Matelassé Bedspreads

matelassé

an embossed, compound fabric woven on a dobby or Jacquard loom.

(from French matelasser to quilt, from matelas mattress) 

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Odds are you have seen these quite often but may not have known exactly what they were called. I recently purchased one for my king size bed and am very pleased with it. I did not want a big down comforter although there is nothing at all wrong with them. I just wanted something a little lighter. Also, I wanted all one color so that I could add the accent colors with the pillows and throw or blanket and change it as often as I would like. I have to say that I have fairly deep mattresses on the bed and although the bedspread that I purchased does not touch the floor (as one would think a traditional bedspread would) it does hang down to the middle of my wooden side rails which is perfect to me. I have always found it difficult to find a comforter, bed topper, bedspread or anything really that was long enough for my bed. I am not fond of bed skirts. Mostly because I have kids that like to step on the wooden side rails to get into the bed and they usually end up tearing the bed skirts so, why spend money on something that is going to get torn up. 

There seem to be differently qualities and weights of these types of bedspreads. I am sure the more you spend the better quality you get. However, as I am a believer in reading customer comments, I saw on both of the ones I was comparing while deliberating over my purchase I saw that both the less expensive and the more expensive (by 3 times as much) both had reviews that they do shrink after being washed and dried. My thoughts were, get the cheaper one, If it shrinks use it as a blanket and buy another. If I got the more expensive and it shrank I would feel like I wasted a huge chunk of money. I do not like wasting money!! 

Here are a few examples of this type of bedspread:

 
The above images show the bedspreads with the matching shams of the same color. I like the look of using the bedspread as one layer and adding to it another layer with a blanket or throw in a contrasting solid color or an interesting print. For the pillows, I prefer to use different fabrics and designs. Here a couple of photos that show the use of the bedspread as a complementary layer:

MY STRUGGLE!! I HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR OVER 2 MONTHS TO DECIDE ON A PAINT COLOR FOR MY FOYER, LIVING ROOM AND HALLWAY TO THE GUEST ROOMS. I CHOSE 2 COLORS IN THE GREEN FAMILY THAT ARE JUST NOT RIGHT. I WANT TO STAY AWAY FROM TAN BUT I REALLY HAVE NOT FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A COLOR, YET. NORMALLY WHEN I FIND A PAINT COLOR, I KNOW IMMEDIATELY THAT IT IS THE CORRECT COLOR. I HAVE BEHR TIBETIAN ORANGE IN MY KITCHEN, CRUSHED RED PEPPER IN MY DINING ROOM AND FOR MY FRENCH COUNTRY BATHROOM I HAVE PROVENCE CREME. I REALLY NEED HELP! PLEASE MESSAGE ME WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS. I HAVE MANY COLORS IN THESE SPACES- FOYER- DARK PURPLE, LIME GREEN, DARK PINK,  TURQUOISE, BLACK, DARK WOODEN FURNITURE AND IRON WORK. LIVING ROOM- CHOCOLATE LEATHER FURNITURE, DARK WOODEN FURNITURE, RED BRICK, WHITE TRIM, DARK IRON WORK, TURQUOISE, SWEET POTATO, DARK YELLOW, ORANGE, DARK GREEN, BLACK.