British brand Luff Sleep is opening (and closing) many eyes and for all the right reasons. It produces bedding products made with a silky Nanoweave® Bamboo Silk fabric, which not only feels wonderful and helps to keep you healthy due to its naturally antibacterial properties; it also brings more than a touch of luxury into the home.
Sleep is one of the most important ingredients to staying healthy; too little, and in some cases, too much, can negatively impact one’s health. It’s why creating an ideal sleeping environment is vital, and this extends further than good quality pillows and a mattress.
In addition to having good support, the right bedding is also an important component for ensuring a good night’s sleep. When I was offered the chance to try and write about bedding made with Bamboo Silk, a material I was unaware even existed, I agreed without any hesitation.
Besides being an ornamental plant in the garden, most people in the Western world’s bamboo experience will likely extend to furniture items, such as seating for areas like a conservatory or watching a giant Panda eating it on a television program. However, after some online investigation, I learned more about its many uses, and one of them is turning its fibres into fabrics.
Silk and luxury have been ‘bedfellows’ (excuse the pun) since time immemorial. What’s strange is although I work in the world of luxury, I cannot recall any time in my life where I had slept on or under silk sheets.
I have written about them; however, as I have gotten older, I have become more interested in Buddhism and the thought of sleeping with natural silk, which harms silkworms during its manufacturing process, is a turn-off for me.
However, a silk product made from a fast-growing species that many consider to be invasive meant I could experience an equally beautiful silk with a clear conscience.
Before we jump head first into our experience of Luff’s bedding products, I’ll give you a brief insight into the company that creates them.
About Luff Sleep
Luff Sleep is the brainchild of British sleep guru and designer Stephen Goknel. Like any great business story, Stephen created the company quite literally from the ground up. Armed only with a vision to make people’s lives better by creating exceptional sleep products, and before reaching the heights he has today, he would sleep on friends’ floors and sofas and sometimes even his car to ensure that his dream would become reality.
As his vision began to take shape, he began travelling the world to meet with experts, gaining expert insight from doctors in London and scientists in Paris, and even going as far as probing the minds of fabric weaving specialists in Kyoto, Japan.
All this hard work paid off when Luff Sleep was born. Today, the company designs its products at its base in Hertfordshire, England, and they have been so well received that they can be found in many five-star establishments and more than 50 leading retailers in the UK.
What is Nanoweave® Bamboo Fabric?
Nanoweave® bamboo fabric is made using the natural fibre from the plant. It is similar in feel to mulberry silk and boasts many beneficial properties. The bamboo silk fabric is naturally antibacterial and anti-allergy, and aptly, given the news of an outbreak of bed bugs plaguing Europe, it is something the little critters prefer to steer clear of.
The bamboo silk fabric used by Luff Sleep is made sustainably, and the company states that its bed sheets, pillowcases, etc., are made from 100% organic bamboo without chemicals or harmful substances and are fully oeko-tex certified.
The Sleep Experience
Luff Sleep sent its duvet set with pillowcases and the fitted bed sheet to try. Each product arrived with a smart matching bag inside clear packaging. The first thing my wife and I noticed when removing the products from the packaging was how soft and smooth each piece felt. This is no doubt due to the high thread count of 700.
In keeping with the company’s sustainability ethos, the duvet cover has wooden buttons, and placing the duvet inside was a friction-free doddle, unlike the Egyptian cotton cover it was replacing.
Once in place, the set looked beautiful, with a slight shimmer forming on its surface in the sunlight. However, it did feel cool to the touch, which worried me a little as we are now in the midst of colder nights. I needn’t have worried, as when it was time to get under the duvet, our electric blanket had made things very cosy.
I was very surprised by how warm the duvet cover and bed sheet were, even after the electric blanket was off. It was something akin to a Goldilocks zone—not too hot or cold—just right. It was the same positive experience with the pillowcases; under my head, where I lay, the fabric was warm, and when I felt I needed some cooling down, it was simply a case of turning my face.
The high thread count meant the bedding had a luxurious feel, and the silk felt amazing against bare skin. That said, any bedding can only be fully judged the following morning, and with respect to this, the Luff Sleep bamboo silk bedding gets a maximum score from my wife and me. We both had an excellent night’s sleep, better than any we could recall in recent memory.
The Luff bedding made sleep time feel extra special, and during the following day, we both remarked that neither of us could envisage how it could come from bamboo!
Final Thoughts
The Luff Sleep Bamboo Silk bedding is superb and screams quality; it makes sleep time feel extra special. My wife and I loved that it is sustainably made. Perhaps most importantly, given its qualities and the complex process of turning bamboo fibres into fabric, it’s priced lower than many would imagine.
Luff’s Bamboo Silk has an almost magical quality and is lovely on a cold night. Its unique properties bode well for the warmer days as I have a sneaky feeling that the Bamboo Silk’s cool-to-the-touch feel will prove a godsend for many when they eventually come.
Luff Sleep – Where and how?
The Luff Sleep Bamboo Silk deep fitted sheet is available in white and grey in single, double, king, and super king sizes and is priced at £59.99. The pillowcases can be purchased separately in a two-pack for £49.99, and the Duvet Set, which contains the cover and two pillowcases, is priced at £99.99. Orders can be placed via the company’s official website, www.luffsleep.co.uk.