Finally someone else voted for no flat sheet! I feel much better now. We're still getting destroyed in this poll though.

thats because you are wrong. LOL

@nnigrt I feel like houzz's demographic might be affecting this poll a little bit. There might be a male/female divide on this issue.

It's quite European to sleep only with down coverlet. The only beds I make up without top sheet are the bunk beds when the summer grandkids stay over......b/c it's easier for them to make the bed without the top sheet. Yes, the house rule is "kindergarten & above make their own bed".

It's quite European to sleep only with down coverlet. The only beds I make up without top sheet are the bunk beds when the summer grandkids stay over......b/c it's easier for them to make the bed without the top sheet. Yes, the house rule is "kindergarten & above make their own bed".

but in europe the coverlet is usually in a duvet cover, correct? which is in itself a giant sheet. i dont think that is what 123 is talking about here.

the idea of a fuzzy blanket touching my skin (as opposed to a percale sheet) is unpleasant in summer or winter. i dont even like flannel sheets.

Fitted sheet on bottom, then top sheet with hospital corners, blanket, then comforter or spread (as my mom called them). I never considered any other way (nor will I)... :D

Flat sheet in summer (with quilt that might get kicked off if it's hot enough), but no flat sheet in cold season (when we use a down comforter with a duvet cover that gets washed). During the sheet season, it's tucked at the bottom, but I don't retuck the sides every day...

Wait a second... do you guys actually make your beds every day?

123 Remodeling Inc, I am not a fan of flat sheets either, when I buy sheet sets, I always turn the flat ones into fitted by cutting square corners and adding elastic, always nice to have a spare one!

Yep, always a flat sheet and when it's warm, that's all I'll use - no blanket.

Yes to a flat sheet. Even with a washable duvet cover. Mainly because I tend to be warm and hubby cool, so a sheet with the duvet or quilt gives me some cover when needed.

I can't even imagine not sleeping under the flat sheet! ewwwww

No, I use a duvet with a duvet cover that can be washed regularly. Being from the UK I was initially very confused with flat sheets and blankets/ comforters.
My husband and his brother (who are american) both recently admitted to their mother how much they used to hate the flat sheet and comforter get-up, and would push it down to the bottom of the bed.
She was some what horrified, that for all this time they had been dirtying her comforters, which were rarely washed.

I hesitate to ask this, but what do you do in hotels??

I would use the top sheet and a blanket. But by the morning i would wake up with it half crumpled in the middle of the bed, due to my husband throwing it of in the middle of the night.
I end up tangled up in a mass of sheets, or with it flipped and pulled over me the wrong way.

I don't use a flat sheet but a full/queen duvet cover with no duvet and then either a cotton blanket or winter weight blanket. I decided I don't like my feet feeling trapped by a flat sheet all tucked in at the bottom.

Mark, every hotel I've ever been in had a flat sheet. Not for you?

Most hotels change the fitted sheet, pillow case, and flat sheet after each guest checks out of the room. The pillow and other bedding is reused without washing or exchange. I prefer all bedding that I come in contact with to be clean, including the flat sheet.

@Mark: First thing I do in hotels untuck everything. Can't stand being trapped in like that. I think I do use the flat sheet at hotels, just because it's there. But do they really not wash the blankets? That's gross!

I'm a guy, and I use the flat sheet between the the fitted sheet and blanket, sleeping between fitted and flat sheet. I live up in Wisconsin, so we can have hot humid summer nights, and bitter cold winter nights; one time I researched the maximum temperature swing in a year here and found it to be from summer nights around 85 and record winter low of -26, that's a potential 111 degree swing in a year; so it's nice to be able layer the covers, removing or adding when needed; and I only use the flat sheet during the summer, washing and storing the blanket when temps dictate that I no longer need the blanket until those chilly fall nights come around again when I need it.

Also being a single homeowner, not having to wash a blanket every week or 2 is a time savings; like others have said, they don't have to be washed as often and stay looking newer for longer.

Sorry to burst you bubble about the hotel blankets.

I voted flat sheet absolutely . I have to say I have given up on my teenage son, who pushes the sheet off the bed and wraps himself up in the comforter like a burrito! It makes more comforter washing for me! I believe the idea behind a duvet was for no top sheet and just wash the cover. But anyone that has wrangled with one of those knows that is no easy solution!

@jjnman12 Duvet covers are even worse than flat sheets!

No, I only use the top cover whether it is a comforter or a thin summer blanket.

No flat sheets for me and my family. Just fitted sheet and comforter. The flat sheet gets crumpled up while sleeping (I don't understand those who likes tucked in flat sheets, I feel so trapped!!). I don't even like duvets with duvet covers (they always get bunched up inside the duvet cover). So I just wash our comforters when needed. Nice and simple. Done.

We have a bedding "system" from Rough Linen. A large linen flat sheet is the bottom sheet, and a "summer cover" that is made of linen panels, seamed together with a mitered banding along the edges. Basically a top sheet. On the few cool nights we get, a blanket on top of that. The bottom sheet is hospital cornered and tucked in all around. The summer cover is not tucked in at all, the thing is huge, and there's more than enough at the bottom to prevent tootsies from getting uncovered and cold. I haven't tucked in a top sheet since I broke my leg, I wish I had stopped years earlier. And more heresy. When we make the bed, we fold the top cover down, exposing the bottom sheet, so it will air out. Very neat.

@rachuba, ".... I wish I had stopped years earlier. " = PRICELESS :)

For our clients in US and Europe I always recommend using several options based on the climate.

For colder climate zones we suggest using comforter level 2 with high thread count bedding which includes: duvet cover, flat sheet, fitted sheet and pillow cases and/or pillow shams( based on client preferences). If it is too much, we suggest removing a flat sheet.

For warmer climates - Comforter Level 1, same arrangement.

For hot zones ( based on bedroom temperature) we suggest Summer level comforter, same arrangement ...or just high quality cotton blanket with the flat sheet, fitted sheet and pillow covers.

These are only general guidelines, it is all depends on client's preferences.

We also recommend changing the bedding twice a week to keep comforters clean longer and dry cleaning all comforters every 6-12 months.

Bed Coverlet is purely a decorative element that is used to dress up the bed for the day and it's usually a custom piece that is done specifically for the interior of the room. Hope this helps! Best! JSDS

We definitely sleep under the flat sheet. It's simply what's done in my experience.

I grew up sleeping under a flat sheet, but as I have gotten older I find I just don't enjoy it anymore. If tucked in, I get trapped and can't stick my feet out (and, yes, I DO think about monsters sometimes); if not tucked in the bed never looks tidy no matter how nicely I make it. Unless it is winter in VT and I need the flannel to stay warm (which, btw, is why I now live in CA!) I generally end up with a twisted mass of sheets shoved to the middle or end of the bed by morning. So a duvet with a removable cover is a better choice when I want warmth. If I don't need much, I just use a velvety blanket and wash it as often as I do the bottom sheet. My dream would be a lovely lightweight down comforter with a whisper-thin silk cover over it. I know it wouldn't hold up like those heavy bulletproof covers that are so common, but it would feel delightful and be so light...

BUT - if I am in a hotel, or even at someone else's house, I try to keep between the sheets for cleanliness' sake. As it is, I have to try not to think about how many people have slept on that mattress before me (a funny neurosis, considering I am not the least uptight about most things that set germaphobes off).

Flat sheet? Yes! Make the bed everyday? Not always in the morning, but I always have to make it before I get in it. The sheet, blanket and coverlet have to be perfectly back to "made" straightness so I can sleep. If they aren't, I feel icky.

Besides, I won't get my share of covers if they aren't equally distributed every night. The covers tend to migrate towards the wrong side of the bed if left unchecked over a few days' time.

Fitted sheet and duvet only. More convenient to wash one less piece of bedding. Plus being raised in an Asian family flat sheets are hardly used unless you have a lot of luxury.

A little surprised there have been no 'Hammock Advocates' on this thread.

Flat sheet - yes (high quality). Necessary most especially at hotels since their comforters and blankets are seldom cleaned, despite many people sleeping under them. Comforters, NO! My husband and I find they get too hot during the night, even with the temperature turned low. But down pillows and a cotton blanket, with a decorative topper or comforter that we remove at night work for us both.

I use a duvet and wash the cover every other week, that is instead of a flat sheet.

Top sheets a must! It was the way I was raised as a child. I got tired of the tug of war in bed with the hubby. We slept in a king bed but I made it up with twin flat sheets, twin comforters and a king spread flipped over when making the bed. He slept with only a comforter. I slept under a flat sheet and sometimes the comforter depending on the warmth of the bedroom. This arrangement made for peaceful dreams and a restful night. : )

I am fussy when it comes to my bed. Absolutely must have a top sheet with corners mitered. Bottom sheet very tight and wrinkle free. Sheets must be good , high quality. I HATE cheap sheets!

I sleep under two flats sheets and a quilt I have made for the season! The additional flat sheet protects the quilts when my cats are on the bed. The quilts stay cleaner longer and that means we do not have to wash them all of the time! I have a regular fall/winter type quilt with cotton batting and summer quilt that is just the top piece with a flannel backing for hot weather.

I can understand no flat sheet if you use a duvet since it can be washed often. Otherwise I think it saves washing blankets and comforters so often.

Definitely flat sheet, not tucked in at the sides, just the bottom. We use just a lightweight comforter with a duvet and a flat sheet, we don't live in a cold climate. In the dead of winter we might add a lightweight blanket, but just for a few weeks.

Flat sheet tucked in at the bottom and bottom third on the sides. When it's cold a comforter and wool blanket under the quilt, in the summer just a quilt on top of the sheets. The thought of no flat sheet, yuck!.

We use a comforter covered by a duvet only and the duvet is laundered regularly. In the summer, we use a lightweight Ikea comforter without the duvet, and it can be laundered with hot water and stays looking nice.

I use three flat sheets sometimes. One tucked under, with top flat tucked in at bottom and sides with down comforter between it and upper flat on top tucked in all around.. as in high end hotels.https://www.shopmarriott.com/

No flat sheets over here!

I make my bed every day. I use a flat sheet with a cotton blanket and then a duvet. I change /wash the sheets and pillow cases at LEAST weekly. I wash the duvet cover quarterly. I wash the duvet- yes, the down -filled duvet - every summer and airdry it outside. (I live in Canada). Hotels DO NOT wash bedspreads more than annually, which is why when I check in to a hotel that has them, I ask housekeeping to come and get the bedspread and bring me 2 CLEAN blankets.

Of course we use the flat sheet! Why!

I use a flat sheet. My mother and brother do not. I personally don't understand why. I do agree that tucking bed sheets in at the corner is annoying. Nothing is worse than feeling trapped.

I totally agree!