You know that glorious feeling when you emerge from the ocean, trot back to your beach chair, and snuggle up in your towel like it’s a big ol’ blanket? Or after you’ve had a refreshing shower in a hotel bathroom, and you wrap yourself up in a fluffy white towel and flop on the bed to watch some TV, only to fall asleep in its cozy comfort? What if I told you that you could channel those experiences in your own home?
Here’s how: bath sheets.
If you’ve never heard of bath sheets before, I want to clarify that they’re not anything like the sheets on your bed, they’re actually just oversized bath towels. Okay, let me rephrase: They’re not just oversized bath towels—they’re the best investment you can make in bath linens, and they’ll completely upgrade your post-shower self-care routine.
While the materials and construction of bath towels and bath sheets is the same, the magic lies in the size. Regular bath towels are approximately 30 inches by 58 inches, while bath sheets are approximately 40” by 65”. To give you a point of reference, a standard throw blanket size is 50” by 60”, so a bath sheet is basically the size of a throw blanket, except ultra-absorbent and made to cuddle you instead of your couch.
For most of my life, I used regular bath towels. They dried me off, and that’s all I thought I needed. I inadvertently discovered I loved a bath sheet, though, when I bought a beach towel on sale during the winter months and started using it as my bath towel. I simply loved the way it enveloped me—I could easily wrap it around my entire body for my walk from the bathroom to my bedroom.
I’ve also found that the excess fabric means I don’t have to worry about the towel getting completely soaked, and therefore get a bit of extra lounge time with it. Another thing: If you ever host overnight guests in your home, laying out a bath sheet for them to use is an extra-special touch. I’ve actually converted friends to the bath-sheet lifestyle, and they’re all the better for it.
But as with any good (read: revolutionary) idea, there are naysayers. The gripes of most bath-towel fans are aimed at the sheet’s "cumbersome" size. Back in May 2022, former Home52 Senior Content Lead, Arati Menon, said: “I just don’t want to have to deal with all that…extra fabric in my apartment-size linen ‘closet’ or on top of my head after a shower—my neck would 100 percent not appreciate the extra weight.” Former Market Editor, Jada Wong, also wasn't charmed. She said she would “much rather wear a terry cloth robe and lounge about, even though the larger towel size sounds cozy.”
Fine! Keep your bath towels! But before you think “My bath towels are just fine, I don’t need to spend on a bath sheet,” let me win you over by sharing some of my favorite bath sheets you can buy, below:
1. Brooklinen Classic Bath Sheets, Set of Two, $85
These are the bath sheets I use in my own home, and I absolutely swear by them, since they’re soft, fluffy, and dry relatively quickly. They come in five always-available colorways, with plenty of seasonal colors in rotation, too.
2. Hawkins New York Simple Waffle Bath Sheets, From $95
“I love a bath sheet because it's large enough to wrap yourself in...twice! This Waffle Towel from Hawkins New York is particularly great because it's made of the softest cotton and is very absorbent. And despite being so large, it dries quickly, too!”—Shareen Singh, Home Buyer
3. Parachute Classic Turkish Cotton Bath Sheet, $14+
Totally plush, super absorbent, and available in four different neutral colors to match any bathroom theme.
4. West Elm Organic Luxury Fibrosoft Bath Sheet, $10+ $6+
If you’re chasing that hotel-room luxury feel, these bath sheets are the ones to grab. They’re pillowy-soft and can be monogrammed for a bit of added detail.
So, be honest, are you team bath towel or bath sheet? Let us know in the comments!
Written by: Caroline Mullen
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7 Comments
Have been using them since I discovered them in college.
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