I HATE comforters! Too heavy, get worn, generally a nuisance. I much prefer a light weight quilt or blanket cover under which I can put a down blanket when it's cold. I also prefer either blue/wht bedding or all white.

^^^But since you (gil) asked about a new comforter, should we assume that's what you want? Do you want something similar to what you have, or do you want to try to introduce a new complementary color to shake things up a bit? The pic of the comforter when it was new looks brown to me, but the latest pics have a bit of plum cast...is that what it is? Maybe it's just a flaw in the pic, but it also looks like you may have been playing with changing the wall color - looks like some green paint by the nightstand? And it looks like at some point you changed the orientation from stripes side to side, to up and down :-) What's your budget?

For saying you're a guy with no clue, you have a very nice home!

eta: I'll just jump in here...if your walls are gray (as they appear on my monitor) I thought this might be nice. You may want a better quality and if you actually sleep under it, you may not want poly...but just to start the conversation:

While your room looks nice it looks impersonal like everything came out of a catalog. It reminds me of The Burbs when the kid said "It came with the frame." Sorry ignore that if you haven't seen it.

My decorating style leans toward the masculine side, and I like all of the looks below. I agree with Anglophilia I think your room would really look updated with a nice white comforter (you could get one from just about anyplace with home stuff) and get a nice white duvet cover to cover it. The duvet cover is to wash so you don't have to wash the comforter as much. Then you can add color and texture with a couple of pillows and a throw for the end of the bed.

I also think it would be nice if you changed the art over the bed to something a tad more personal. It can be drawings, art, photos that mean something to you. I had a very wide, black and white photo of Union Station in Kansas City as it was being built above my bed a while back because it had some good memories for me.

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I wanted to add I cant imagine my DH trying to decorate. I think he would still be in his studio apartment with an old twin bed and a folding chair. You're very brave for a dude. ;)

Get a duvet insert and duvet cover/s. There are so many choices, and affordable enough to change with the seasons. For example, linen in summer, pattern, no pattern.

Good sources are IKEA, H&M, West Elm, Crate and Barrel, etc.

You really do have such an attractive neutral base with wall and flooring color. I think all the examples would work nicely for you. Is there a color you want to introduce? I too am a fan of the white comforter or duvet with accent colors. I do think that all the photos provided really would look great in your space.

DH and I were shopping at Kohl's a few weeks ago and they had a bed made in this Vera Wang duvet cover. It stopped both of us in our tracks, so I know it's "man-approved". It'd be beautiful with the tan in your headboard and the golds in your art.

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-c1401952/simply-vera-vera-wang-moonstone-duvet-cover-collection.jsp?color=Steel%20Gray&prdPV=6

Thank you everyone! Let me digest all of the comments and get back to everyone later today.

I'm with Iowacommute re: using a solid comforter, light blanket, or duvet cover in a solid color and introduce pattern via pillows. I would prefer light blanket or duvet b/c easier to launder. Oh and remember to get a washable fabric.

I don't know how often you washed your old comforter but it looks to me like the fabrics s/h/b dry cleaned ( expensive). That may be one of the reasons it looks so worn--didn't take laundering well.

I see a few here at Company Store that might work:

http://www.thecompanystore.com/pattern-comforters?sz=42

Or here's one from Pottery Barn:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/mackenna-comforter-sham/?pkey=cbedding-comforters&isx=0.0.0

I see people are recommending duvets/covers but I personally can't stand dealing with duvet covers, and you may feel the same way -- so I'm sticking to your original request for a regular comforter.

Company Store also has a lot of great quilts, if you prefer something lighter for this time of year.

Duvets with covers might be more than a guy might be willing to deal with. I grew up with them but wouldn't have them myself now. I have a quilt with matching shams for summer and a heavy bedspread with matching shams for winter. I know bedspreads are considered old-fashioned but I love mine. The Vera Wang duvet set from Kohl's is gorgeous however, and suitable for either sex.

I want to ask you something a bit off-topic..that's the second time I read how you say "since I'm a guy I don't have a clue"..why do you think you don't have a clue if you're a guy? It's not something gender-dependent you know..one of the most talented people in the field are guys..guys are also artists, movie makers, photographers, hairdressers, fashion designers, I can go with this list of talents that require vision-as in vision-on and on

You're obviously interested-even if just a tad-in how your home looks or else you wouldn't have hired a decorator. Or you wouldn't be asking here now. It's not like you have plainly zero interest.

I wonder if the decorator asked you enough what actually you'd want, what are you drawn to? Does your home reflect you? From your post I understand you do like the colors..Do you feel like the style is yours? If you'd change it-what you'd change it to?

I simply feel that you're locking yourself into this "I don't have a clue" while you might very well actually have a clue. Or the curiosity that'll send you on the quest to find it.

And as silly as it may sound-it can start with the comforter:)

Remember that old story about a woman who got a red geranium in a pot as a gift?

She found out the geranium makes the tablecloth dull so she made a new tablecloth. Now the tablecloth was too good for the table now so she repainted the table. Now the table looked too good so she made and hung new curtains. And so it went and went until in the end of the day she at last sat down at the table with her new geranium pot in her transformed room, and she was tired but felt very very happy because at last her home was her own.

I don't think there's anything *that* difficult about duvets with covers. I always manage to get the duvets inside single handedly without tying them in the corners. No matter how lumpy and bunchy they look initially, in a day everything evens out.

I love that you can change the look (color, pattern, fabric, etc.) reasonably easily. Some duvet covers can be hundreds of dollars, but I've gotten some nice ones from West Elm and Pottery Barn (my favorite, spring birds) that are great looking, wear well and cost way less than $100. They're double-sided. I have two cats who shed a lot and being able to wash just the cover is a huge plus.

These are comforter sets from Bed, Bath & Beyond

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/amherst-natural-comforter-set-7-piece-set/133960?categoryId=12016

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/lexia-comforter-set/3256967?categoryId=12016

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/brenda-9-piece-comforter-set-in-brown/3264696?categoryId=12016

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/avalanche-chandler-reversible-3-piece-comforter-set/3322184?categoryId=12016

These are quilt sets

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/estate-taj-reversible-quilt-set/3298985?Keyword=taj

Going out on a limb here with this one (same as above, but in a different color).

I love everything Iowacommute posted as well as the suggestion of new art. Also agree with Quilts instead of comforters. You can buy quilts in different weights depending on your climate. I think a change of bedside lamps is in order. If you keep the bedding nice simple quality you can add some interest in cool wall sconces for lamps or if you want drama, hanging bedside lamps.

I love the new lighter weight quilts and quiltlets. Check out the vast selection at Steinmart they are very nice and very reasonable prices. I have a bunch of them so I can switch it up when I feel like I want a change.

I absolutely will not have a duvet cover again, just don't like anything about them. I am not fond of the big puffy comforters either.

If the OP is trying to stay within his current color of comforter but wouldn't mind a quilt, I really like the 2nd to last quilt posted. He did say he wants something that will tie in with the current wall color and art.

Interesting to read the comments; I did the happy dance once IKEA, H&M, etc arrived here with their duvets and duvet covers. Only problem is that I end up buying more and more. I hate beds that are made up with two flat sheets and a blanket in between, and the sheets tucked in. Always send up with three different pieces. Plus, how often do you wash comforters or blankets/quilts? As far as duvet covers, everybody in my family, incl. the male members, can put a King inside a cover.

Ooooh, I love the 3rd one cawaps posted for your room! The sort of abstract leaves.

eta: I also am a big fan of duvets with a washable cover; it's all I use. I kind of hate wrestling my king size ones, but it's doable and I love not having a top sheet (I mostly use velvet flannel covers). Even in the summer, I switch out the down comforter for a down blanket inside the flannel, but the evenings are almost always coolish in my home.

Ingrid, I don't think bedspreads are old fashioned at all. I get mine from the Pem America outlet online. Their French tile bedspread is more like a quilt but not a quilt ( the quilts are smaller) . I buy the straight hem ones because they are so generously sized at 120 x 118 but still easy to throw in the washer. I started getting so fed up with bedding covers being so small these days, most kings are only around 108 x 94 and hardly cover the sides of the bed.

Anglophilia - I certainly hear what you are saying about comforters as I had some female friends tell me that comforters are out. They also like white bedding or all white, but I don't think I'm crazy about white, especially since this is a fully furnished rental / a temporary home for me that I use in between my rentals.

Olychick - thank you again for your replies. I don't think I want to introduce a new color (again, it is furnished rental / a temporary home for me). I'm trying to determine which picture most accurately represents the color. The color of my walls have not changed, however, the original picture was taken with a professional grade camera and the 2 more recent ones are with my camera phone. The green you see by the nightstand is from a repair job by the renter (I have since painted the entire wall to the original color).

Iowacommute - Thanks for the ideas. Those pics you sent are indeed very similar to what my friend help me pick out (white duvet and color and texture with throw and pillows), but I'm not crazy about white.

nosoccermom - What you sent looks quite good to me. This is almost exactly what I'm looking for (I need to go through all of the comments first).

salonva - As mentioned above, since it is a rental, I don't want to paint at this time.

mayflowers - This looks good (I'll add it to the maybe).

bossyvossy - The old comforter is just old and beat up. I'm sure a small top loading washer w/ agitator didn't help. Now I have a full size washer with no agitator which will probably do the trick.

Sueb20 - Thanks for the links.

aprilneverends - I guess I was thinking 'most' guys don't have a sense of style :-) For me, what works best is for someone to show me pics of designs, then I point to the style I like best. Then they pick out a number of things based on my taste and then I say 'yeh' or 'neh' to the ones I like. I also know what I don't like, so for me a good decorator can save me a ton of time.

cawaps - It looks like you've done it again lol. You certainly seem to have figured out my sense of style / taste. I will look at these in detail shortly.

always1stepbehind - Yes, thank you; you are correct.

I think you need to first decide whether comforter and sheets or duvet and duvet covers. I'm a huge fan of IKEA duvets. They are very inexpensive and come in different warmth ratings. Every couple of years I just throw them out and buy new. I also like their covers, but there are lots of others, at all price ranges. (IKEA, West Elm, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, H&M, CB2, Urban Outfitters).

CB2:

IKEA (like 40.00)

Urban Outfitter

gil_happy. Oh that's what works best for all of us, at least to a certain degree-how the hell we're supposed to know we like something if we never saw it? everybody needs a point of reference. I heard that even faces we see in our dreams that are totally unfamiliar to us-we saw somewhere once even if for a second.

so i wasn't suggesting you shouldn't hire anybody or ask for advice or anything ike that

that's why we're here. I learned tons of stuff here by the way, and continue to learn. And visuals help a lot. Even if to figure out something you don't like as you've correctly said.

And there was a time when I had no idea where to get things here..actually I didn't know there were any duvets in the US (I'm from Europe) because they weren't part of sets and I had no idea they're called duvets:) So yes, I know much more now, because-somebody once mentioned it somewhere..

I guess I meant.. don't say you don't have a clue cause you probably do have it:)

"You certainly seem to have figured out my sense of style / taste."

LOL.

At the risk of offending you (hopefully not), what I've figured out about you is you want your rooms to look nice but aren't very invested in the specifics. You don't see the decor as a reflection of your personality. You've lived with neutrals for a long time and are accustomed to them and they work for you. So you want something, neutral, attractive, and generic (meaning broadly appealing rather than appealing to you specifically). The part about it being a rental gives context to that (I don't remember you mentioning it in the artwork post).

For me, art work is very personal, so in responding to your last post, part of me was pulling out my hair, thinking "Asking for people to pick out artwork for you is like asking them to tell you who you are!" But I just kept in mind that for you, artwork wasn't personal, and was able to apply myself to art shopping. Which I don't get to do much for myself, since there isn't much bare wall left in my house.

In April's defense, I would have to say that most guys I know do have a sense of style - I definitely do not think that having style is related to one's gender. Anyway, having said that, I would add that I bought a comforter at Kohl's - to go under the chenille bedspread that I made for myself - bedspreads are definitely not out of style, and I happen to have access to a lot of luxe fabric for practically free. But I chose a specific type of comforter to go under my bedspread that I would not use on top of the bed - it must go between sheets and a bedspread, as it does not feel nice itself but does a great job of keeping me warm. I like the size also because it fits better than a blanket or quilt. The comforter I had before was quilted, and I wanted to stay away from that because the quilting did not do a good job of keeping the batting in place. I would therefore recommend not getting a quilted comforter. You probably do not sew, and so I will not recommend that you make your own bedspread, but they are super easy if you do sew and you can make something that is truly yours. Otherwise, you can still find bedspreads, if you are interested.

My main point of advice is to avoid a quilted or down comforter. The one I got is similar to this. It's polyester and therefore somewhat icky to the touch, and so I try to avoid touching it, but at least the filling will not shift. I also avoid duvet covers because they do not stay in place properly.

nosoccermom - I see you pasted 3 photos in your post. The third photo looks like it is from Ikea, but what store are the first 2 photos from? Thx

The most recent post above, with four pics?

The store was listed before the pic. So, first one is from CB2, the younger, cheaper sibling of Crate and Barrel; pic 2 is IKEA. This duvet cover is a very nice crisp but smooth/soft cotton. They also have one that looks similar to the cb2 one, but a smooth satin fabric (I have that one, too).

In my very first post, the first two are west elm, then h&m, then ikea.

nosoccermom - Sorry, you are correct; your first post with 4 pictures. Unfortunately I'm unable to find the first picture on the CB2 web site and the second picture on Ikea - can you please post the links to both?

I really dislike the bold patterns and stripes for your bedroom. They seem dorm-like and don't fit the sophistication of your original comforter, furniture, and art. I think you need a more luxurious fabric than those.

Wow, do I love the Varant from Ikea. Very subtle multicolor--my head is spinning with the color/pattern coordinating possibilities.

Thank you nosoccermom

I have the Varant (actually two, one for home, one for DHs apartment) and really like the orange (although usually not an orange fan) and the blue. It also feels good, crisp but smooth and has held up really well with weekly washing; plus I like the zipper.

You could also go with a paisley.

Potter Barn Mackenna.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/mckenna-paisley-duvet-cover-sham-blue/

nosoccermom, I recommended that same comforter above! Gil, that's 2 votes for PB comforter... ;-)

I missed that. But: I'm linking to the duvet cover :)

Do you know how it feels? Some of the PB covers are very rough, so need to be used with a top sheet, which IMO defeats the whole purpose.

And the winner is..... cawaps! After careful consideration, I have decided to go with a comforter for a number of reasons (price, the fact that it is a rental, don't need to go out and purchase a duvet for inside the cover) - I'm very happy with the look.

Thank you everyone so much for your input and contributions.

Excellent choice. Looks great.

That does look nice! Glad you found something (or cawaps did :-) that works so well!

I'm glad it works. It's hard, when you are just looking at online pics, to know if something is going to work right. Sometime you order something, and when it arrives it looks totally different from the marketing pic.