• Cure Clock: 2.5 weeks to go• Assignment: Read Week 6: Light Therapy
• Members: 1,735
I was living in my apartment for a week before the electric company and I were able to sync up schedules. Without electricity I had to rely on candles, sunlight, and flashlights to function. My time was ruled by the rising and setting of the sun. It's not something I would suggest but it did give me a greater appreciation for how this simple modern convenience -- flick a switch and a light flares to life -- has changed the way we interact with the world. Light is about illumination, yes, but it's also about time.
Thanksgiving is coming up and Jade has her dining room all set. If you're having guests over, think about the lighting in the dining room and living room where lots of people will be. If your bathroom lighting is terrible, grab a candle to give it some ambience.
If you've ever scared yourself looking in the mirror in your office bathroom, given up on swimsuit shopping after seeing the bluish green pallor of your body in a department store dressing room, noticed the sparkle in your significant other's eyes as they reflected back candlelight or run around the house looking for sufficient light in order to read the fine print on something, you know light's power to create and even change a mood. Bad lighting can make the most beautiful home look depressing; it can create coziness in the most minimally furnished spaces. If your home needs a little something, that something is probably light. The rule of thumb is three sources but if your room is an odd shape or you have a lot of comfy places to read, use more. And try CFLs. There's an increasingly wide spectrum, from warm to cool, to choose from.
In a more metaphorical sense, this week is also about illuminating your own light by nurturing yourself with little luxuries. If you think about it, time is the ultimate luxury and our ability to stay up past the sun's bedtime means that we given ourselves the gift of more time. Add that extra time to all the things that we've been doing in our homes -- creating a landing strip, ridding our homes of clutter, reconfiguring our furniture -- and I bet that you're finding yourselves with more time. You're definitely spending more quality time at home. It's becoming more than just a space to eat and sleep in, it's also becoming a place to reconnect with ourselves and what's important to us.
This week, take the time to slow down and really enjoy your space. Layer it with sensuality: buy and light a beautiful scented candle when you get home, organize your medicine chest (try this technique to make your morning a little easier) and fill it with products that pamper your body and soul, use that scented soap you were given as a gift and that you've been saving for a special occasion. There is no special occasion like the one you're experiencing right this minute. Shut off the phone and take a bath (with bubbles!) before work if you can, or to help you transition from day to night or from night to bed. Spray your sheets with a linen spray. In the morning I make a pot of tea with loose tea instead of a tea bag. I bake up a real croissant (granted they're the ones from Trader Joe's that you let rise overnight, but still) and I set the table as if I were in a hotel: the good silver, the nice china, jam and butter scooped into little bowls instead out of a container or jar. For a few minutes I feel like I'm on vacation and the chaos outside becomes a lot easier to face. Try to find 15 minutes every day for a little self-nurturing; see how you can "luxurify" one thing whether it's buying the really nice shampoo, stocking your desk with new pencils or deciding that from now on you're going to use this good china every day.
All of us have a different idea of luxury. For some it's the luxury of time; for others, it's indulging the senses; for others, it's letting someone else do the work, but for all of us, especially with so many obligations and financial responsibilities nipping at our heels, it's hard to justify incorporating it into our lives. No, there will never be a good time so the best time is now. Discover what makes you feel pampered in your home and do it! Yes, this coming week is about guests -- being a guest, having guests -- but there is one person who should be treated like a guest in your home every day: you.
This week's comment/question:
How can you add a little luxury to your every day routine?
Some suggestions: Swap out bar soap for a foaming pump soap; drink your coffee from the good china and, instead of straight milk, foam it up using this technique; swap your ratty sleepwear for something silk, shower by candlelight; get into bed a few minutes early with a plate of warm cookies and read for pleasure; watch a movie you haven't seen since you were a kid; make time for a pillow fight with your significant other; splurge on a scented candle and use it; enjoy a night of pampering and use those products you got as a gift and have been saving to have a spa night at home; schedule a cleaning lady to tackle the tasks you hate; gather up the magazines that you subscribe to but haven't had time to read and read them; let your kids read a good night story to you; buy fresh flowers for every room in house (you're still keeping this up, aren't you?); eat dessert for breakfast; sleep in late and have breakfast in bed; get dressed up just because; set the table tonight using a tablecloth, take a few minutes to journal in the morning and organize your day, try real hangers instead of the wire ones from the dry cleaner.
POST INDEX
• Week 6 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 5 - Show & Tell with Abby
• Week 5 - Tips & Tricks with Susie
• Week 5 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 4 - Show & Tell with Laure
• Week 4 - Tips & Tricks with Susie
• Week 4 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 3 - Show & Tell with Abby
• Week 3 - Tips & Tricks with Sarah Rae
• Week 3 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 2 - Show & Tell with Abby
• Week 2 - Tips & Tricks with Susie
• Week 2 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 1 - Show & Tell with Laure
• Week 1 - Tips & Tricks with Sarah Rae
• Week 1 - Intro with Maxwell
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Comments (14)
ivystyle33: where did you get that great shelf that is holding your towels? I just love it.
It's all very nice talking about light and luxury during bathroom week, but frankly I'd rather not see some of the things in my bathroom and it would certainly feel like a luxury being able to get rid of it for good.
Specifically, has anyone figured out a way to keep the bathtub from being slippery without attracting mildew?
Yes, they sell bath mats that have anti-microbial / anti-mildew protection now! They aren't too hard to find once you know to look for them...
grainsmasher,
i spray my shower/bathtub with an after shower spray by method after i use them & run the fan. you can also use watered down bleach or vinegar. it's the drying out that's key in keeping mildew at bay.
abby
Peach Heights' dining room is very pretty, but it needs some softness to balance out all the hard lines and surfaces. The flowers are a good start. How about adding a rug? And/or some sheer window treatments?
I have all of next week off of work. I'm planning on doing some great things around here... but still have time to read some magazines that have piled up. ;)
I love the colour choices in ivystyle33's bathroom! @CKBH: it says that they are two Habitat tables on top of each other on her Flickr stream.
Re renngrrl's towels; you can use both, i.e. a towel rod while they are drying and hooks for the dry ones. That's very common where I come from.
I add a little luxury to my everyday routine by treating myself to organic products when I can afford them; basically the eating and drinking routines if you can call them that. Flowers in every room is a bit too luxurious for me currently, but I do love fresh flowers as I find them more interesting than plants.
I am so thankful we don't have Thanksgiving next week as some of you do! That would be just too much.
I have yet to finish scrubbing both the full bath downstairs and the powder room upstairs. I have, however, painted the inside of the downstairs medicine chest--two coats. And I've been making calls in order to get a headboard put together next week.
My "to do" list is a mile long for today. I'll spare you!
JG, thanks for the tip. However, I already have a silocone bath mat, which is about as anti-mildew as you can get. But apparently dead skin cells collect under the mat and the mildew grows on that. I pull up the mat and scrub it regularly, but that's hard on the suction cups and wears them out--also it's no fun at all getting the old toothbrush around all those suction cups.
abbey, I used to be pretty good keeping the mildew off the walls--a mix of bleach and water would get rid of it. But now that doesn't work on the grout anymore and neither does vinegar. I probably ruined the grout seal with all that bleach and should have applied more sealant when I had the chance.
I got nylon shower curtains, but they have to be washed in vinegar regularly, too.
I admit, I don't have an exhaust fan, and my roommate takes an average of two showers a day.
You can put those stickers from the 60's on the bottom, but I've heard it's hard to clean mildew from the edges, let alone pull them up later if you change your mind. You can etch the bottom of the tub to make it no-slip, but I've heard it's really hard to keep it clean afterwards. When desperate in hotels with very slippery tubs, I have just put a towel on the bottom of the tub, but that leads to a lot of laundry!
My daily luxuries include:
*jersey knit sheets - soft and good in both summer and winter
* flannel jammies
* chocolate milk for breakfast
* hot showers
* pretty jewelry for work
* sneakers, even at work (this is a new one--I found some black ones that are at least a little subtle)
* drinking hot chocolate from my favorite mug all year round, even though it has Santa on it. (I also have an orange spatula with a black cat on it that I use all year).
* daily cuddling and smootching
My daily luxury is a home-made cappuccino from our ridiculously fancy coffee maker.
Bleach the bathmat. No biggie.
One of the things I have enjoyed since reading Apartment Therapy and joining the cure has been to wash dishes using Mrs. Meyer's lavender dishwashing detergent. I never thought that I would actually like washing dishes, but there is something about standing there looking out my window with the feel of warm water and that lovely fragrance! It is a daily luxury that also keeps my kitchen straight!
Of course, there is nothing like climbing into a freshly made bed with a good book on a Friday night knowing the weekend lies ahead!
I don't have time most days, but Sunday mornings are perfect for lounging in my jammies and reading the sale ads with a cup of chai. The rest of the week my luxury is reading in bed before I go to sleep. My husband reads, too, or does a crossword puzzle. It's lovely and relaxing.
My little Luxuries include: French Pressed coffee or tea, Yerba Matte Tea curled up in my fabulous throw on the couch, 800 thread count linens but 1000ct pillow cases, playing piano with my curtains open letting the patio inspire