My Bathroom Retreat

Do you have a refreshing retreat at the end of the day?  I sure do!  In fact I think it's so important for all of us to have a place to unwind at the end of a long hard day that thought I might share a few tips with all of you on how I created my own little sanctuary right in the comforts of my own bathroom.

First let me say my master bath is not large by any stretch of the imagination!  In fact I've never had a large master bath in any of my homes.   I have however been blessed to have one specific key ingredient in my master baths, and that is a Jacuzzi tub.  In our first home as a married couple we had a very standard Jacuzzi type tub that I rarely used and personally thought to be quite a bit of trouble to clean.  But then in our previous home that we built ourselves I was adamant about having an extra long Jacuzzi tub.  It was quite enjoyable to stretch out in that by myself at the end of the day, after pulling the boys out of it first of course! 

 Those were the days, and I have such great memories (and photos that they won't let me share) of them enjoying that tub! 

This house we bought, not built, came with a corner Jacuzzi tub.  At first, because we had been in a rental for several months in between moves without a Jacuzzi tub, I was ecstatic when we first moved in.  Then after the reality of how large this tub was to clean I quickly became a bit dissolutioned.  Since we had also installed an outdoor Hot tub I didn't give our master bath tub much thought until I also tired of cleaning the outdoor Hot tub.  It was then that I decided that the Jacuzzi inside would be enough and we got rid of the hot tub outside.

One of the first things I had to do was to learn how to fill the tub to the correct levels with just the right amount of water at the right temperature.  Hard to do when your tub is so large that you run out of hot water before it is filled.

It was actually the Mr. that advised me to set the knobs completely on Hot from the minute I turn it on and then by the time it runs cool it will cool down the scalding water.  Lot's of trial and error here!

One of the next things I did was repaint the bathroom in a color that felt like a spa to me.

I love green and thought it also went well the existing taupe colored tiles that surround the tub.

The Mr. bought this lucky bamboo shorty after we first moved in almost 9 years ago this May.  It's grown quite a bit and been transferred into a new container, but remained here in this corner ever since. 

The next thing I did was to add a green glass chandy over the tub for ambiance lighting.  

It was a fairly simple project (or so I say) because it went where we already had an existing pot light right over the tub.  Thankfully the Mr. know's how to change out lighting easily enough!  The hardest part was finding a suitable surround to cover the hole from the recessed light that was larger then the chandy's base.

My own artwork was a must in here!  I actually created this piece for our old home to go over my long master bath.  It represents what I think a dream Master bath should feel like, a bit of paradise!

But the biggest tip I wanted to share with you today is about finding the right bath additives.

It has taken me years to find just the right bath salts and I really want to share this product with you too.  If you have a Jacuzzi tub you know how annoying it can be to use bubble bath.  I'm sure I don't have to remind you that the minute you turn on the jet's it isn't long before your tub is overflowing with bubbles.  This is not a problem with bath salts though!

I have my sweet oldest son to thank for finding me this excellent product.  He purchased this for me only a few years ago for Christmas when he first moved out of town.  He knew how much I loved the smell of lavender and told me he bought it from a health food store.   I was so excited to try it out and I quickly went thought my first jar in record time.  After googling this product online I found a store across town that carried it and drove out one day to buy a replacement.  I was quite frustrated to find out they were down to only one jar and weren't planning on replacing this product.

So when I finished up that jar recently (with a little help from the Mr.) I decided to just save myself some miles and try ordering this product online.  I was able to order it on sale just recently from Vitacost and also got a second jar for what one jar cost me in the health food store.  Now that's what I call a bargain!

Since going back to work I have looked forward to retreating to my bathroom at then end of the day quite a bit.

The lavender aromatherapy is so therapeutic and the refreshing to my skin and my senses.

I highly recommend creating a retreat for yourself too!  As you can see it really doesn't take much to turn your little bath into a very welcoming spot and yes, you are worth it!

This isn't really a new project for me but I am linking this up with 

Metamorphosis Monday

for those of you who may be considering a few changes of your own.

Sometimes all we need is a little inspiration!

I hope you all have a great day!