Lovely in the moonlight, dazzling in sun

Even bedrooms have seasonal wardrobes. Come June, off go the flannel sheets and down comforters, and on go the crisp, carefree linens.

We don’t just dress beds for the temperature but for the mood of the season. For midsummer nights, we want a whole change of scenery from the muted tones of winter months: We crave sky blues, leaf greens, even flowers blooming in our beds.

This season’s summer blankets bring the beauty of the outdoors inside. With an emphasis on texture, these innovative designs include an airy synthetic throw that mimics a patch of grass and a pieced summer-weight wool blanket the color of a cloudless morning. The common cotton blanket, both light and cozy, is now knit with the finesse of a handmade sweater in shades of thistle and in a green-and-white-striped pattern that suggests mattress ticking.

For those who prefer to be old-fashioned in a new-fashioned way, there is a return to comforters and quilts. An update of the minimalist style known as pick-stitching -- which gives a tufted appearance -- has found its way onto solid-colored cottons and silks in department stores and into the hip lifestyle interiors catalog West Elm (www.westelm.com). For those who prefer the vibrancy of prints, there are Hawaiian florals, French country paisleys and appliques of daisies on stripes. Often reversible to other colors and patterns, these quilts do double duty as bedcovers by day and blankets by night.