Luxe Bath Blog
Get Inspired with Different Bathroom Themes 0
The bathroom is your rightful personal space where you start your good day ahead and ends with a soothing wash down of the day’s stress. Coupled that with the right fixtures and decorations affects the ambience, and making it more than just a comfortable small area at home.
Here are a few styles that will definitely bring the wow factor into your house.
Spotless White
It is absolutely fine to keep a white bathroom if that is what you would prefer but if you are bored of it, jazz it up with some style. If a subtle change is what you want, choose tiles with a white base and minimum texture on it, just to give it a little pop.
Dark and Intimate
The current trend homeowners tend to go towards for their bathrooms would be dark and intimate, to aim for a spa-like bathroom. For most of us, a spa session is something we rarely have the time for so why not transform your bathroom into a spa?
Bright and Intimate
If you like the idea of an intimate spa-like bathroom but feels that dark colours are too gloomy for your liking, you are still able to create the same intimate ambience with lighter colours.
The best of both worlds
If neither dark nor light is what you want, why not combine and create your own spa-style? Mix it up with both dark and bright colours, keeping the secondary elements to complete the look.
Unwind and relax
Everyone wants a little break from life. Similar to the spa bathroom, the resort bathroom is a design which allows you to be surrounded by nature, but in a lighter tone.
‘Raw exposed’ Concrete
Having such a strong finish for the entire bathroom may not be suitable for most of us, due to the tough and raw image of it. If you are interested in a concrete finishing but thinks it’s too rough, there are ways to go around it for added elegance and classiness.
- Mai Perez
Candle Burning Tips 0
Preventing memory rings.As with all candles, the first burn is the most important. To begin, candles should burn one hour for every 1 inch in diameter of the actual candle size.
Use a lid for a clean burn.
Keep the wick trimmed to 1/8 inch at all times.
We suggest trimming the wick every 4 hours of burn time. When wick trimming, you should always extinguish the flame, let the candle come to room temperature, and trim the wick to 1/8 of inch before relighting.
Use a wick trimmer for a perfect trim.
Here’s how to properly use a wick trimmer:
- Place the bottom of the trimmer flush with the surface of the candle.
- Rock the trimmer back so that the “elbow” now rests on the surface of the candle.
- Ensure that your trimmer is at a 45-degree angle to get the proper wick length. This will prevent the wick from being cut too short, causing the candle to burn improperly.
- Bring the two handles together to trim the wick. Discard the remnant wick before lighting.
Candles should not be burned for more than four hours at a time.
It is recommended that after burning for four hours, candles be extinguished, allowed to cool for two hours, and trimmed before relighting.
Follow the half inch rule.
Discontinue use of a candle when ½” of wax remains at the bottom of the jar. This will prevent possible heat damage to the counter/surface or container itself. The glass can get hot on the bottom as the flame nears the base of the jar and most of the wax has been consumed. By following this instruction, the glass will not get too hot.
For safety’s sake.
Always burn candles well away from drafts, other heat sources, and anything flammable. Make sure burning candles are out of reach of children and pets. Never leave a burning candle unattended.
How to Store Your Candle Properly
The candle wax and fragrance oils we use in our candles are sensitive to both temperature and light, so please be careful when storing candles for an extended period of time. If you store your candle, be sure it is in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight or intense light. Keeping it in a dark place like a cupboard or box will protect it from fading and discoloration.
- Mai Perez
Top 10 Tips for Choosing Shower Tile 0
4. Small colored glass is easier to work with than large clear glass. Glass is hard to work with. Some clear glass tiles can show moisture trapped behind them and make a great shower look awful after just a few uses. Picking smaller colored glass tile is better. Many glass tiles have directional arrows so they all can be installed with the same orientation.
5. Use a second tile choice to make a feature wall. Adding a second tile choice as a feature is a great look I see more and more these days.
6. Pick a smaller tile for a sloped ceiling. Building a sloped ceiling is one of the many requirements of a commercial steam shower. Using smaller tiles makes for more graceful slopes.
7. Consider universal design. Pick a large-format tile and a one-way slope for easy access to the shower if you plan to age in your home. Using one tile throughout the installation can also make the room look much bigger.
8. Keep cleaning in mind. If you hate cleaning your shower, use larger slabs or glass panels, since they making cleaning much easier than small mosaic-type tiles.
9. Use your main tile to frame a second tile. If your main tile of choice does not offer good slip resistance on your shower floor, you can frame a smaller tile with a larger tile.
Keep in mind that you will need to miter the corners so they can tip into the shower and you can achieve the pitch you need.
10. Use smaller tiles for better traction. What a wonderful bathroom! Here, designer Helen Scott used the same smaller tile throughout the bathroom as accent tiles.
Notice how the shower hose and the shower bar are installed on the center of that one tile. I’m sure that was no accident.
- Mai Perez
10 Modern Bathroom Vanities That Overflow With Style 0
- Mai Perez
7 Must-Read Tips On Choosing Bathroom Lighting 0
The process of choosing lighting for a bathroom design can be overwhelming. The vanity, tub area and shower all require different lighting choices, but the bathroom's overall design still needs to feel stylish and cohesive.
1. Consider Side-Mounted Sconces
Side-mounted sconces, like this one, are one of the best lighting options for a bathroom. Whether one is used on either side of a mirror or mounted onto a mirror directly with shades placed at eye-level, there are a few factors to take into account:
- Mount the backplate of a vertical, tube-shaped fixture at eye-level.
- The shade opening of glass down-lights should sit slightly below eye-level.
- The shade opening of glass up-lights should sit slightly above eye-level.
- If your mirror is centered above the sink, mount fixtures just a few inches to the left and right of the mirror. It should be as close to your face as possible.
2. Plan for Layers of Light
Any bathroom can benefit from three layers of light to enhance the beauty of the space. To ensure that light is distributed evenly, opt for a combination of ambient light in the form of chandeliers, pendants or flush mounts, a second layer — task lighting that's ideal for daily grooming activities like applying makeup or shaving — and a third layer, accent lighting, which is designed to highlight the bathroom's architectural features and decor. Shop the style in this bathroom picture with this fixture.
3. Use Pendants as an Alternative
For an alternative to sconces, consider pendants, like this one or this one. They're an elegant lighting option for a vanity, but can also function as ambient or accent lighting if necessary.
4. Stick to Similar Finishes
While it's not necessary for the style of sconces to match overhead fixtures, it's best to keep them in the same finish family to maintain unity in the bathroom's overall design. Shop the style from this chic bathroom with this fixture.
5. Remember the Tub Area
A sconce is the perfect solution for creating a special ambiance for a tub area. It adds to the soothing atmosphere that can be difficult to achieve with an overhead fixture.
6. Choose Brass or Chrome for Versatility
When it comes to finishes, brass and chrome are the most versatile, as they can easily complement other bath accessories.
7. A Fixture's Size Matters
Depending on the size and style of a bathroom, a pendant light or chandelier can make it feel palatial. The right fixture can make a statement and set the tone for the bathroom's design. Shop this bathroom's perfect fixture match.
- Mai Perez
Right Way To Burn Candle 0
You've been burning candles wrong your whole life.
Heed the following guidelines and you'll get way more mileage out of your favorite candles.
1. Trim the wick. Every. Single. Time.
Each time you want to burn your candle, start by trimming the wick to between 1/8 and 1/4 inches long. You can use scissors, nail clippers (that's my personal favorite), or a specialized wick trimmer, but no matter what you do, always trim.
Why? First, trimmed wicks will give you a cleaner, brighter burn. Untrimmed wicks are a lot more likely to take on a weird mushroom-esque shape (see below) that dulls and obscures the flame.
2. Let the wax melt all the way across. Once your candle's lit, don't blow it out until the top layer of wax has melted all the way across. This might take several hours — so don't set out to burn a candle at all unless you've got time to kill.
It takes patience, but if you melt the wax all the way across every time you burn, the surface of the candle will stay flat and the sides of the jar will stay clean, all the way down until the candle is spent.
3. Buy multi-wick candles. One wick will never produce enough heat to melt it all the way across.
4. Keep the flame away from moving air. Do your best to keep your burning candle away from fans, air conditioners, open windows, or heavily trafficked areas where people walk back and forth a lot. Moving air can disturb the flame, leading to even more unsightly black marks on the glass.
Bad burning technique on the left, good burning technique on the right.
- Mai Perez
