and humid climates. It is also an extremely textural fabric meaning that softens with each wash meaning it is cosy and warm in winter. Finally, its rustic weave and aesthetic means it can come straight out of the dryer, or off the line, onto your bed, without looking like it needs an iron.
Where To Buy Good Australian Linen?
Well, first off, you should buy directly from the brands. Retailers like Bed Bath N’ Table will always have a decent selection, but the brands these places stock aren’t usually as good as the independents. You can buy your bed linen online from a local linen house. But before you go ahead with your bed linen order, take a careful look at the options we’ve curated for you.
Does Linen Have A Thread Count?
There’s a common myth that a high thread count guarantees high quality, but thread count is simply a measure of sheet weight. The higher the thread count, the heavier the sheet. The quality is actually defined by the choice of cotton, the quality of the spun yarn, the weave and the finishing.
Linen quality is not measured in thread count but rather like paper — by ‘GSM’ — grams per square metre, which indicates the weight of the fabric.
Most linen bedding will sit between 140 and 220GSM, with a higher GSM number representing a thicker fabric.
Is Linen Better Than Cotton?
While I will always agree with someone new to linen sheets that they are a game-changer, today my opinion has shifted somewhat. They have been a huge trend and to be honest, don’t offer a significantly better sleep than cotton, in fact, I’ve shifted back to cotton recently and I’m sleeping far better — that may be due to the reintroduction of a flat sheet which I think is a must in winter.
Linen is very textural, even after a year of washing so it doesn’t have the same luscious feeling as a soft set of premium cotton fitted sheets does. I prefer sleeping in linen during summer and Egyptian cotton in winter — I don’t think it’s the every-season solution all these brands hype it to be — although I’m told the best linens have an almost flannel texture so can be perfect winter companions.
Which Bed Linen Brand Should You Buy?
Brand pricing is heavily dependent on origin, apart from Sheridan’s product which I’d avoid — clearly, you are just paying for a brand name. I’ve owned sheets from three of these brands and I couldn’t tell you the difference between the quality of I Love Linen or Bed Threads linen — so if you’re conscious of budget they’re worth a go.
I cannot speak highly enough of The Sheet Society’s cotton, they will not be the last set I acquire, and the set is a steal at $390. Their bed builder has also changed the innovation game, being able to mix and match materials, colours and sizes. I think the best combo would be a cotton fitted and flat sheet with a linen doona cover and linen pillowcases.
Despite being one of the earliest players in the space I’m not drawn to bedouin SOCIETE — the lack of transparency and e-commerce probably means you’re paying too much, especially when the mid-tier operators IN BED, CULTIVER and MAJOR-MINOR all have a comprehensive breakdown of their manufacturing operation and are more affordable. Finally, even if I had all the money world, I think I’d have a hard time justifying Hale Mercantile Co’s offering given the gulf in pricing between it and the rest.
Now that you’re acquainted with all of the best Australian bed linen brands, take a look at a couple of our favourite related articles below:
