17 Colorful Upgrades for Your Bed and Bath

Buffy’s Cloud Comforter was the softest choice in our at-home assessment. Thanks to its smooth, silky feel and fluffiness, the duvet is comfortable enough to use without a duvet cover. Made of recycled materials, it’s uniformly stuffed in layers to prevent clumping and shedding. The shell material is 100 percent sateen-weave Tencel lyocell.

It’s available in 11 colors and three sizes.

CR members can use the exclusive code CRBUFF25 to save 25 percent on the Cloud Comforter (a CR Editor’s Pick among all the duvets we evaluated) and the Breeze Comforter through Jan. 20, 2025.

There’s a reason Brooklinen is an internet sensation. Our tests found that its Luxe Core sheets have an excellent fit on mattress depths of 14 inches or less. And when it comes to shrinkage, consumers can rest assured that they won’t experience much of it. What’s even better, Luxe Core sheets are the softest cotton sheets in our ratings, according to our sensory test, and at a cost of under $200 they fall in the middle of the pack for pricing. When you’re making the bed, these sheets take out the guesswork. There are labels along each side that read “short side” and “long side,” so you’re never confused.

The set includes one flat sheet, a fitted sheet, and two pillowcases. It’s available in 17 colorways, including Blue Mist, Graphite, and white (for those who prefer a neutral option).

L.L.Bean’s Pima Percale sheet set will stand up to pulling, prodding, and movement, as evidenced by its top-tier performance in our strength test. Testers note that the thread that makes up the material is consistent throughout, allowing the sheets to hold up well when stretched in either direction. If you’re annoyed by bumps or bunching fabric, these sheets may be a tad frustrating, but you can expect them to have a pretty similar fit with very little shrinkage after a year of washing.

This sheet set is available in nine colorways, including Lake, white, and Vapor Gray.

Not all bath mats are created equal, and this organic cotton version from Cold Picnic is proof. The thick and comfy landing pad is made up of plush cotton loops and features a cheeky pattern in bursts of colors. It fell in the middle of the road for absorbency and took about 14 hours to dry completely.

This plush, cotton bath mat is a prime option for those who want to step onto a cloud after getting out of the bath or shower. At 21x34 inches, it’s one of the largest mats we evaluated and is better suited for a larger space.

This mat comes in a variety of sizes and 24 different colors, including ivory, a cool-toned Eucalyptus, and an oceany blue called, fittingly, Aegean.

At a super-heavy 820 GSM (and 53 inches long and 28 inches wide), this Brooklinen towel is what you want to wrap yourself in when stepping out of a warm shower. These towels were the most absorbent in our evaluations, but they also took the longest to dry.

They’re available in 13 fun colorways, including a range of neutrals.

The Parachute Classic Turkish Cotton Towel is fluffy, soft, and substantial without being suffocating. It landed squarely in the middle of the pack in our absorbency evaluation. But when toweling off after a shower, evaluators mentioned how gentle it felt on their skin and how it seemed to dry well despite its silky feel. The Parachute towel comes in a limited selection of muted hues, including an icy blueish white, a stony gray, and a dark charcoal gray. It has a cushiony, tightly woven loop pile and commendable absorbency. 

They’re available in four colors and a variety of sizes, including bath sheets, hand towels, and more.

With a smooth, fine pile and a wide dobby border, the Frontgate Resort Collection bath towel conveys ultimate luxury at a reasonable price. The towels use high-quality, combed, long-staple Turkish cotton, so they’re both soft and durable. We also found them to be very absorbent in a recent evaluation, where they landed in the perfect middle ground: neither thick nor thin, neither budget-oriented nor very pricey. And they come in a wide array of colors. 

They’re available in 28 colors and four sizes, including washcloths.

For more options: The Best Bath Towels

The Sunbeam Royal Ultra Heated Throw is made of soft, lightweight polyester, similar to felted wool. The wires that conduct heat throughout the fabric are thicker and more visible than the wires in the other two blankets our evaluator tried. The Sunbeam has four controls, and the difference between each is distinct. At its lowest level, the blanket feels just slightly warm, as if it had been sitting in the sun. At its highest, it feels like it just came out of the dryer a minute ago. It heats up quickly. When our evaluator turned it on to the second setting, it took only about 90 seconds before the warmth was evident.

Blackout curtains that look good are a win in our books. These Gracie Oaks curtains earn top marks in our tests. Both the darkest color (warm black) and lightest (porcelain white) we tested completely blocked a beam of light from a powerful flashlight. The panels also offered good insulation against the blazing heat of the summer sun and winter drafts.

A few drawbacks: These heavy curtains look and feel more like buttery faux suede than plush luxe velvet, which may or may not be your cup of tea. Also, the curtains are sold as singles instead of in pairs, so you may need to buy two, paying double the price shown here. Depending on where you shop, you can choose from more than two dozen colors. 

The cover of the Luna weighted blanket is cotton, and it’s filled with glass beads. It doesn’t come with a duvet cover, but you have several colors and materials to choose from if you’d like to buy one separately. Luna says you can wash the blanket in cold water on the gentle setting and hang it to dry or tumble-dry on low heat. A staffer who tried the Luna weighted blanket found it to be a solid choice for a budget-friendly price, but the material didn’t look and feel as smooth and sleek as some pricier options.

The Gravity blanket comes with its own matching “micro plush” duvet cover. It indeed felt soft to the touch, according to a staffer who tried it at home—similar to velour. She also noted that its system of ties, buttons, and a zipper kept the comforter particularly secure. Gravity says the cover is machine-washable in cold water and can be tumble-dried on low. The inner weighted blanket, which includes glass beads, is hand-washable and should be air-dried only. (But we ran it through a wash cycle because it seemed unwieldy to hand-wash something so large and heavy—and it turned out fine.)

It feels luxurious to snooze in a soft silk mask. Crafted from delicate silk, the Slip sleep mask comes in a variety of colors, including black, gold, and pink marble. It has a scrunchy backstrap that stretches rather than adjusts, which allows for a more seamless look.

“I bought this when a dermatologist I interviewed told me that cotton pillowcases are thirsty and drink up everything, including the cream I spend way too much on for my face,” says Joanne Chen, formerly CR’s deputy home editor, who has spent 15 years digging into health trends, including the quest for better sleep. And while less expensive satin or silk pillowcases are available, Chen knew she had to splurge on this one the moment she saw it. 

“I love fluffing up my pillow—I have the CR Recommended Sleep Number ComfortFit Ultimate—each night before bed, admiring the swirls of stars, which never fail to put me in a more blissful state,” she said.

These slippers are made with ethylene-vinyl acetate foam, a form of plastic that softens and molds to your feet with time, and they’re lined with faux fur. The clogs, as Crocs calls them, feel stable and secure, with a thick, textured sole that doesn’t slip and provides ample distance and insulation from frigid floors in the winter. They’re also machine-washable (in cold water only), though we haven’t tried washing these shoes ourselves.

The JALL Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock has two independent alarms (so you can set them for different times depending on your routine), seven alarm tones (including “wind bells” and birds chirping), an FM radio, and a fall-asleep mode that simulates a sunset (though no white-noise option).

It was relatively easy to set up and use. According to the manufacturer, it emits a maximum light intensity of 240 lux. Tapping the snooze button will temporarily shut off both the light and the sound.

With the Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light, you can wake up to one of five nature sounds or an FM radio. According to the manufacturer, the clock glows with red, orange, and yellow colors that ultimately brighten to a maximum intensity of 300 lux (a measure of illuminance an object produces). You can adjust brightness levels according to your preference.

Pressing snooze will temporarily shut off the sound alarm but not the light, which may keep you from falling back asleep (a good thing if you truly want to wake up). The SmartSleep is pretty easy to set up and use, receiving high marks in both categories. Those needing help winding down at bedtime will also find the Philips wake-up light worth it for its simulated sunset feature.

For more options: The Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks