What Is a Valance Sheet? And Do You Still Need One?
There's a good chance you've slept in a bed with a valance sheet and never known its name. That frill of fabric skirting the base of the bed, hiding the divan and whatever's stored beneath, was once a fixture of nearly every made bed in the country. These days it's more of an occasional choice than a default, which raises a fair question: what exactly does a valance sheet do, and in a world of ottoman bases and bare bed frames, do you still need one?
What a Valance Sheet Actually Is
A valance sheet, sometimes called a bed valance or a base sheet, is a fitted sheet with a decorative skirt attached around the sides and foot. The flat platform section sits on top of the divan base, tucked under the mattress to hold it in place, while the skirt, or valance, hangs down to cover the base and the gap beneath the bed. It sits between the mattress and the base, so your ordinary fitted sheet still goes on top of the mattress as normal.
The result is a neat, finished look that conceals the divan base and anything stored under the bed, with the fabric falling smoothly to floor level. Traditionally they were a standard part of dressing a bed, which is why older bedding sets so often included one alongside the sheets and pillowcases.
What a Valance Sheet Is For
The job of a valance is part practical, part decorative. Decoratively, it tidies up the bed by hiding the base, which on an older divan can be a plain or mismatched panel, and it gives the bed a coordinated, finished appearance down to the floor. For a bed on show in a guest room or a more formal bedroom, that polished look is the main appeal.
Practically, it conceals under-bed storage. If you keep boxes, suitcases or drawers beneath the bed, a valance hides them from view while still letting you access them, which keeps the room looking tidier than open storage on display. It can also keep dust off whatever's stored underneath to a degree. Those are genuine benefits, even if they're less essential than they once were.
Why They've Fallen Out of Favour
Valance sheets are less common now largely because beds have changed. The rise of bed frames with attractive wooden or upholstered bases, and of ottoman beds that lift to reveal storage, means many modern beds are designed to look good without anything hiding the base. When the base is part of the bed's appeal, covering it with a skirt makes little sense.
Tastes have shifted too, towards a cleaner, less fussy look, and the frill of a traditional valance can feel slightly dated in a minimalist room. They've also become slightly fiddly in practice: fitting a valance means lifting the mattress to position it, and it can shift out of place over time. None of this makes them obsolete, but it explains why they're now a deliberate choice rather than an automatic one.
Do You Still Need One?
It comes down to your bed and your taste. If you have a traditional divan base, especially a plain one, and you store things under the bed, a valance is genuinely useful for hiding both, and it remains the simplest way to give a divan a tidy, finished look. For guest rooms and more classic bedroom styles, it still does a job nothing else quite replicates.
If you have a bed frame or an ottoman base you're happy to show off, you almost certainly don't need one, and a valance would only hide a feature you paid for. In that case, a well-fitted ordinary fitted sheet over the mattress is all you need. There's no right answer; it's about whether you're concealing a base or showing one off.
The Sheet That Actually Touches You
Whether or not you use a valance, the sheet that matters most for your sleep is the fitted sheet over the mattress, since that's the surface against your skin all night. A valance dresses the base, but it's the fitted sheet's fit, fabric and depth that affect how the bed actually feels to sleep in.
This is worth getting right, especially if your mattress is deep or has a topper, where a shallow fitted sheet pings off in the night. Our deep fitted sheets are made to stay secure on mattresses up to a generous depth, in breathable, cooling fabrics, so the layer you actually lie on stays smooth and in place. Dress the base however you like, but choose the fitted sheet for comfort first.
How to Fit and Care for a Valance
If you do use a valance, fitting it is straightforward once you've done it once, though it takes a moment of effort. You lift the mattress off the base, lay the flat platform section across the base, then lower the mattress back on top to hold it in place, leaving the skirt hanging down the sides and foot. The skirt should fall evenly all the way round, so it's worth straightening it before the mattress goes back down.
Sizing follows your bed, so a double bed takes a double valance and so on, matching the base it's covering. In terms of care, a valance doesn't touch your skin and so doesn't need washing as often as your fitted sheet, but it does gather dust along the skirt over time, so an occasional wash keeps it fresh, particularly in a guest room where it may sit unused between visits. Pressing or smoothing the skirt after washing helps it hang neatly rather than creased, which matters since the whole point of a valance is a tidy, finished look. Treated this way, one valance lasts for years with very little attention.
FAQs
It hides the bed's base and any under-bed storage, giving the bed a tidy, finished look down to the floor. It's mainly used on traditional divan beds, where it conceals a plain base and keeps stored items out of sight.
Only if you have a divan base you want to hide and you store things under the bed. If you have an attractive bed frame or an ottoman base you're happy to show, you don't need one, and a valance would just cover a feature you chose.
Under it. The flat platform section sits on the base with the mattress on top holding it in place, and the skirt hangs down the sides. Your ordinary fitted sheet then goes over the mattress as usual, so you use both together.
A fitted sheet covers the mattress and is the surface you sleep on. A valance sits beneath the mattress on the base, with a skirt to hide the base and under-bed space. They do entirely different jobs and are used together, not instead of each other.
