Home comfort is a big part of what makes your decor a success. After all, you can have a fabulous-looking room but if the furniture is stiff and the flooring rough underfoot then you really haven't achieved your goal. A huge part of a great decor is how comfortable you feel in the space. Tactile comfort is important in every room in the home.
Most of us get that and have made our homes as cosy as we possibly can. After all, we're not rock stars. It's not like we're going to do something crazy like buy our own tanning bed and install a sauna in the rec room... or are we? Today, many luxury items like this that were once affordable only to the wealthy are now actually in easy reach for the average homeowner. Not only are these decor toys plug-in-and-play ready, they are more affordable because they don't have to be custom-installed by professionals.
Let's face it, this winter has been brutal. Having a toasty fireplace in the bedroom or a sauna in the rec room would be awesome. Luckily, what used to be a distant dream is now an attainable reality. I've also called in a few favours and have brought some potential gifts to the table to make these items even more of a deal for you. Read on...
Instant fireplaces
The choice in designs for instant electric fireplaces is staggering. No longer do you have to have a fireplace installed and live with the mess and cost of construction. The beautifully appointed electric fireplaces and stoves can, for the most part, be placed in any room and plugged into a standard outlet. Imagine how cosy the master bedroom would be with a gorgeous fireplace that provides heat and visual ambience. Wouldn't the chilly basement family room be a great gathering-place if you had a stunning fireplace to provide visual appeal and warmth?
Many of the electric fireplace units are remote-controlled for extra comfort. No more logs, ashes or even getting off of the couch. Click and go...instant ambience. For smaller rooms or for the cottage an electric stove is a great choice. They are fashioned after the rustic wood stove but are simply placed in a room and plugged into a regular outlet. These "wood stoves" provide both visual ambience and warmth but can also be run without heat so you can enjoy the romance of a crackling wood stove even on a hot summer night. Places like Rona, Sears Home store, Home Depot and so on carry these plug-in and play units so check them out the next time you're out and about. It might just be that final touch your home needs.
Saunas
Over the Christmas holidays I had a chance to visit some of my favourite shops to find out what is new and exciting in home decor for 2009. It just so happened that I was just getting over a nasty cold at the time so when I came upon some gorgeous steamy saunas at Wicker World I took full advantage of the display unit. After 10 minutes in the sauna I felt a lot better. What a great home-comfort item for this crazy cold province of ours! Not only is it good for aiding in detoxifying the body, it also helps keep the skin moisturized during the cold winter months. I was excited to see this new line at Wicker World and was equally astonished at how simple the saunas are to install in the home. Depending upon the style of sauna you might choose, you would simply take home the kit, spend about an hour or two putting it together and plug it in and go. Most of these Helo saunas don't require special power outlets or any special ventilation. You simply put it together and enjoy. With the growing popularity of health spas and their benefits, it wouldn't surprise me if these "almost instant" home saunas were a huge hit in our province. Wicker world is currently the sole dealer of Helo saunas in Manitoba. Drop by the shop and talk to Phil. He'll be happy to fill you in. Wicker world is also offering a spa gift basket worth approximately $200.00 to the first person who purchases a home sauna from them and brings in a copy of this article.
Home tanning units
You don't have to be a rock star to enjoy luxury items. Now, you can actually buy your own tanning bed especially suited for home use. Krevco carries a line of tanning beds to choose from but the one that caught my eye was a unit that simply hangs on a door or on the wall and can be used at home, at the cottage or even at a school dorm. This is the most affordable and mobile unit and is a popular choice for consumers. This unit plugs into a regular 120 volt/15 amp outlet. Imagine being able to be tan at any time without having to go out into the bitter cold! What a great item to have, especially during the winter. If you can't afford a holiday in the sun, the next best thing could be right in your own home. The suppliers of these tanning beds are coincidentally having a website special on the hanging tanning unit until January 31, 2009. I asked them to offer our readers an additional deal that they are willing to give the first five people that order the Tan and Tone special from their site. They are offering these five customers either $100.00 worth of free tanning lotions or $100.00 off their next purchase of an Oxygenfit unit. Go to the website www.esbtandirect.com
Enjoy!
