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This £7.99 Amazon buy protected the most expensive item in my children’s bedrooms – I’m not surprised it has so many 5-star reviews

This £7.99 Amazon buy protected the most expensive item in my children’s bedrooms – I’m not surprised it has so many 5-star reviews

by | Jul 18, 2026 | Design Inspiration

As a mum of two boys, aged 13 and 10, I know just how quickly household items can get destroyed by young, boisterous children.

Items in their bedrooms are no exception, and that’s why I’m so pleased I came across this £7.99 Amazon buy. It may not be the most glamorous purchase, but it’s protected one of the most expensive purchases we made for the boys’ rooms.

Plus, having tested it on the beds in our house, I’m not surprised it has over 11,000 mostly 5-star reviews.

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What is it? A humble waterproof mattress protector. And if you haven’t yet invested in one for your child’s bedroom, let me explain why this purchase could be the best thing you’ve ever bought for under a tenner.

We all know that the best mattresses don’t come cheap, so this isn’t an item you want to buy twice, and let me tell you, children’s mattresses really do take a beating!

Although my children only had the occasional bedwetting accident when they were small, there have been occasions over the years when guests came to stay, and an accident occurred, and I struggled to shift the stain afterwards.

A boy's room with a mountain mural, a single bed and Batman-themed decor

(Image credit: Future PLC/Kasia Fiszer)

More recently, the big problem is food and drink being spilled on the bed and seeping through onto the mattress. We’ve had a bowl of cereal tipped over, a bedtime drink of water sent flying onto the mattress, and even bright pink Calpol splodged everywhere.

Plus, I find one of the worst offenders for staining the mattress is when fake tan and sweat seeps through, leaving a horrible brown stain (and I confess I can’t blame that on the kids!).

Despite following all the top tips on how to clean a mattress, each time I do my best to scrub the liquid or stained patch off, but no amount of scrubbing and drying will completely remove the watermark and discoloured area.

It makes an expensive mattress look unsightly and means it needs replacing more often.

childrens bedroom with storage

(Image credit: Future PLC / Katie Jane Watson)

The answer, of course, is adding a good mattress protector to the bed. However, as a child of the 80’s, I had vivid memories of scratchy waterproof mattress protectors which crackled more than a packet of crisps if you dared to roll over at night! That was enough to put me off for life.

Fast forward forty years, however, and it turns out waterproof mattress protectors have come on a lot in terms of effectiveness and comfort.

I took a punt, and convinced by the number of positive online reviews, I gave this £7.99 Amazon mattress protector a go.

There are more expensive options available, of course, and I’ve rounded up some of the best we’ve tested below, but I wanted to see how this budget buy compared.

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In contrast to more expensive options, my £7.99 buy may have arrived in very no-frills packaging, but on opening it I was struck by how soft it is – a world away from the scratchy waterproof mattress covers of yesteryear!

The terry towelling top layer felt soft and thick, and it didn’t make a loud crackly noise when I pushed and scrunched it.

Fitting it onto the mattress, I was also impressed by how deep it is; it fitted easily over my thick mattress and even on a mattress with a topper on it.

The elasticated edge also keeps the cover in place well, so it doesn’t wriggle out of place in the night, and both my sons and I can report that there’s barely any noise when moving or rolling over.

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A terry towelling waterproof mattress protector
(Image credit: Future PLC / Rachle Tompkins)

I put it to the test by pouring some water onto it and was impressed by how it completely prevented the water from seeping through to the mattress below, making it ideal to guard mattresses against spilled drinks or accidents, as well as unsightly fake-tan stains!

Plus, it’s washable at 40 degrees and suitable for being tumble-dried at a low temperature.

The only downside I found is that the ‘skirt’ around the sides is quite thin and not much thicker than a pair of tights. I do worry a little that it will get easily snagged or laddered, but with a fitted sheet over the top, we didn’t have any issues.

And it seems I’m not alone in being a fan of this budget buy. As one 5-star Amazon review says, ‘I have to say I’m so impressed with this product, I immediately purchased another.’

An open doorway revealing a yellow childrens bedroom

(Image credit: Siobhan Doran Studio)

‘The toweling side is soft, and the waterproof side makes no annoying crinkling sound,’ shares the happy owner. ‘The main bonus is the fact you can tumble dry it! Something I’ve never been able to do with these types of sheets before.’

‘I’ve bought several of these mattress protectors over the years,’ says another reviewer. ‘They work so well and really are waterproof. They definitely help to preserve your mattress. They wash really nicely and can be tumble dried, which is so convenient. Fantastic value for money.’

Clearly I’m not alone in thinking that this budget buy is a lifesaver when it comes to protecting the most expensive thing in my children’s bedrooms! For our needs, this budget buy does the job perfectly.

This £7.99 Amazon buy protected the most expensive item in my children’s bedrooms – I’m not surprised it has so many 5-star reviews

If you’re struggling to sleep in the July heatwave, this £50 IKEA duvet is perfect for sweaty nights – it’s ultra lightweight and cool to the touch

by | Jul 9, 2026 | Design Inspiration

Considering we’re in the midst of a second heatwave, and it’s only the start of July, it’s about time you invested in a lightweight summer duvet (if you haven’t done so already). If you’re a hot sleeper who hates not having a cover, IKEA’s £50 BLÅNEPETA duvet has you covered – at just 2.5 tog, it’s ideal for sweaty nights.

If you’re too hot to sleep, there are plenty of duvet alternatives we recommend to ensure you get your beauty sleep on sticky, humid nights. When the best duvets feel too hot, opting for bedding such as a flat cotton sheet or using a Dohar is a far cooler option.

The IKEA BLÅNEPETA duvet is one of the lowest togs you can buy and promises to help keep you cool this summer. Here’s how it shapes up.

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IKEA states this duvet is perfect for ‘warm nights when you want to cosy up but remain cool.’ It uses blue lyocell material, which it states feels cool to the touch and wicks away moisture, keeping your sleep environment dry and dry.

‘IKEA’s BLÅNEPETA duvet looks like a good choice for hot weather. Lyocell is smooth, silky, and cool to the touch, and the 2.5 tog rating is one of the lowest warmth levels you can get. Duvet tog does go down to just 1 tog, but many of us like something a little weightier to sleep under, even when the temperatures are hot,’ adds Amy Lockwood, Ideal Home’s sleep editor.

However, due to its synthetic material, some experts say it won’t offer the same cooling experience as a lightweight natural fibre or bamboo duvet.

‘2.5 tog is a sensible weight for summer and will suit most people who find an empty bed uncomfortable. The BLÅNEPETA uses a lyocell filling, which is a form of recycled polyester, and that is where I would flag a consideration,’ says Richard Lord, founder of bedding company Lost Loom.

‘Synthetic fillings, however lightweight, do not breathe in the same way natural fibres do. They tend to trap moisture against the body rather than wicking it away, which means you can feel warm and clammy even if the tog rating itself is low.’

IKEA BLÅNEPETA duvet on a bed

(Image credit: IKEA)

Instead, Richard recommends an option for a lightweight duvet filled with natural fibres or bamboo. For example, John Lewis’ 2.5 tog cotton duvet (£85 for a double). However, IKEA’s BLÅNEPETA is a great choice for smaller budgets, and the reviews do highlight its suitability for summer nights.

‘It’s not magical, but it is very good. I love having a coverlet that’s got more weight than a sheet but is still light. I’ve seen reviews that complain about the colour showing through duvet covers, but honestly, why use a duvet cover? I’d love it if it came in more colours, but the blue is really pretty. As a perimenopausal woman who wants to keep the bed as cool as possible, this is what I’m going to be sleeping with all summer,’ said one reviewer.

‘After going through several down comforters, I finally found my perfect weight and warmth level for S. Florida. And love the price,’ said another.

Alternatively, I’ve found a few more affordable options you can shop online.

Don’t let the heat necessarily disrupt your sleep. As summers are set to heat up in the coming years, it’s a good idea to invest in a lightweight summer duvet now.

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This £7.99 Amazon buy protected the most expensive item in my children’s bedrooms – I’m not surprised it has so many 5-star reviews

This £30 cooling gel mattress pad is a game-changer if you’re struggling to sleep in the heat – it’s the only thing that helped me keep cool in the last heatwave

by | Jul 7, 2026 | Design Inspiration

As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, and a self-certified very-hot-sleeper at the best of times, I’ve tested a *lot* of cooling bedding over the past five years.

And, as many parts of the UK prepare to navigate a sweltering heatwave for the third time this year, there’s one product I recommend time and time again to anyone looking for a cooler sleep.

The Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad costs £30, and (as long as you have space for it in the fridge), it offers almost glacial cooling compared to pretty much every other bedtime cooling hack I’ve tried.

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When temperatures are this high, even the best mattresses need some extra help to stay cool, so it’s little wonder the smaller version of this cooling pad, Silentnight’s Cooling Gel Pillow Pad, sold out pretty much everywhere during the June heatwave.

The larger mattress pad is exactly the same design, just longer, measuring 60 x 90cm. It’s only a few millimetres thick and constructed of three compartments, each of which holds cooling gel within a thick PVC cover.

Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad

(Image credit: Silentnight)

Now, it’s worth pointing out that, depending on which retailer you look at, this cooling pad has mixed reviews.

The Cooling Gel Body Pad is marketed as being cooling straight out of the box. And it is; I was really surprised by how cool to the touch I found this product upon first handling.

However, I also agree with many reviewers who say that that coolness soon wears off after you’ve been lying on the pad for a while. Body heat causes the gel to slowly warm, and in a heatwave, that happens pretty quickly.

But where I think the cooling pad really comes into its own is if you pop it in the fridge before bed.

Kitchen with blue cabinets and a large fridge-freezer in the middle

(Image credit: Future PLC/Philip Lauterbach)

Admittedly, you will need enough space in your fridge to fold the pad up and chill it for an hour or so before bed. But, if you can, the pad then becomes *really* cold.

After doing this, I actually find it *too* cold to use next to my skin, so I pop it under a fitted sheet to lie on, or simply slide it into bed to cool down the sheets and then remove it before I get in.

If you choose to keep it in bed with you, then it will still warm up gradually over time, but that cool blast as you get into bed can really help you to drop off to sleep during a heatwave, as our temperature dropping a few degrees is what triggers the sleep cycle to begin.

‘I needed this so that I could get to sleep in this heat,’ says one reviewer of the Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad at M&S. ‘It helped enormously, even though it was warm to the touch by morning.’

A bedroom with green wall panelling behind the bed

(Image credit: Future PLC / Cristogatin)

Pair the cooling mattress pad with the cool-against-the-skin M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet I just tested, and a lightweight dohar over you for the ultimate breathability in bed, or some of the best linen bedding for hot weather, and you’ll have a sleep setup that’s as hot-weather ready as it will ever be.

Although be warned: as the mercury continues to climb, I think this Cooling Pad might go the way of Silentnight’s smaller version, and start selling out fast. So, I’ve popped three stockists below to ensure you have more chance of snapping up stock.

And, of course, if all else fails, you could also use the classic (and free) cooling hack of popping your fitted sheet into the fridge before bed.

In my experience, the cooling effect doesn’t last as long as when using a cool pack or cooling pad, but in these temperatures, every degree cooler counts!

This £7.99 Amazon buy protected the most expensive item in my children’s bedrooms – I’m not surprised it has so many 5-star reviews

FatFace just quietly launched a very stylish summer bedding collection – shoppers are already raving about the affordable £35 buys

by | Jul 4, 2026 | Design Inspiration

FatFace has just quietly dropped its first-ever bedding collection, and with prices beginning at £15, I’m not surprised shoppers are already snapping up these stylish and affordable designs.

As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I thought I knew everything there was to know about where to buy bedding, but the fashion retailer certainly wasn’t on my radar.

That is, until this month. Because the new FatFace bedding collection just launched with a bang, and I think these super summery designs should definitely be on your radar.

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The new range includes four duvet sets, starting at £35 for a single, £45 for a double, £55 for a king, and £65 for a super king.

My favourite has to be the bold striped pink and ochre set, which couldn’t be more summery if it tried. However, there are also pretty floral designs, on-trend gingham checks, and travel-inspired prints.

I think all the sets are great value for money, more so because each design is reversible, featuring stripes, florals, or checks on the reverse for two looks in one.

FatFace's newly launched bedding collection featuring stripes, florals, and gingham

(Image credit: FatFace)

And I’m not the only one who’s impressed. The bedding collection has only been in store and online for a few weeks, but it’s already amassing a growing number of positive five-star reviews from shoppers.

In particular, many happy owners mention how impressed they are with the attention to detail and quality of FatFace’s new range.

‘A really beautiful duvet cover,’ says one reviewer. ‘Bright colour and a very summery design. The quality is amazing and so soft and cool. Washed well and keeps its shape. Definitely worth the money and great value compared to other big-name brands.’

‘Love, love, love this!’, writes another reviewer, ‘the quality of the material makes it really comfortable to sleep in. I especially like the ties on the pillowcases… cute feature.’

A detail of the red bows on the pillowcases of the FatFace bedding collection

(Image credit: FatFace)

If you’re thinking of refreshing your bedroom for summer, I think this new FatFace range should definitely be a contender.

Plus, the coordinating sunshine yellow-striped £25 fitted sheet and matching £15 pillowcase certainly seal the deal for me.

This £20 M&S cooling sheet is selling out fast – and having tested it ahead of the July heatwave, I can see why

This £20 M&S cooling sheet is selling out fast – and having tested it ahead of the July heatwave, I can see why

by | Jul 2, 2026 | Design Inspiration

M&S shoppers are raving about this £20 cooling sheet, and with another July heatwave predicted to begin soon, I can see why it’s selling out fast.

I slept on the M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet last night, and I can confirm it definitely feels cooler than any other sheet I’ve trialed during these past few *very* hot weeks.

When it comes to where to buy bedding to cool down in the heatwave, it seems M&S is the place to shop right now.

Even when the UK *isn’t* experiencing extreme temperatures, overheating in bed is a problem many of us struggle with.

That’s in no small part due to the petroleum-based polyesters that so much bedding is made from – experts often dub these fibres a hidden sleep thief because they lack breathability and reflect body heat back towards the sleeper rather than letting it dissipate. This causes our body temperature to rise and often wakes us from our slumber.

Manufacturers know how to market to these struggles, so it’s little wonder the bedding world is filled with products containing ‘cool’ and ‘ice’ in their product names.

A white bedroom with panelled walls and white bedding

(Image credit: James French)

However, as Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I’ve tested a *lot* of cooling bedding in the past five years, and, unfortunately, I’ve often been underwhelmed by the claims.

During my team’s and my testing of mattresses, duvets, and pillows, we’ve repeatedly found that, at best, cooling claims can be short-lived cool-to-the-touch surfaces that soon heat up after a few minutes, and, at worst, those claims can be downright misleading.

So when I saw that M&S is selling ‘Stay Cool’ bedding, I had to admit that despite my faith in the retailer, I was a little cynical at first. But then, I saw the product reviews. Over 600 of them already, and over 400 of those have given this sheet 5 out of 5 stars.

I know that M&S shoppers don’t mince their words with their likes and dislikes, so when they say something works, I believe them.

A bedroom with green wall panelling behind the bed

(Image credit: Future PLC / Cristogatin)

Plus, when reviews sound like: ‘It’s like slipping into a cool bath without the water,’ and, ‘These sheets are so cool and comfortable. Highly recommend them, especially for menopausal women, they are a delight,’ plus, ‘Highly recommend these sheets. Lovely and cool. I have tried Dunelm and John Lewis, but nothing compares. I suffer from hot flushes all year round. These make such a difference,’ then my ears definitely perk up.

As a hot sleeper, I had to try the M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet for myself, and when I popped this sheet onto my bed last night, I soon realised those M&S reviews were right. That’s because, reader, it’s actually cool.

Like really cool. Not just cool for the two minutes you put your hand on it in the store and then hotter than the sun once you’re lying on it at home. (Can you tell this hot sleeper is still holding onto some bedding-related ‘cooling promise’ trauma?).

As I write this, I’m lying on my bed, on the sheet (in the name of research, promise). I’ve been lying here for 30 minutes, and the sheet still feels cool.

M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet in blue on a bed with white linen bedding

(Image credit: Future / Amy Lockwood)

Now don’t get me wrong. This sheet isn’t fridge-like. If you’re someone who’s currently trying to find an in-stock portable air conditioner, then, unfortunately, this sheet isn’t going to deliver quite the same icy chill. But it is far cooler than any other sheet I have in my (by now extremely crammed) bedding closet.

As you’ll see from the picture below, I laid my coolest fitted sheets side by side and, in a very non-scientific way, rolled from one side of the bed to the other to see which side felt the coolest.

(Don’t judge me for the wrinkled bedding, it’s still too hot here to iron right now, although it may be worth noting that some of those M&S reviews do mention these sheets creasing badly – personally, I’m not too fussed by that, but you may be).

The blue sheet below is the M&S Stay Cool fitted sheet; the other is a 100% bamboo sheet. The M&S Stay Cool won in my at-home cooling competition. By some margin. In fact, as I lie here, it feels like the sheet is very gently sucking the heat from my body. Which is quite an odd sensation, but as someone who’s pretty much always warm in summer, it’s also very welcome.

M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet in blue on a bed with white linen bedding

(Image credit: Future / Amy Lockwood)

I tested the M&S Stay Cool against bamboo sheets, which are silky soft and cool to the touch, and 100% lyocell sheets, which are a little less silky but similarly cool to the touch compared to regular cotton or linen.

The M&S Stay Cool sheet is 78% lyocell (which, according to my research, is a semi-synthetic, plant-based fabric that’s commonly made from the dissolved wood pulp of eucalyptus or birch trees) and 22% cotton.

According to the care label, the packaging, and the M&S website description, nothing else is added. Which is why I’m a little confused as to how it can actually be this cool. But it certainly outperforms everything else I’ve tested when it comes to cooling.

Did the M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet keep me cool all night long? No, the area of the sheet that my body was laid on did eventually warm up during the night – but it didn’t get warmer than any other sheet I tested.

The difference with this M&S sheet was that I never had to move a limb too far to find an instant hit of chill again, so this sheet definitely helped me stay cooler in bed than any other.

There’s some voodoo at work here, to be sure. But with another heatwave predicted for early July and still a lot of summer to go, it’s voodoo I’ll happily accept for a cooler sleep.

I know exactly which sheets I’ll be putting on my bed when the temperatures soar next week. Thank you, M&S.

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