We’re busy getting the guest room Grandparent-ready. Well, as much as possible, anyway. We’re still down one lamp and two side tables, not to mention the situation with the non-white chair. Right now, we’re working on getting the bed “all inviting-looking and cozy,” as Ashley calls it. Ashley’s testing out a few decorative pillow choices, but here’s a sneak peek of what it’s looking like now…

Ordinarily, we are white, 100% cotton, wrinkle-free sheets kind of people. Our favorites were at Bed Bath & Beyond but we were told they don’t carry them anymore. Rumor has it that Target now carries something similar, but we haven’t had a chance to check those out yet. During our trip to Tuesday Morning this past weekend, we found 100% Bamboo sheets. Even though we felt like we were totally cheating on our tried-and-true 100% cotton bedding, we thought it would be fun to try something different in the guest room. Some of you reading this might be thinking, “Um, bamboo sheets have been around forever.” I guess maybe we’ve been too stuck in 100% Cotton Land to notice them. Even though we didn’t know too much — actually, anything — about bamboo sheets, we decided to go ahead and put them in our shopping basket. After all, the discount was pretty awesome (the duvet set was originally $300, on sale for $89.99 and the sheets were originally $325, marked down to $89.99).

When we opened up the packages, we realized that bamboo sheets are really soft and almost silk-like. We decided to turn to Google for answers our bamboo curiosities. Here are the facts:

• Bamboo textiles are made from Moso bamboo — not the same kind pandas like to chow down on.
• Bamboo is Earth-friendly and 100% biodegradable.
• Because bamboo is comprised of fibers with lots of little holes and gaps, it’s really, really good at pulling moisture away from anything it comes in contact with. When bamboo is made into fabric form, it wicks moisture away from your skin, which keeps you cool and dry.
• Dust mite resistant.
• UV Rays don’t get through Bamboo. Only .06% of UV rays get through Bamboo fabric. Cotton lets 25% through.  That’s not really all that important for sheets, but apparently bamboo shirts are pretty awesome!

• Bamboo yarn is very, very fine.  Thus thread counts for bamboo vs. cotton aren’t exactly apples-to-apples.  If you have a sheet with a 250 thread count construction, it’s equal to the softness of a 1000 thread count fine cotton sheet.
• Bamboo stays 2 to 3 degrees cooler than cotton.
• Bamboo fibers are naturally anti-bacterial and contain an agent, called ‘”bamboo kunh” which prevents bacteria from cultivating. They also resist odor and stay fresh longer.

Once we washed the sheets, and put them on the bed, we were amazed at how soft they were (even softer than before they were washed). Like, silk, cashmere kind of soft! We’re anxious to hear the feedback from Ashley’s grandparents as to how they sleep.

Do you own bamboo sheets? Share your bamboo experience with us in the comments section…

Bamboo photo found here.