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Soft light from a fragrant candle flickers off of polished tile.

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Warm soapy water soothes your skin.

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Soft music and dimmed lights quiet your mind.

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A glass of wine glimmers on an organic wood table beside the tub.

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Fluffy white towels look soft enough to rest your head on.

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No, this is not my attempt at being a romance writer….

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You’ve just entered the luxurious world of the spa bathroom.

A spa bath gently evokes all of your senses, creates an immersive experience and relaxes both your mind and body. We all want that sanctuary where all the stresses of life simply fade away.

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Here are 8 tips you can easily do to create the look and feel of a spa bathroom with a few small changes and no need for a remodel.

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If you are able to remodel or renovate, there are many behind the scenes details to bring more ‘must haves’ spa experiences into your home. Look for my blog post, The Details Behind a Bathroom Remodel.

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Tip #1: Choose calming, serene colors.

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Humans are visual beings. Our bodies and minds are affected by color. Calming colors include neutrals, creams, soft creamy yellows, soft blues and greens, and light greys. Believe it or not, even black can be calming and grounding when used sparingly.

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If you want a huge immediately impact on your spa bathroom, repaint the walls a calming color. Use eggshell or satin instead of flat or matte so the light flickers off of the walls and glows. Repaint the cabinets and trim as well in a satin finish. Close your eyes and picture a crisp white trim with a soft creamy wall.

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Wallpaper is also a gorgeous way to bring serene beauty and texture onto your walls.

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There are so many amazing vinyl wallpapers that are safe for the even the most humid of showers.

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You can even use peel and stick wallpapers if you want to change it up more often or if you rent your home.

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Tip #2: Dim all the lights.

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Put your bathroom lighting on dimmers. If you do one thing, do this, you will thank me. Some of you might be thinking, “Yikes, electricity! That’s scary!”

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As long as the power to the switch is turned off at the breaker box and you follow the simple directions, putting in dimmers switches with a helper is completely do-able.

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If you get nervous or you don’t find the directions simple, you can bring in a local electrician to do it.

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Tip #3: Your skin wants the touch of a softer fluffy towel

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Throw out those scratchy old towels.

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Our skin is our largest organ. We need to treat it kindly.

Soft fluffy towels are a must in a spa bathroom. White is my personal favorite.

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There is nothing more spa-like than a soft white fluffy towel.

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And while you are at it, get rid of that old bathrobe. Treat yourself to a new silkier feeling one. You will feel loved and appreciated by yourself every time you feel it against your skin.

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Tip #4: Music calms the savage beast

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Listen to relaxing music while you are in the bathroom. A favorite bath music genre is French café or classical piano. If you are in the tub, put your phone and/or speaker across the room and set the phone on do not disturb.

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Tip #5: Light a beautifully packaged, fragrant candle

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Stanley Victor Paskavich said it perfectly in his poetry, “There is nothing more beautiful than the light of a candle and the aroma of its heart”.

A delicious candle in a pretty jar can transform your bathroom. Choose a light scent that relaxes you. The first candle fragrance in the Donna Brann Interiors candle line is used at one of the Ritz Carlton beach resorts, Sweet Pea, Apple and Jasmine. You can purchase it here.

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Tip #6: Tidy up messy countertops.

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In order to relax in our spa bathtub, our eyes must be allowed to relax.

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There is nothing more disturbing to your visual sense than a countertop filled with disorder.

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Place a pretty tray on the counter in which you can organize your bottles and creams.

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Better yet, the best place for them would be in your drawers or cabinets organized into baskets. Add a pretty bottle, soaps, a wooden hairbrush, and a flower or plant to the tray.

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If you have time, throw out any make-up, cosmetics and beauty aids that you haven’t used in the past 6 months. Don’t buy anything new until you’ve used your existing items.

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Tip #7: Bring in beauty, art and nature.

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The bathroom deserves gorgeous art, not those leftover art pieces you don’t want to hang in the other areas of the house.

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Get rid of any art that you do not absolutely love. Add black and white photographs of people and places you love or of a stack of beautiful pebbles on the beach. The art you choose should rouse a sense of calm in you.

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Think about adding texture with organic elements. Consider a stone buddha statue in the corner or on the countertop, or a wood bathtub tray for wine, a book, or your phone for playing your mediation app. Place a small teak root table next to the bathtub. A natural woven bathmat or a jute basket for those fluffy white towels.

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Tip #8: Replace showerhead, cabinet hardware and fixtures.

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Larger spa shower heads keep your body luxuriating in warm water, and it can be just as relaxing as a lounge in the tub.

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Fixtures and cabinet hardware are like the jewelry of the bathroom. Go ahead and mix metals. Gold with chrome. Brass with iron. Have fun and make it gorgeous.

With a few of these changes, you can easily create the look and feel of a spa bathroom over a single weekend. Get your loved ones to help in this worthwhile project!

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And….always know that I am only a Zoom consultation call away if you get stuck and want some expert advice.

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Hugs and love,

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Donna

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It is amazing that a large percentage of new builds still view the laundry room as an after-thought. It seems that some builders have no idea what goes on in the laundry room. One can only surmise by standing in some laundry rooms that the designer never handled a load of laundry before.

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Thank goodness laundry room are making their way out of the basement and garage and earning some dedicated square footage inside the house. There is nothing worse than doing laundry in a dirty environment.

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Designing with Laundry Work Flow in Mind

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Laundry work flow is important, just like the kitchen triangle. Laundry is quite a tedious unrelenting job so designers must be thoughtful about how they can make laundry more pleasurable.

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Create two separate areas in the laundry room: a ‘soiled’ area on the left or opposite side of the washer and a ‘clean’ area on the right or opposite side of the dryer.

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At least 24-36″ of counter space in the soiled area will be required for organizing and separating laundry into piles for different color and temperature loads. Built-in baskets or bins to house each load would be ideal. No one likes to put clothes on the floor, even soiled clothes.

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In the clean section of the room, if possible, add a bar for hanging damp clothes that do not go in the dryer. This is a wonderful selling point in any laundry room. No one wants to drape clothes over the dining chairs or hang them from the bathroom shower bar. No one likes those portable rolling laundry carts either as they are usually flimsy and are typically stored in garage where they get dirty.

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Make sure the hanging rod is deep enough to accommodate a normal sized hanger.

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For folding laundry, there should be enough flat counter space to fold a shirt. Ideally, there would be enough clean counter space, approximately 30-36″ to fold a shirt and also have the ability to pile stacks of folded clothes for everyone in the household. Some large homes have included an island in the laundry room for folding. Such a lovely idea if you have the space.

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To Sink or Not to Sink

Add a wide and deep sink if you have the room. This is the sink that will be used for cleaning up big messes, soaking dirty clothes, deep watering plants, cleaning mud from boots and a variety of dirty jobs.

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Place it away from the clean clothes section of the room, nearer to the washing machine and close to the exterior door.

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Doubling up Laundry Room as a Mud Room

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Many houses are making dual use of space and combining the laundry room with the entry or mud room. Design the layout so that the entry and mud room are on the ‘soiled’ end of the room. Muddy boots and dirty jackets do not mix well with clean hanging clothes.

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Pet Spaces

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Some designers have been touting space within the laundry room for pets to rest and shower. Unless you have an enormous laundry room, dirty pets and clean clothes don’t mix well together. If one has a combination mud room / laundry room, place the pet areas close to the dirty/soiled area. Your clean clothes will thank you.

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No wasted space.

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Living in Arizona makes one very appreciative of inside storage space as garages can get extremely hot in the desert. The same is true of cold weather geographies. Storing temperature sensitive items inside is a must.

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When planning your laundry room, think about maximizing storage.

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Design cabinets to go up to the ceiling for additional closed storage which also cuts down on dust settling on top.

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Plan for at least one deep, tall closed cabinet to store brooms, mops and other tall and bulky heavily-used utility items so the homeowner doesn’t have to retrieve these items from the garage.

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More ideas?

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I’d love to hear more ideas from readers on how builders and designers could make your laundry a bit more functional and thus pleasurable for homeowners.

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The changing season is the perfect time of year for freshening up your home. An inexpensive way to rejuvenate your look is to add a “pop of color” to the existing palette.

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Shades of blue would give your bedroom a breezy, coastal beach look.

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A touch of coral will turn that monochrome living room into happier, sunnier place.

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Orange will infuse a room with more passion and life.

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Green tones will bring more serenity and calm to your sitting room.

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Whichever color you choose to spruce up your house for the season, the below design tips will keep your pop of color choices from going horribly wrong.

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Warning: Adding pops of bright, saturated color in an otherwise calm, muted room may result in severe eye exhaustion.

Pops of color with neutral grey can be a wonderful color combination when executed properly and also can be quite agitating when done poorly.

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In the photo to the right, the eye is immediately drawn to the very bright yellow that contrasts sharply with the muted greys, beiges and creams of the living room.

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The eye is not allowed to rest when taking in the scene, bouncing back and forth between the yellow pillows and the accessories.

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Tip #1: Remember ‘Tint, Tone and Shade’ when adding color to a room

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Choosing the right tint, tone, or shade of color is important in balancing the current feel and mood of the room.

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In this room, pillows and ottomans in a paler toned-down yellow retain the overall serene feel of the room while still adding gorgeous color.

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Integrating additional patterned pillows in colors that coordinate to the room gives your eye a chance to rest and take in the overall room.

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What are Tint, Shade and Tone?

Tint: Hue mixed with white making it paler.

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Shade: Hue mixed with black, darkening the color.

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Tone: Hue mixed with grey, reducing the overall intensity or saturation of the color.

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(Source: HGTV Color Wheel Primer)

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Below is another pop of color gone slightly amiss due to lack of layering.

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The shade of the red used in the pillows and accessories works well, however, the eye still jumps back and forth between the red pops without resting.

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The beautiful coffered ceiling and the lovely architectural details are overlooked when they should be the stars of the room.

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Layers of color in a rug and draperies as well as using pillows with a pattern would help integrate the red into the overall plan of the room allowing the eye enjoy the wonderful millwork of this residence.

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Tip #2: Think about creating layers of color and pattern versus pops of color so the eye can rest on the whole space.

The eye rests in this lovely room. Pops of color are subtle and layered. The intensity of the orange-red hue of the patterned pillows is toned down. The creamy white of the walls and sofa is incorporated into the fabric. The complementary soft blue color creates harmony for the eye.

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The architectural elements like the arched doorways are not overshadowed by the pops of color. Note how the designer brings in a more intense color via the flowers and the leather bench.

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This pretty ivory, baby blue and orange room creates a lovely, rich layering of color.

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The orange hue brings out the warm finish on the two tables. Both subtle and bold color is infused into all corners of the room with the complementary tint of soft blue on the fabrics and accessories, the fresh geometric wallpaper and bright floral draperies.

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A summer refresh will not usually consist of new wallpaper (unless you are very daring). However, new draperies, rugs, and accessories can make a big impact on achieving layering of color in your room.

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Tip #3: Inexpensive pillows, draperies and slipcovers are great options for refreshing for the summer months.

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This room is an example of adding inexpensive pillows and draperies in gorgeous blue tones and patterns to a neutral colored room to make it breezy and airy. The two chairs upholstered in blue paisley fabric pull this room together. If reupholstery is outside of the budget, try slipcovers for refreshing your accent chairs.

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Warning: Using bright primary hues incorrectly can look like a children’s party exploded in your home.

The overload of bright color can be overpowering and chaotic even in a room that has strong fundamentals like this one: grey walls and a modern cozy sofa in a neutral dark grey shade.

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This room also suffers from a scale issue. This artwork sits too high on the wall and seems too small. The cocktail table is a bit too large for the sofa. The rug is too small for the space.

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Let’s quickly move along lest our retinas burn out.

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Tip #4: Artwork is a fabulous way to bring in seasonal color into a room. Change up art regularly to bring in new energy and color to the space.

Don’t be afraid to employ larger scale artwork showcasing bold color, especially with a neutral wall color. It will draw your eye immediately at first. Then, the eye will anchor to the ‘like’ colors in the room.

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The bold and colorful pieces including the teal geometric rug create a beautiful balance to the abstract artwork.

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Notice the designer did not add colorful pillows or other accessories. The color is layered simply and boldly.

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I would love to see what the rest of this room looks like. Unfortunately, the designer is unknown.

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Tip #5: Pops of color can go amiss when you are not 100% committed.

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Restraint that comes from fear of color can result in a room that is not quite right. The bedroom to the right feels like the designer was not 100% committed to a color refresh. Even the photographer seemed to realize this and added a pair of red Keds to the photo.

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It is a gorgeous bedroom that is so close to feeling layered and cozy. However, the red feels slightly forced to me.

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Let’s imagine there is an accent chair or pouf hiding just out of the photo frame that is upholstered in a gorgeous patterned fabric of grey, beige, red, and cream. Can you also see a breezy drapery fabric next to the sheers that brings color into the corner of the room? Ahh…thats better.

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Tip #6: To achieve a refresh that is infused with activity and color, choose items that are opposites in one aspect and the same in another aspect.

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This designer fully committed to color. The eye is drawn to the bold color of the rich blue sofa and the bold fuchsia pouf. The color is expertly sandwiched between two contrasting black and white elements. Bold stripes on the area rug oppose the abstract art on the wall creating energy.

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Low backed sofa and low pouf create opposition in bold colors. A modern red bar cart is placed nest to a traditional red area rug. The tiny bits of color from the books in the room play well with the expanse of color from the other elements.

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This is a room that I would love to explore.

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Significant changes do not have to be expensive or take a long time.

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Below is a beach rental house on Coronado Island in Southern California that I helped transform from a ‘chaotic carnival’ to a peaceful and serene retreat. The inexpensive updates took a few weeks and the house was immediately rented out. The owners are thrilled with the results and plan on updating floors and artwork in the future.

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The ‘before’ shot of the living room to the left is another retina-burning experience.

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The eye is drawn up to the citron outline of the ceiling coffer. It is then is distracted by the hanging kite-like structure. It moves to the bright teal walls (actually a really nice color) and is then lost in the chaos of mishmash furniture and accessories.

A warm white paint color provides a restful background for the simple and restrained beige, white, and blue-toned furnishings.

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The eye is drawn down and rests at the human level. The architectural elements can be appreciated in a more subtle way.

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In the ‘before’ kitchen to the left, the coolness of the silver cabinets and metallic backspace compete with the warmth of the granite countertops and the wood floor.

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Refreshing the cabinets and doors with a warm white eggshell paint brings a crisp, fresh look to the kitchen. The silver metal backsplash was replaced with white subway tile with white grout so as not to complete with the busy granite countertop. These simple changes bring a new warmth to the granite countertops for a completely new fresh look.

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Go ahead and use these tips to help you expertly use pops and layers of color to refresh your home for the summer!

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Please share your mistakes and successes in adding pops of color to your home.

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If you like these tips, feel free to share with friends on social media.

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Wishing you peace and joy,

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Donna Fedor-Brann

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Owner and Designer

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Donna Brann Interiors, LLC

I’ve always been a geek. More accurately, I am a strategic tech geek, which means I love thinking about “What if…?”.

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If you look closely, you can uncover many of ‘my kind’ in the interior design field. We love technical detail and precision and, at the same time, we adore breaking the rules. We balance raw, gut reactions with insightful data and intelligence. We love learning the fundamentals and finding insights within them. We revel in applying these insights to our designs in order to help our clients and their families live a little better.

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Our industry has already been capturing wonderfully deep insights on what interests our Customers via the plethora of digital media sources being accessed by them, including company websites, Instagram, and Facebook.

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I spent many years in the high tech industry specifically around how we better utilize sensing technology specifically for insights into health and wellness. Google has been running a long-term health and wellness research study on the quantified self using various sensing technologies including heart rate, blood pressure, and blood testing.

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It makes complete sense that they would look to expand that study into sensing a human being’s emotional reactions to their surroundings and their experiences.

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Metropolis Magazine’s April 18th article by Adrian Madlener revealed that Google Design Studio, Johns Hopkins University Art + Mind Lab, ReddyMade Designs and Muuto Design collaborated on “A Space for Being”. This very cool installation at 2019 Milan Design week focused on examining visitors’ reactions to the design of three (3) different rooms using sensing technology that tracked various biometric parameters.

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The ‘Essential’ room was designed to focus on a primal look with natural materials and fibers. The ‘Vital’ room was designed to evoke more energy with bright colors and angular lighting. The third room took on a more graceful and classical aesthetic and still included tactile surfaces.

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It will be very interesting to see what the data tells us or if the collaborators will publish the full set of data.

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What are your thoughts on this type of data?

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What if we could more easily quantify and monitor the feelings that arise when experiencing bliss, aversion or even the ‘ho-hum’ status quo response to an environment?

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What if we know how many people experienced agitation when looking at an art piece in a waiting room?

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Is the color chosen for the wall at your office bringing a deep sense of wellbeing to your employees?

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Will the insights gleaned from these simple and ubiquitous technologies allow designers to continue to uber-personalize spaces and items to evoke a specific response?

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Can these new insights help designers to further quantify new cutting edge ideas and see how far they are pushing boundaries?

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Can we expand the use of other senses in addition to our visual sense in planning for and gauging initial reactions to our designs so we can gain earlier insights on whether we are hitting the right balance for our clients?

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Will we find out that what our customers say to us and what they actually feel are vastly different?

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Some might argue that artists and creatives should not care about any of this data…that it is meaningless in creating art and design…and that we should continue to create by what moves us, regardless of the feedback of others.

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I, for one, am looking forward to learning how to use the knowledge from the quantification of this visceral data from both neurological and biometric sensing to impact how I design for my clients.

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It is a juicy topic that I’d love your feedback on.

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What are your thoughts?

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Link to Metropolis Magazine article:

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https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/google-milan-technology-neurology-installation/pic/54932

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Read this insightful article on the cost of hiring an Interior Designer from Houzz.

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https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/112598632/listhow-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-an-interior-designer

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“You can hire an interior designer for the level of service that fits your budget…full design services, a design plan, or a simple design consultation.”

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“..more often designers will have multiple ways they bill.”

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Donna Brann Interiors would love to help you create a space that reflects your lifestyle and personality…a space that makes you sigh contentedly when you open the door to your home. 

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