Hopping into bed, I was pleasantly met with the crisp crinkle of a good cotton sheet. I felt like I was in a fancy hotel bed even though I was just in my tiny Brooklyn apartment lying on a cheap Wayfair mattress.
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This is because I was happily testing out the Brooklinen classic cotton percale sheets and pillowcases. Brooklinen offers a few different materials, including luxe sateen, linen, and heathered cashmere. The cotton percale line was recommended to me because I'm a hot sleeper, meaning my body temperature often feels too warm when I sleep, resulting in sweating and inconsistent sleep.
About the sheets
Brooklinen's cotton sheets are designed to feel like the cool side of the pillow. Honestly, on the nights when I wore long pants or a long-sleeved shirt, I did still feel warm lying in bed, but wearing shorts and a T-shirt under the sheets kept me at a nice, cool temp.
I was blown away by how much I loved that my bed felt like a hotel bed.
The cotton percale sheets have a 270 thread count, though Brooklinen focuses more on the quality of material than thread count. They use a single-ply yarn that is supposed to be smoother, stronger, and more durable than multi-ply fabric with a higher thread count.
The sheets aren't made with any harsh chemicals, which your skin will love. This particular set has a crisp, matte finish and are light and breathable, making them ideal for hot sleepers.
Brooklinen suggests washing your sheets and letting them air dry before putting them on your bed, though you can also tumble dry them. Pro tip: Pull them from the dryer while they're still a bit wet and lay them flat so you don't have to pull out the iron.
The classic core set, which includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases starts at $99 and comes in a nice selection of colors and patterns. There are also other bundle options that come with items like duvet covers, extra pillowcases, and comforters that cost more. You could opt for the basic starter set for $93, but that only includes a fitted sheet and two pillowcases, and I'm not sure why you'd get bedding that doesn't include a flat sheet.
What I loved
I was kind of blown away by how much I loved that my bed felt like a hotel bed. It felt so fluffy and cozy compared to the Target sheets I was using before. Getting under covers that felt cool against my skin and didn't seem like they would stick to me was refreshing. They're thick without being heavy and they feel cool every time I climb into bed.
I loved the pillowcases that came with the sheets. I don't know how, but they made my sad, deflated pillows feel firm and fluffy again. I think it's because the material itself is pretty stiff, so it didn't hug and give into every lump, which I really appreciated. They also fully enclosed the pillows, which a lot of pillowcases claim to do, but never really succeed at. Brooklinen hit the mark there.
I slept on these sheets for a week, which was enough time to get a feel for them, but I didn't fully break them in. The longer I slept in them, the more comfortable they got, so I suspect they're going to feel even cozier a few weeks out, with repeated washes.
What I didn't love
If you get these sheets, definitely wash them first, as they had a bit of a gluey smell when I took them out of the packaging. One wash was enough to get them smelling fresh.
One wash was not, however, enough to make the sheets feel as soft as I would have hoped. I used fabric softener and four dryer sheets to try to soften them up quickly because I didn't want to pay to run them through the wash twice. They still felt pretty starchy, even once they were on my bed. They were also wrinkly as hell — but that's sort of the nature of cotton. I don't own an iron, so I just dealt with wrinkly sheets. They're covered by my comforter anyway, so it doesn't really matter if they're wrinkle free.
All of the sheets' packaging said they're like your favorite old T-shirt and get softer with each wash, so I'm hopeful that after a month or two they'll keep their crisp structure, but feel a little less starchy. I am determined to break these bad boys in.
Like I mentioned earlier, I did still get warm sometimes while lying under these sheets, so I was a little disappointed by that. But that can be fixed by sleeping with a fan on, getting a lighter comforter, or just wearing less clothing to bed — so nothing too detrimental.
Are Brooklinen sheets worth the money?
I'm not as in love with these sheets as I wanted to be. I really like them, I do, but I just wasn't as blown away as I thought I'd be. I still had some sweaty nights of sleep, but that and the initial starchiness of the sheets are my only real complaints. That said, Brooklinen is a really good middle step between run-of-the-mill sheets and luxury sheets.
I have a full-sized bed, so a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases costs $129. I have never spent that much on bedding before, so I was expecting to be a little more wowed, but the Brooklinen sheets did feel more durable and higher quality than my Target sheets, and they're definitely replacing them as my everyday bedding.
Brooklinen sheets are not quite as expensive as some other brands like Serena & Lily or Buffy, which will have you dropping a couple hundred bucks on a sheet set. They're right in the sweet spot of not too cheap, but not going to blow a hole in your wallet. You just might have to wash them a few times to really reap the benefits — and keep an iron on hand!
