How to Make a Romantic Bath

Foaming bath salts made with Dead Sea Salt give a luxurious, pampering, and skin loving bath! To make your own for yourself or to give as a gift, I’ve included a recipe from The Rustic Essentials Crafting Library.

Items Needed:

1/2 cup Liquid Glycerin Soap Base
2 Tbsp. light oil ( Sweet Almond Oil or Grapeseed Oil)
Gel Soap Colorant (a few drops)
6 cups coarse grain Dead Sea Salts
1/4 ounce (approx. 2 teaspoons) of body safe Fragrance Oil

Directions:

Mix Liquid Glycerin Soap, carrier oil, body safe fragrance oil, and coloring. (If you’re using a teaspoon to measure fragrance oil, be sure to use metal rather than plastic.) Pour over Dead Sea Salts. Stir continuously until salt crystals are evenly coated. Thinly spread the salts on a cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper and air dry for 24 hours.

Store in a glass container with a lid. If you are gifting, you might want to include in ingredient label.

If you are feeling less ambitious, this second recipe uses easier to find ingredients.

Ingredients:

6 Cups Kosher or Epsom Salt
¾ Cup Lavender Scented Body Wash
1 tbsp Olive, Coconut, or Sweet Almond Oil
2-3 Drops Lavender Essential Oil (Optional)
Purple Food Coloring (Optional)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine salt and body wash, and mix until well combined.
Add in your oil, essential oil and food coloring and mix well.
On a lined baking sheet, spread the salt mixture out into a thin layer. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
Once dry, break up any large clumps, and spoon into a glass jar with a lid.

Add a Wood Bath Caddy/Tray and some votive candles and you have a nice gift for that special someone.

Wishing You a Happy Valentine’s Day! xoxo-Ann

February 4, 2015

Dapper Design

Menswear trends have inspired Walker Zanger’s Sterling Row collection, which incorporate marble and wood-look porcelain tiles in gray, black and white tones.

The Sterling Row collection is inspired by the elegant feel of fine fabrics, the richness of burnished leather and the luxuriously appointed shops of the finest tailors in London, Manhattan and Paris.

“Using modern water-jet technology, we were able to create delicate and distinctive patterns in wood-finish ceramic, precisely fitted with marble. It’s a novel take on a classic theme that has applications in varying scales for floors and walls, and for residential and commercial venues alike.” – Jared Becker, Vice President of Design and Marketing

Sterling Row Patterns are available in two color ways, Linen and Charcoal, created from three colors of Statale porcelain tile and Thasos White, Bianco Bello and Imperial Black Marble.

Sterling Row’s ten distinctive patterns offer designers a wealth of decorative options for floors or walls, alongside the technical advantage of impervious porcelain, which can be used in any residential, and most commercial applications.

The Sterling Row Tile Collection will pair well with burnished leather, charcoal accents as well gold toned and brass fixtures.

Last month the Sterling Row Collection won Gold in the Best of Bath category at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS).

Sterling Row is priced from $55-$145 per square foot.

January 25, 2015

Around the Web

Sometimes people ask me what I read when I’m surfing the web. Here’s a collection of posts that I found worthwhile.

Over on Hadley Court, Leslie Carothers put together a great post discussing the true remodeling costs and important remodeling considerations for kitchens based on data from industry professionals, Houzz, and Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs Value Report.

The Founder of KBCULTURE.com, Leslie Clagett always covers what’s new in appliances and innovative technology. I liked her post showing GE’s new combination of their Café Refrigerator with hot water dispenser technology with a Keurig K-Cup Brewing System. I think we all like the idea of being able to remove one more appliance from the countertop area. Sadly, it won’t be available until later this year.

“As an innovator in the personal beverage system industry, Keurig is excited to partner with GE and to be the first to offer hot single-cup technology right from a refrigerator.”

In addition to Blogs written by designers, I also read Blog posts from manufacturers. I recently discovered that Systempool, part of the Porcelanosa Family, offers the new Attica shower enclosure collection.

A large part of the value of an Attica enclosure is the availability of customization. Systempool realized that not all bathrooms are shaped the same – some have sloped ceilings, steps or structural columns that have to be addressed.

Jeanne Chung is a gifted Interior Designer whose blog is titled Cozy•Stylish•Chic. Her posts are fabulous and I hope one day soon we will meet. (We’ve both been on Modenus BlogTour trips but not together.) I am sharing her post on 3 Must-Have Luxury Kitchen Appliances from Thermador.

My favorite of the three is the Freedom Induction Cooktop which is the first full-surface induction appliance with the flexibility of a natural-mapping user interface. This technology recognizes cookware size, shape and position, and delivers heat to these targeted areas (up to 13″ x 21″),while all other areas not in contact with a pot remain cool.

The new trimless model with first full-color touch-screen interface can heat up to four pots at a time. The 36″ cooktop is built with 48 individual 3-in. heating elements below the surface of the appliance, which translates to a 63 percent more effective cooking area on the surface.

January 18, 2015

Fiora Shower Pans

European minimalist shower trays that mimic stone are now available in the US.

The pans are manufactured by Fiora Bath Collections, located in La Rioja, Spain, renowned for the design and manufacture of furniture, mirrors and accessories for the bathroom. Coastal Shower Doors will be introducing the pans at KBIS Jan. 20-22 in Las Vegas.

Flora has patented a new concept in shower flooring based on the use of an artificial stone called SILEXPOL. This new material has anti-slip and bacteriostatic properties, qualities that have proven to be highly desirable to the European audience.

“We expect Americans to not only love the design, but also appreciate the nanotechnology that goes into making the trays water repellent and the maintenance easy and safe,” Patrick Cobb, national accounts for Coastal Shower Doors

While I’m not sure if the full line up will be available, the pans are offered in two patterns (regular and brick) with fourteen colors in each.

One of the new features of the Fiora SILEX shower tray is its adaptability and flexibility to fit into any decor theme, whether in residential or commercial applications. Moreover, two of the trays within the SILEX collection, Extra Flat made-to-measure and Framed made-to-measure, can be adapted to spaces that are not rectilinear or have obstructions such as columns.

If you are not building a new home, careful planning will be required to lower the floor in the shower area if you desire the flush fit. If you are currently living in a condo, you may need to become besties with the neighbors below you to rework the drain and the trap.

Category: Bathroom

How to Make a Romantic Bath

Items Needed:

Directions:

Ingredients:

Directions:

Wishing You a Happy Valentine’s Day! xoxo-Ann

Dapper Design

Around the Web

“As an innovator in the personal beverage system industry, Keurig is excited to partner with GE and to be the first to offer hot single-cup technology right from a refrigerator.”

Fiora Shower Pans

“We expect Americans to not only love the design, but also appreciate the nanotechnology that goes into making the trays water repellent and the maintenance easy and safe,” Patrick Cobb, national accounts for Coastal Shower Doors