Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 31, 1991 TAG: 9104010325
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: E-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SYLVIA RUBIN/ SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ditto for the bedroom, with more people buying thicker mattresses, opting for more floor space, and turning that room into an all-purpose living space with exercise machines, TV, stereo, comfy chairs and desks.
Keeping that in mind, it isn't surprising that mail-order catalogs, the biggest growth industry in retail in the past five years, are attempting to cash in on the trend.
But some of the new domestic catalogs come from companies you least expect would sell luxurious linens.
Eddie Bauer, Land's End and Williams-Sonoma, for instance, have all brought out new bed and bath catalogs recently.
They speak a new language of the bedroom, words like "deep pockets," "duvet" and "fourth moult."
In February, Eddie Bauer - known mainly for outdoor wear and flannel sheets - introduced its "Home Collection," a 40-page catalog of upscale items for the home, such as a $395 cherry wood table that goes behind the sofa, a $99 bathroom scale and the old standby, down comforters.
Last month, Land's End premiered its "Coming Home" catalog - "the intelligent alternative to the White Sale."
It offers fitted sheets with "deeper pockets to fit the new fatter mattresses." Every sheet in the catalog is 200-thread count; even baby sheets are 200 count.
In spring 1989, Williams-Sonoma came out with its first bed and bath catalog, "Chambers." From the latest edition, you can order a full-size linen sheet set for $650, or one twin flat, 300-thread count, 100 percent cotton sheet for $170. A full-size goose down comforter, or duvet, made in Hungary from down gathered "during the fourth moult of young geese," sells for $545 or $640, depending on thickness.
It seems that all dual-career couples want these days is to stay home and lie down - in either a bed or a tub.
"More energy and money is going into the master bed and bath than ever before - at least that's what the studies tell us," says Williams-Sonoma chairman Howard Lester.
"Bedrooms and bathrooms are much larger, with lots of things you didn't see in my home, which was built in 1935, where the bathrooms are very small. I think people are becoming just a little more conscious of self-pampering."
JCPenney offers items for complete decorating package in its new spring catalog, including a do-it-yourself canopy bed frame.
Spiegel, the grand old mail-order catalog, which began as a home furnishings catalog in 1905 then branched out into clothing, still offers bed and bath items at comforting down-home prices, such as $29 for a 220-count cotton duvet cover, or a Laura Ashley 200-count percale full sheet set (with "deep pockets") for $44.90.
Cory Strait, vice president of Eddie Bauer Home Division, says people are spending more time at home in this time of recession.
"There is less discretionary income for a sushi dinner or a BMW. Home products are becoming more and more important."
Last month, the people at Domestications, a catalog specializing in bedroom linens and accessories, which has been around since 1984, conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 people about their bedrooms.
This is what they found:
Thirty-seven percent said they slept in a queen-size bed.
Floral patterns are the first choice in sheets for 46 percent of women. Forty-nine percent of men say they prefer solid colors.
Men change their sheets five times a month. (More than women).
Thirty-one percent of women say they sleep in a mostly blue bedroom.
Thirty-four percent of men sleep in a white bedroom.
Only 20 percent of those questioned had ever had breakfast in bed.
And let's not forget the kiddies. If you want to take this all the way, there's the Storybook Heirlooms catalog, which premiered last fall. This catalog offers entire children's rooms for sale - beds, bureaus, toy chest, rocking horse, pillows, sheets, rugs, drapes, all color-coordinated.
The Teddy Bear Tea Party room, for instance, in peach, pink and green florals, sells for more than $5,000.
by CNB