Supernatural Botanicals

Great skincare products can be found right in the pantry of your kitchen.  Not only are they healthier for you, they are also on the cheap.  Baking soda is a great way to exfoliate your skin.  Because baking soda contains tiny granules of sodium bicarbonate, it makes for the perfect substance to lightly exfoliate your skin.  It also has antiseptic properties that will ward off breakouts.  Simply make a paste with a palm-full of baking soda combined with a small amount of water.  Apply to face, working in a circular motion, and allow to dry for three minutes.  Rinse away with warm water, followed with a splash of cold to close pores.  Keeps your skin looking refreshed and blemish-free.

Try this trick the next time you give yourself a French manicure.  To get the curved white tip, simply wrap a rubberband around your finger, which pulls the skin taut, and allows for the perfect curve to paint your white strip.  Simple, easy, pretty.

Another home office to love!  Take advantage of the niches, arches, and insets in your house.  Remove the doors off of a closet, and create an inset desk with great bookshelves (I did!)  Take advantage of existing alcoves, or have a carpenter build these for you.  It’s an easy project for a professional….questionable if it’s your husband doing the work.  Use your better judgment on that one depending on the husband.

Great idea to take advantage of every inch of space in your home.

     And from the drop-dead-gorgeous files, we have the Tuscany Bramasole bed.  (think Bramasole villa in Under The Tuscan Sun.)  This is luxury bedding at its finest (a favorite indulgence of mine.)    How could you leave this room?  Ever?  Gorgeousness!  A total sanctuary. 

I mean, it’s completely unattainable to recreate.  Unless you are sharing your room with a really great carpenter, you are probably not going to achieve ceilings this high or columns and wall architecture this intricate.  I think I could do my best DIY project and recreate this room somewhat, but that ceiling height is untouchable.   I’m loving those argyle columns at the top.  Very chic.

It’s a great look to steal.  Rich, buttery hues of golds and yellows against the deep dark finish of the bed…perfection.  The khaki bedding works well with the overall hues, as opposed to fighting them with patterns or opposing color combinations.  I’m against the rug, however.  Upon first glance, I see Santa Fe.  I need something more Italian and less New Mexico.  The colors work, the pattern does not, in my opinion.  I’d like to see a longer fibered, softer, more luxurious rug.  Bedrooms need a soft place for your feet, espeically if you have hardwood or tile as the main flooring.  A rug is also a great way to update a room and make it feel completely different in one step.   

If you adore interior design and houses, you’ll love my friend, Julia’s, blog, Hooked on Houses.  Such a great blog.  Check out her Dali Wall Decals today.