Happy holidays!!!

Some of our favorite items are on sale for up to 50% off.  Quantities are very limited, so shop now for the best selection. To shop our year-end sale, click here.

To see all the items on sale, click here.

Gracious Style is an online retailer of sophisticated, high-quality products for every room in the house.  We love helping others create warm and welcoming rooms for themselves.  To read more, visit our blog.

Do you travel often, or know someone who does?  Then we’ve got the perfect gifts for you this holiday season.

For short-haul flights, the Platinum Travel Companion from Sferra Fine Linens is chic, luxurious, and well-priced at $100.  The three-piece set includes one pair of ultrasoft charcoal cashmere slippers, one cashmere eye mask, and one linen drawstring bag for easy carrying onboard.

For longer trips, seasoned travelers know that the key to a good night’s sleep is comfort.  With the Platinum Travel Companion Elite, you can drift off to sleep wrapped in a luxurious Sferra superfine merino wool throw, while your charcoal cashmere eye mask does the rest. Nestle your feet in the ultrasoft cashmere slippers with specially constructed soles for durability. And finally, cover your pillow with our Italian Egyptian cotton sateen sateen pillow cover, embroidered with “Do Not Disturb” in case anyone even thinks of waking you up. All travel items are packed in a linen bag, and tucked inside a sturdy travel tote with extra room for a few goodies.  The Platinum Travel Companion Elite is $450.

Either of these sets make a perfect gift for the traveler in your life.

Gracious Style is an online retailer of sophisticated, high-quality products for every room in the house.  We love helping others create warm and welcoming rooms for themselves.  To read more, visit our blog.

Ever wonder why a down blanket or comforter is so warm and comfy on a cold winter night?  It’s because they’re made from one of nature’s best insulating materials.  Tucked safely under the long feathers of ducks and geese, down is actually many soft, fluffy plumules which connect with each other through thousands of strands of fiber.  As these plumules connect with each other, they create little pockets of warm air which provide an incredible amount of insulation without a lot of weight.  That’s why down blankets and comforters are so warm, light, and comfortable — perfect for curling up on a long winter night.

If you’re thinking about a down comforter this winter, here are some tips on how to choose the right one.

Weight and Fill Power

First, check the weight and fill power.  You’ll see a lot of products advertised with so many ounces of down, but fill power is just as important.  Fill power is the number of cubic inches that an ounce of down takes up.  The more space the down clusters fill, the higher the fill power, and hence less material (and weight) required to provide the same warmth.  For example, a duvet cover with 30 oz of down at a fill power of 700 has the same amount of warmth as another one with 50 oz of down but a fill power of just 575, but the first duvet cover will feel lighter.

Our Himalaya Siberian Down 800 Fill Power Duvet Cover has between 27 oz (twin) and 43 oz (oversized king) of 800 fill power Siberian goose down, giving it the maximum amount of insulating warmth:

Slightly lower in fill power, but still very warm, is the Bernina 650 Fill Power Hungarian Goose Down Duvet Cover:

A good year-round choice with 600 fill power white goose down is the Cascada Summit 600 Fill Power White Goose Down Duvet Cover:

Fabric Shell Material and Thread Count

The next thing to check is the material and thread count of the fabric shell of the duvet cover, pillow, or bedding.  Like any bedding item, both thread count and material are important, because they determine how the item feels against you.  (Since we spend–or should spend–a third of our lives sleeping, why not get the best possible?)

For down items, though, the fabric shell has another importance: this is what keeps the down inside and potential allergens, dust, and bacteria out.  A higher thread count fabric shell will protect your down better and keep it cleaner.  Therefore, we’d recommend a 300 thread count, pure 100% cotton fabric shell for your down duvet covers and bedding.

Construction of the Duvet Cover

Have you ever noticed how some duvet covers, like the ones above, have boxes or baffles?  Here’s a close up of the Sferra Cardigan Down Duvets to show you what I mean:

These baffle boxes actually have an important job: In addition to giving the duvet a puffy checkered quilting, they help keep the down remain evenly distributed throughout the duvet cover.  Otherwise, the down feathers may fall to the bottom or sides of the duvet, leaving the center cold and empty.

A Great Down Alternative

If you’re allergic to down, here’s a great alternative that’s a great value as well.  Made from DuPont Comforel, a synthetic material designed to imitate the clusters of natural down, and a 280 thread 100% cotton shell with baffle boxes, the Sierra Down Alternative Duvet Cover has many of the great features of our down duvet covers.  It’s hypo-allergenic, and the price, starting at $140 for a twin duvet cover, makes it a great value as well:

We hope you keep warm this holiday season!

Gracious Style is an online retailer of sophisticated, high-quality products for every room in the house.  We love helping others create warm and welcoming rooms for themselves.  To read more, visit our blog.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  If you can’t make it to the stores today, we’ve got a great selection of items at 50% off.  They can all be conveniently gift wrapped and shipped to your doorstep.  But hurry, quantities are limited!
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Are the holidays sneaking up on you?  Thanksgiving is a week away, and the rest of the holiday season is going to come rolling along.

The good thing is that it’s still not too late to get a tablecloth for your Thanksgiving meal.  Here are some customer favorites from past years (and one great value at the end) that are still available, and with express shipping, they’ll be in your hands in no time.
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Do you need a gift that’s both thoughtful and personal this holiday season?  We think that Sferra’s Modern Monogram Linen Cocktail Napkins are a steal at only $25 for each set of four (that’s $6.25 each!).   We love that they are the larger European 6″ x 9″ size (so chic, and much better for hors d’oeuvres) and that they are appropriate for so many occasions: weddings, housewarming, hostess presents, and “just because” … At home, when we’re not serving drinks, we have them on small trays underneath our candles and soaps.  It just dresses up the room ever so subtly.
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It happens to the best of us: drinks can spill and plates can drop.  Over time, dining tables can really sustain a lot of wear and tear, especially during the holidays.  Tablecloths help, but with larger spills, clanging of plates, or dripping wax, tabletops can easily get damaged.  Sometimes the repairs are easy, but with antiques and precious heirlooms, often they are not.  Since good furniture is an investment, it’s much better to be prepared.
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The holidays are here again!  Even though it’s 90 degrees outside (we’re in Los Angeles), we’re starting to see turkeys and reindeers cropping up everywhere.

As you get ready for holiday entertaining and setting your holiday table, here are five tips for choosing a tablecloth, based on the questions our customers have asked us time and again:
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As we get ready for the holidays and the end of the year, we’ve put a few of Anali’s bath and guest towels on sale at 25% off.
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When Bergdorf Goodman announced in 2005 that they had hired interior designer Kelly Wearstler to redo their BG Restaurant on the 7th floor, many in the design world were shocked.  She was, after all, from California, and how would her penchant for exuberant designs and fearless use of color translate in New York?  Thankfully, the folks at the venerable department store knew what they were doing, and BG is now one of the most visited spaces in the whole store.
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