How Much Should You Spend on a Duvet?

We spend a third of our lives in our bed, so it’s worth dedicating some time to choosing your covers. We suggest starting with a duvet—the most versatile piece of bedding you can buy. Comfortable, cozy, and easy to clean, a duvet can be a centerpiece of a bed’s look, easily adaptable to any season or style, and a sturdy foundation to support layers of beautiful bedding.

Duvets vs Comforters

Essentially a fluffier quilt or comforter, a duvet is similarly filled with down or a down alternative but differs in that it requires a cover. Herein lies the advantage of a duvet—its flexibility. A cover not only protects your duvet from wear, tear, and spills, but also lets you change your style in seconds. Go from winter festiveness to cool spring freshness just by swapping your duvet cover.

"A duvet can add fullness and make a bed feel like a luxurious cloud," says Keren Richter, one half of the Brooklyn-based husband/wife team behind White Arrow Interiors. "It’s easy to mix and match duvet covers and similarly easy to swap out the inserts depending on the season and your warmth needs. They’re also easy to wash since you only need to launder the cover." 

A duvet can cost anywhere from $150 to over $600, says Richter, depending on the fabric quality, brand, and means of production. "Hand block–printed fabric, embroidery, and more luxurious materials can drive the price," she says. Size also factors in, of course. 

If you skimp on this budget item, you’re mainly sacrificing durability. "A high-quality duvet should just get better the more you wash it. A lesser-quality duvet will noticeably deteriorate over time," says Daisy Finley, designer and manager at Fritz Porter Design Collective in Charleston, South Carolina. "It might be fine for your guest bedroom that gets used and washed a few times a year, but for your primary bed set, step it up a notch. The marginal difference in price will give you so much more long-term enjoyment."

Duvet Fill and Cover Materials