The Most Luxurious Duvet Ever Made
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Unless you have $50,000 to drop on a bed or you’ve watched Emily in Paris, you probably don't know what Hästens is. Maybe you’ve seen the mattresses' signature blue checkerboard pattern, but it doesn’t really click for you. Well, it’s the most expensive, outrageous mattress brand in the world, and as much as you might want to exit this page thinking it’s not for you, think again.
The price of a Hästens bed starts at around $15,000 and goes all the way to $400,000 (Drake owns that one, obviously). I won’t be splashing out my salary on one of those anytime soon, but its over-the-top bedding accessories aren’t to be ignored. Most of all, the duvet.
I could go on and on about how many bedding brands and mattresses I’ve tested throughout the years, but I’ll spare you. As a seasoned expert in this department, nothing has impressed me more than the Hästen's 2000T Down Quilt.
Hästens is a legacy name.
Just to understand a little bit more about what (the fuck) this brand is, I’ll take it back to the beginning. Founded in 1852 by saddlemaker Pehr Adolf Janson, it wasn’t even a bed company to start. Janson was filling his saddles with horsehair to enhance the seat’s support and provide a softer ride. This specific method uses hairs from the tail (no horses are harmed in this process), which are then braided very tightly, turning the coarse hairs into small yet thick little coils. These small hair coils actually mimic the behavior of springs that we see in mattresses now. In the early 1900s, Hästens decided to use this method to start making beds, and innovated them into the best ones ever made.
As for what they’re like now, the brand refers to them as “beds,” not mattresses, because you get so much more than that. Every one comes with a frame that’s a part of an entire system that encompasses everything from base to pillow top. I’m sure you’re asking yourself why you would want this over foam, cotton, and traditional springs, the answer is simple: Horsehair mixed with everything I just mentioned makes the most comfortable, long-lasting surface you can sleep on. Long-lasting is the key word here. When you spend this type of cash on a bed, you won’t be replacing it in five years—in fact, you won’t replace it ever. The system is made to last for the rest of your life, and to even be passed down to your children. This might sound odd, but it’s something the Swedish have embraced and really takes being sustainable to the next level.
A Hästens bed is seen as an investment. A family heirloom, if you will. (And yeah, something rich people love, too.) You can replace the pillow top throughout its lifetime, but the bed and springs will last an eternity. Owners are known to hide their photos under the bed, because it can survive a fire. One more fun fact: Someone even comes and jumps on your bed every year to fluff it out perfectly, and then flips it.
While the ethos and leadership of the brand are known for causing some controversy, you can’t deny there’s something enticing about it all. I visited the factory to see how it’s all made, and I can confirm it’s an eerily quiet, organized, and a strangely zen environment I could spend all day in. Something you would expect from the Swedish. Seeing the level of craftsmanship sewn into every stitch is something that doesn’t happen often anymore.
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The word "cloud" doesn't even do it justice.
Now that you know the history, I can admit everything I experienced has brainwashed me to love this brand. After every shower I drape myself in a signature blue check robe and slip my feet into house boots made from the same material as my duvet, and every night I rest my head on the Soft Pillow I awarded an Esquire Home Award to. But I would happily trade all those in for this duvet.
While the craftsmanship is less about being unique—like the innovative bed— it’s more about the best materials and the level of detail going into the handmade design. It feels like a bunch of thin, lightweight pillows sewn together, creating the perfect top layer over your body that floats rather than sits. It’s made from the purest goose down on the market (I would hope so, for this price), and it features its own built-in ventilation system that lets air breathe in and out, making it impressively temperature-regulating. You can use it every season of the year as it adjusts to you and your sleep. While so many brands claim to do the same, it's all jargon. This thing is on a whole other level. It's a whipped-cream-on-top-of-a-cake feel. A layer of fog over the mountain. A transparent curtain blowing in the wind.
SHOP $5,195, bedroomsandmore.com
There's nothing like it. I tried.
It took me years to find this texture in a duvet. My old one was down, purchased from Bloomingdale's more than seven years ago. It cost $700, and it approached the ideal of lightweight fluffiness that Hästens delivers. I wouldn’t recommend owning a duvet for seven years, but I had never found anything worthy of replacing it.
Because I review these things for a living, duvet after duvet was tested throughout the years and then donated or given away within weeks—sometimes days. Nothing could tear me away from my old Bloomingdale's duvet. (Don’t go looking for this one online, because it’s discontinued and doesn’t exist anymore.)
The 2000T Down Quilt is the closest thing I have ever found, and it’s so much better. I kept my old one on-hand for the first few months of use just to be completely sure I wouldn’t be reaching for it again. But I can finally say that I just shoved it down my trash shoot. R.I.P.
But, is Hästens really worth it?
If you made it this far, congratulations on not exiting this article. While you might think I’m a crazy person for endorsing a $5,000 duvet, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. I’m confident that this is the best piece of bedding I’ve ever used in my life. After all, it's from a bedding brand made for royals, celebrities (Courtney Cox, George Clooney, and Rhianna to name drop a few), and, hey, other "normal" people into spending this amount of money.
There are certain things that you should spend money on, and your sleep and comfort is one of them. Am I saying you should spend all your money on this duvet? No. But there are consumers out there for these types of products, and I now see why. Made to last longer than you think, the Hästens duvet is the perfect way to enter the world of luxury sleep.
SHOP $5,195, bedroomsandmore.com
Photography by Joe Lingeman. Prop styling by Andrea Bonin.
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