Beach Cottage Decor


It’s colder in Cincinnati than it is in Texas, and that’s an understatement.  Fortunately, the furnace in our new apartment works very well.  Sometimes I stand right next to the floor vents to feel the heat coming up from the basement.  However, the apartment is in an older house and older houses tend to get pretty drafty.  I’ll feel warm and cozy near a vent, but if I’m not right next to one, I get chilled.  I’ve been feeling the cold the most when I’m in bed.  Dressed for bed, I look more like I’m heading outside for a walk than heading in to sleep.  Sleeping in layers is not comfortable.  Thermal leggings, thick socks, a t-shirt, and a fleece hoodie, well, that’s too much for sleeping.  When we moved into this apartment, we found a $45 complete bed-in-a-bag set at Wal-Mart (where else?).  We didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on bedding since we already have a bedding set in one of our pods.  As you can imagine, for $45, the comforter you get is extremely thin.  Too thin for Cincinnati in the winter.  In addition to needing more warmth, I also wanted a comforter that had a little weight to it.  I had to do something.  My wheels were spinning!  Before we left Texas, my mom had suggested that we find something more substantial for our winter bedding.  She said a feather bed or down comforter would do the trick.  The fun thing about getting a down comforter is that they usually necessitate the purchase of a duvet cover.

vintage coastal:

I found this nautical, beach cottage bedroom on Pinterest.  HGTV featured it on their slideshow here: Budget Savvy Bedroom Updates.  I love the striped comforter.  It just so happens that IKEA has a similar duvet cover, and there is an IKEA in West Chester, about 20 minutes from our apartment.  My mom had also told us that IKEA has really good prices on their down and feather beds.  She was right.  We set out and found this “extra warm” (only available seasonably!) down comforter at the West Chester IKEA.  The down comforters come in different levels of warmth: cool, warm, and extra warm.  The description for the extra warm one read, “If you often feel cold and need extra warmth, this warm, ultra thick comforter with a generous amount of filling is a good choice.”  I always feel cold and need extra warmth.  We were getting the extra warm one.  They also had the duvet cover in stock, so we picked both of them up.  I really enjoyed this shopping trip because the bedding was a birthday gift from my parents.

SÖTVEDEL Comforter, extra warm - extra warm, King - IKEA:

IKEA - NYPONROS, Duvet cover and pillowcase(s), Full/Queen (Double/Queen), , Yarn-dyed; the yarn is dyed before weaving; gives the bedlinens a soft feel.Decorative, fabric-covered buttons keep the comforter and pillow in place.:

I love the names IKEA gives their products.  The down comforter is called the “Sotvedel” and the duvet is the “Nyponros.”  While we were happily browsing around the store with my cozy new bedding in the cart, I spotted this nautical accent pillow.  I’ve had my eye on it for a while, but I never purchased it because it didn’t match the bedding we had.  The pillow adds more of a nautical look to the duvet, so I had to get it.  It’s called the “Benzy Land” cushion.  Michael and I were cracking up in the store as we discussed whether or not the “Benzy Land” would fit well with the “Nyponros” or how warm the “Sotvedel” would feel.  When in Rome.

IKEA - BENZY LAND, Cushion, Cover is made of ramie; a hard-wearing and absorbent natural material.Reversible; a different design on each side.The buttons make the cover easy to remove.:

Here is the new bedding in our apartment bedroom.  I love it!  I was a little worried that my decision to go for the “extra warm” down comforter would make it too warm for Michael.  I’m always cold; he’s usually just right or warm.  After the first night, we both knew once you go down, you never go back.  We both slept like babies and enjoyed a comfortable level of warmth.  I’m no longer shivering as I fall asleep.  It will only get colder here for the next few months, and I know we will continue to enjoy our cozy new nautical bedding set.  Adding a little of my beach cottage style makes our apartment feel more like a home.






8 thoughts on “Down

  1. I love, love the new set! Going to bed in layers is never fun and I imagine needing to wear a hoodie was super uncomfortable. I’m so glad you got down to business and got some warmer bedding!


  2. I love the set! I might need to do some pinning…of IKEA pin stripes. I’m cold just reading your description of the drafty old house! Reminds me of hovering in front of mommy and daddy’s gas heater. (:


Leave a Reply to okeefehm Cancel reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s