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" Interior design by Ken Fulk. Photography by Francesco Lagnese. Natural feather and down are the most popular filling choices as they&amp;#039;re warm, soft, and breathable. A down cluster is spherical, a bit like a dandelion head, so its 3D properties trap a lot of heat, whilst a feather is long and flat. As a result a duvet with a high ratio of down is lighter and loftier than a feather duvet as you need more feathers to fill them. When choosing feather and down the quality of the ingredients is very important. The bigger the down clusters, the more warmth they retain (this means a lighter duvet). Cold climates produce ducks and geese with bigger, fluffier down filaments. Shake them out for comparison and you&amp;#039;ll easily see that goose is the lightest while duck gives a heavier, snugglier feel. Another natural choice is wool. Unlike fur, wool is crimped, elastic and grows in clusters. It&amp;#039;s the crimp in it that makes wool chunkier and able to retain air giving it its famous insulating properties. When the body is cold, wool removes moisture from the skin and traps dry air and warmth. When the body is warm, the wool retains air, removing excess heat and moisture. The original all-seasons duvet! It&amp;#039;s hypoallergenic, dirt resistant, resilient, eco-friendly and helps you sleep better. You could also go for natural silk\u2026 a real luxury choice. Silk has very similar properties to wool: it&amp;#039;s breathable, hypoallergenic and surprisingly strong. This is great for a duvet filling as it means it survives washing and even tumble drying, a feature that wool can&amp;#039;t claim. If you&amp;#039;re after a synthetic duvet, the most common choice is microfibre. Microfibre strands, if they&amp;#039;re a fine denier and good quality, can be very soft. In fact, to the touch microfibre strands could be mistaken for silk fibres. When stuffed into a duvet, fine denier microfibre does a good job at mimicking the feeling of a down duvet but it will get flattened a little more quickly. Hollowfibre is the other synthetic choice. It&amp;#039;s thicker and more wirey than microfibre which provides greater loft and weight in the duvet. It is a really hardwearing product and excellent value for money. If you&amp;#039;re an allergy sufferer but don&amp;#039;t want to opt for silk or wool then look out for a hollowfibre or microfibre duvet that has been treated with an anti-allergy chemical. More from HouseBeautiful.com  Inside Sears Design Director Seth Steven&amp;#039;s Bedroom An Extra Small Apartment With Loads Of Charm Why We&amp;#039;re Obsessed With Carolina Herrera&amp;#039;s Couch "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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