Saturday, September 12, 2015

A Week of Beauty, Day 6: At Home



In writing this post, I asked myself the question ‘how can I feel beautiful in my home?’  Here are some ideas I came up with.

Choose beauty even with perfunctory items.  When I buy the paper facial tissues that I use to cleanse my face, I choose the prettiest box even though it won’t be on display because I keep them in the cupboard underneath the basin.  I see them every time I use one.

Keeping possessions well-curated and regularly decluttered so that I feel at ease when opening my closet or a drawer.  Items are all in good order and I use them often. Keeping on top of things also means I am only surrounded by my favourite and most beautiful things.  Donations and rubbish are gone straight away.

Having healthy and chic food in my pantry and fridge means there is not an assault on the eyes from garishly packaged le junque food.  I love the quote ‘tacky people eat tacky food’, I heard it was attributed to Jackie Onassis.

Displaying anything I am going to eat attractively on a plate.

Playing my ‘hotel lobby’ playlist when I’m at home.  You know the easy listening piano music that hotels play sometimes?  I love music like this, and when I play it at home it instantly makes me feel relaxed and like I’m in a plush hotel.  Richard Clayderman, Carl Doy and the Northquest Players are artists I have, plus a very kitsch sounding ‘Chilled Dinner Party Piano Gold - 40 Smooth & Mellow Classic Piano Hits’.

Reading a glossy magazine.  I’ve bought one or two lately, and after a long period of buying none it feels quite nice.  I love to feel inspired by the beauty others create and share.

Turn down our beds at night.  After dinner but before bedtime I go up to our bedroom and close the windows, draw the curtains and make sure our room is tidy.  It’s so soothing to go up to later on.

I love having bar soap in the shower but like pump soap by kitchen and bathroom taps and always choose beautiful scents, plus have a pump hand cream next to it.

Having my favourite enjoyable rituals – hot tea in the morning, cocktail hour in the late afternoon on weekends, Sunday night movies.

Candles always add a touch of beauty to the home and we have at least one burning every night, even in the summer when it’s still daylight.  When I’m at home for the day I light a scented candle in the morning.  It feels very spa luxe.

Finally and most importantly, I choose the way I want to feel.  I choose to feel beautiful, relaxed, calm and organised.

I’d love to know, what makes you feel beautiful in your home?

11 comments:

  1. Fiona I love the same sort of music, thanks to Jennifer's (Daily Connoisseur) second book I picked up on her recommendation of Ludovico Einaudi, then when looking for more music like his I discovered Giovanni Allevi.

    Samples can be heard at:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJcv18IyvKM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHsfwCI-JII&list=PL22jPruu2Oxcb2IPXrbHzQm7D6_KTQJto

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  2. I"m relaxed just reading this list. It's so soothing. I love listening to classical music at home and turning off the TV. Nothing has quite as big of an instant impact on the mood of our home as doing that one simple thing.

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  3. All very good ideas to implement in our own homes!

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  4. I agree with so many of these! I love soft music in my home, Diana Krall is a particular favorite. My hubby calls it "elevator music" but I find it very calming and classy :) I also love beautiful scents as you do, I was just recently gifted some lovely soaps made in Napa Valley, California. So delicious!

    I also agree with keeping everything pretty and cared for. Even if it's just something trivial like my kitchen towels, I buy them in packs so they all match and always in a neutral color (plus it makes laundry easy - bleach them all in one go!). I don't know why but just having a mismatch of assorted colors makes me feel stressed. And regular matienence keeps them looking nice for as long as possible.

    Wonderful list!

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  5. I love your list- so beautiful, serene, peaceful. Here are a few of my favorites:
    White fluffy towels piled high on a wood table in bathroom
    Lemons in a crystal bowl in kitchen that will be cut into slices and added to my water bottle
    Classical music playing in my car (helps calm me while driving)
    Polished silver that gleams
    Flowers cut from garden and displayed in pitchers around the house
    My collection of old oil paintings of landscapes (I often sit and stare and wonder about artist/location)
    Pretty and freshly pressed table lines (I have a few of my grandmother's)

    Always look forward to your posts as I find inspiration in all of them.

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  6. Thanks for your posts, Fiona. They are like a kind and gentle oasis in a crazy world.

    Alison

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  7. Hi Fiona, I feel more elegant just reading your list! I enjoy doing those things too like, lit candles, soft music -f or me it's either classical or jazz (unless we're playing a board game and then I am out-voted and end up playing retro 80's music - then we all just act goofy!), tidying up before bed (it's so much easier to wake up to in the morning!), no clutter ... I am working on the healthy food part.

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  8. Rose, thank you for the YouTube links, I love them both. I have both Jennifer's books but didn't look up these musicians.

    Thank you everyone for the lovely suggestions - Anna I love Diana Krall too.

    Funny, we visited friends for dinner last night and afterwards we played cards and listened to 90s music, it was so much fun.

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  9. This is my favorite post of this series. Such good suggestions.

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  10. I totally agree about buying beautiful things, even if it's a transient item. My tissue boxes are always picked to coordinate with the room they're in, which sounds obsessive but isn't that difficult. Even if other people don't see them, I do, which is also why I wear nice underwear!

    I have music playlists to suit different moods, from cooking to cocktails to quiet time. I have a special one that I play on Sunday mornings, when I don't have to go anywhere and can be lazy.

    I burn beeswax candles when I can, especially at night, or I use my little essential oil burner with a tea light.

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  11. I don't like candles as I think they're a fire risk, but I do love a bowl of pot pourri (just as long as you don't keep it so long that it gets dusty) ... I buy an Elizabethan pop pourri which has the scent of roses, eucalyuptus and lavender, it's gorgeous.
    I also always have good soap - Penhaligon's, Roger & Gallet, L'Occitane, or Floris, and white towels as well. I don't like that hand wash stuff in a plastic bottle which leaves my hands feeling slimy no matter how much I rinse them. And a plastic bottle is hardly chic.
    Dust-free polished furniture, well-vacuumed carpets, clean windows, absence of clutter.
    Flowers: I always try and have fresh flowers not only in the sitting room but in the other rooms in the house.
    Fresh bed linen; I change the bed linen often and spritz with a lavender scented pillow mist.
    What I dislike: musak playing all the time, especially 'wallpaper' music. I love proper music, Beethoven, Mozart, or even the music from the 1930s and 1940s, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, and others of this type.
    An early night is luxurious, beds turned down, fresh linen, a cup of tee in an attractive cup and a good book, night, night!
    Margaret P

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Merci for your comment. Wishing you a chic day!

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