sunday night surf-n-shop: summer coverlet
I’ve been craving some new bedding in the same way I wanted a new dress when the weather warmed up. At first, I’d been looking for a duvet cover, but after reading the June issue of domino over the weekend, I’ve decided that what’s missing from our bed is a coverlet. Now, I’m not a hundred percent sure what a coverlet is… a light quilt perhaps? Or as my mother would call it, a comforter? A bedspread? I think all of the above may qualify, and with that in mind I went surfing around for one. Our bedroom has one wall painted pale fern green, with bamboo shades on the windows, so I need to find something that will fit in that color palette. The green-and-blue silk Kok quilt, above, at 2modern.com could work, though at $380 it’s a bit pricey. Click through to the next page to see the other coverlets I’m considering. —
Allison recommended this cotton cover from Pearl River. It’s only $17.50, and would be great to have around the house. 
I like the circular pattern on this Adagio Matelasse Coverlet, $148, from Garnet Hill, but the colors I prefer aren’t available any more. 
This Sorbet Matelasse is similar to the one above, but it is from is The Company Store for only $89.
The grid pattern quilt at West Elm, $119, looks nice, but I’m wondering how soft it is. Has anybody out there used their bedding?
I like the Hawaiian-feel of the Hyde Hall Quilt, $420, From Company C. It’s expensive but could be really beautiful.
This is probably my favorite, because of its bold and modern design. Denyse Schmidt’s pretty square green quilt, $260, at Velocity Art & Design. Though the one below it seems more summery. 
Have I missed any? Does anybody really know the difference between a coverlet and quilt? Thanks for your help! — Angela M.
May 30th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Because my mom makes quilts, I always think of a quilt as something that is made by hand, though this may just be semantics. I think generally, though, that a quilt is thicker and has stuffing or batting, while a coverlet doesn’t. Bedding experts, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong…
May 30th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
I always think of a quilt as being pieced and a coverlet as being made of a single piece of fabric that is maybe padded-and-stitched, but maybe not. IE, I would call the Denyse Schmidt and Hyde Hall things “quilts” and the Kok, the matelasse items, the thing from Pearl River, and the grid-pattern item “coverlets”.
However, it seems like with regard to the kind of coverlets that are “quilted” (IE stitched-down batting like on Kok and Grid-Pattern) the term is up in the air!
There is a nice quilty coverlet at Target right now that is spring green on one side and brown on the other. It’s in the Ipanema collection. It’s not going to be as durable as most of the things you listed above, though. (I thought the stitching was in a leaf pattern, but I don’t see that on the site, so I’m probably wrong about that.) Also, it’s really easy for leafy green shades to clash, so it might not be right for you.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_14/601-9690814-9039351?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000B8V9LA
May 31st, 2006 at 3:41 am
Thanks Rebecca and Miranda. Most helpful! I’ll let you know what I decide.
June 1st, 2006 at 5:02 am
I actually did order the West Elm quilt that you mentioned. However I ended up sending it back because the fabric was very THIN! I was afraid it would tear by the end of the summer. Instead I got the Isaac Mizrahi Pop Flower White Coverlet at Target and I Love it!!