CasaSugar

Casa Quickie: Citrus Scent For Summer

CasaSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:00:26 -0700

If your home is smelling a little pungent thanks to good old-fashioned Summer sweat or maybe the fish and chips you fried up for dinner, you can make a natural air freshener to kick those odors to the curb. During your endless Summer, citrus is the key to keeping things smelling sweet. Peel off the rinds of lemons, oranges, grapefruits, or what have you and simmer them in a large pot. Toss in some cloves and star anise and let it be. Soon, the interior of your home will smell as fresh as your backyard lemon tree!
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Cool Idea: Scented Tassels

CasaSugar — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:00:38 -0700

TasselAire perfumed tassels ($35) infuse a subtle fragrance into the air of your home, simply by hanging them on your doorknobs, closet hooks, or armoire keys (if you've got one). You can also use them as tie-backs of curtains. There's a decent variety of scents available, including lavender and rosemary, bitter orange, and Mediterranean jasmine. Assuming they smell nice, I love the idea of taking something that's typically used simply for decoration and giving it a new purpose. Potpourri is SO over!! I'm also loving the pretty box they come in. Do I smell a reimagined tassel trend approaching? I'm just waiting for Blik to make tassel wall decals . . .

Gift Guide: Scented Candles for the Long-Distance Girlfriend

CasaSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:00:14 -0800

If you really love your long distance gal pals, this holiday you should give them something they probably won't be buying themselves: scented candles. Scented candles will be the last thing on your girlfriends' minds or shopping lists during the holiday rush, but they're just that spoonful of sugar they'll need to unwind from the holiday hustle. That is, unless your friend is yours truly, who just bought herself this intoxicating and ultra-relaxing candle. Yes, I basically just proved myself wrong . . . but regardless, I've rounded up a handful of scented candles at various price points that you truly can't go wrong with. To see (or smell) my picks, click the images below.

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Giveaway of the Week! method Air Care Gift Set

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:05:35 -0700

Thanks to our generous friends over at method, we've been hosting a series of sweet giveaways over the past three weeks, wherein every week, one lucky CasaSugar reader wins a set of method eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning products. Congratulations to Clarkbar9, who won last week's prize of a method Home Care Gift Basket!

Well, this is our final method giveaway, and this time, we're offering a delicious-smelling Air Care Gift Set worth $54. The set features a selection of scented goodies and air-freshening products, including:

2 Aroma Candles
1 Aroma Pill
1 Aroma Ring
1 Aroma Spray
1 Box of Aroma Sticks

To enter this week's giveaway, simply leave a comment in the comments section below by 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 14. We'll announce the winner next Monday, Sept. 17. Please, only ONE comment per person; duplicate comments will be discarded. You must be a TeamSugar member to comment, so if you're not a member, please register here. For the rules and regulations, click here.

Casa Quickie: Herbal Power For Your Shower

CasaSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:30:16 -0700

To create a spa-like environment in your bathroom, simply add some herbs. One of my favorite scents is rosemary, which adds a spicy, bracing scent to a room. Cut the herb, wrap it with ribbon or thread, and hang it from your shower. Then, as you bathe, the hot steam will release the scent of the herb and wake up your senses as you scrub and shampoo. Other great herbs to try include peppermint, lavender, or sage.

Midday Muse: Home Scents

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:00:18 -0800

I love the scent of lavender, and try to integrate it into my house in subtle ways. I tuck it into pouches that I sew and then put in clothing drawers, and also have used it as a scent for linen spray. Since lavender grows in my garden, I always have a fresh supply of the herb. Do you have a signature scent in your home?

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Do You Light Candles by Your Bedside?

CasaSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:00:58 -0700

Candles can be a calming addition to your nighttime routine. I know that lighting some delicately scented soy candles at night definitely gets me ready to settle in for some shuteye. Do you light candles to help you settle in for a good night's sleep, or, perhaps, set the mood for romance?
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Casa Interview, Part II: Domino Founding Editor Deborah Needleman (and an Awesome Giveaway!)

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:00:39 -0700

Deborah Needleman, the founding editor of Domino, is a goldmine of savvy advice on decorating your home, honed from years of experience heading up the style-centric magazine as well as decorating her own home. You can read the first half of my interview with her here. Deborah's tips and thoughts on decorating continue in the second half of this interview.

Our homes are really personal spaces. Considering that most of us are shopping from the same few décor retailers and finding inspiration in the same shelter magazines and blogs, how should we go about personalizing our homes?
Every home definitely needs a few old things and a couple unique things. And when most of what we have is mass-produced, it's more important than ever to have some things made by actual human hands, whether it's pottery, rugs, pictures, whatever. It is essential to find a few things that no one else has, whether you find them in a shop, at a tag sale, bring them back from a trip, collect them from nature, or even make them - like just tacking up drawings or notes from friends. Stuff that is meaningful to us, what we love or collect or find is interesting to our guests. I also do think it's really nice to have one really good piece - whether that's a table, rug, chandelier, whatever. It gives your room some substance, some weight - and also ensures it doesn't look like anyone else's.

To read the rest of the interview, read more.

I love your home, which I saw featured in New York magazine a few years ago. I know that you’re a big fan of neutrals and white, or at least you were when that article was written. Are you still a neutrals gal?
Thanks. It's funny, in New York City which is so chaotic and where I get easily overwhelmed, I need to be a neutral gal. It totally calms me down, and keeps my head clear. But upstate, where I feel more relaxed, I love layering patterns and color - florals, suzanis, chintzes, Indian prints, etc. I'm covering my sofa there in purple linen, my study is painted black, and one room is the craziest color green I've ever seen.

I love how your home is elegant and adult-oriented, yet still kid-accessible. What is your advice on and personal experience with creating gorgeous spaces that are also kid-friendly?
I have never understood dumbing down design for kids. No one had kid-friendly homes when I was growing up - people just had the homes they had and their children lived in them! A family home is for adults and children - why on earth would anyone give over their living room to let it look like a play room?! I'll probably get hate mail for this, but aside from a gate so children don't tumble down the stairs, and maybe a lock on the cabinet if you have the kind of children that want to eat the Ajax or whatever, children can be taught that table edges are sharp and that food is to be eaten in the kitchen and that open markers can't be left on the rug!

Other than that, if you have a fairly light palette like I do, you have to accept that you won't have the cleanest house in the world. Fortunately I like a bit of a patina on things! I like that the floor is scuffed by skateboards in part because I love a house where children feel free to run wild, have loads of friends over, and make forts out of the sofa cushions, but also where they have a sense of responsibility and respect for things. Oh, and I have cheap rugs, so if they get destroyed, I won't be sad! And I certainly wouldn't choose a linen velvet sofa fabric if I had to do it again! Kids don't rule the roost, they share it.

Your HomeGoods StyleScope tool helps home decorators find their style. How would you describe your own style?
I think I'm fairly conventional at core - I couldn't have furniture at funny angles or a bed floating in a room or anything too wacky or "fun." I dig symmetry. I like things that are classic in shape and form - not overly embellished, but I appreciate many kinds of design. I think I take this fairly classic base and mess it up a bit. I'm certainly not traditional. I like to layer on personality and quirk with ethnic textiles, cushions, interesting objects, fabrics, and art. I love stuff from India, Morocco, England. Thus, Bohemian Classic.

And to revive a favorite Domino feature of mine, what are 10 things that make you happy?
Hilarious question! Well, first of all, we never let people say their children or their dogs!!! Too boring and obvious.

Nearly all Santa Maria Novella products (if I could only choose one thing, it'd be their potpourri. But I'm crazy about the milk body cream, the honeysuckle perfume, and the pomegranate soap and bath salts). I am obsessed with scent - on my body and in my home!
My veg garden. (Really, seeing my children eat their way through our veg garden, but at Domino I would've edited that out as too sentimental!)
Making flower arrangements for the house.
My white parsons table (I have two) - and a brilliant new parsons side table in the pitch-perfect green color.
Comfy chairs in kitchens and bathrooms.
Cheap weekly blowouts from walk-in, no-appointment places.
Summer dinner outside with friends.
Staying in a lovely hotel room (never a trendy hotel, I like old-school, old-fashioned hotels). I love that nothing belongs to me and the beds are perfectly made. The Duc du St. Simon in Paris is pretty excellent.
Bobbi Brown makeup. Makes you look sun-kissed, not dolled up.
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't say this, but having a decorator!! Specifically having the genius Rita Konig as a decorator!

Thank you, Deborah! We have a special giveaway for you CasaSugar readers on the way. One of you lucky readers will win a $500 gift card to HomeGoods! Check back for more details about the giveaway later on today!

Casa Beta: Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection

CasaSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:30:21 -0700

I recently received the Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection ($65) in the mail. The set contains six cream-colored, soy wax candles in six different fragrances. Each candle comes in a clear glass vessel, which is individually wrapped in cellophane and tied with a satin ribbon. I was excited to try all of the scents, but since I knew that it would take me a long time to get through all of them, I enlisted some help from my Sugar friends.

To see what we thought of the set, read more.

I loved the gift box that the candles arrived in, which features a beautiful tree motif. It's sturdy enough to re-use for another craft project or gift-giving opportunity in the future. However, one problem with it was that some of the oil from each candle was pooled in the cellophane of every packaged candle. This may have been due to the fact that the box was sitting on its side, and the problem could've been remedied by storing the box upright.

Green Bamboo Jasmine: PetSugar reported some pros and cons with her candle. She says, "The candle seemed to burn very slowly - I only had it lit for about an hour and there was barely any noticeable difference in melt rate, so it’d last for a while. When I woke up, I could still smell the effects from the night before. However, when removing from the packaging, this candle was wet/sticky and my hands smelled of strong fragrance even after I washed them. While burning, it still smelled very strong and distracting . . . but part of that could have been the residual scent from the liquid/ packaging on my hands. I think if I loved the scent, or loved smelly candles, I would have loved this. Its potency was but a bit too much for me to handle every day. "

Tonka Bean Fig: This candle was tested by FabSugar, who reports, "I lit the Tonka Bean Fig candle this past weekend and I loved it. It permeated through the house, smelled sweet, and reminded me of men’s cologne. It also burned great and didn’t leave a smoky residue in my house."

Amber Vanilla Hazelnut: Unfortunately, geeksugar's candle didn't live up to her expectations. "The candle was oily inside its packaging, which made it a pain to hold, and to light (it took me several tries and a burnt thumb). When I did finally get it lit, the smell - which was lovely to sniff cold - was very subtle. Too subtle, in fact. Not only did it not waft around the room with its smell, it didn't waft at all. The only way I could smell a scent at all is if I put my nose directly over the candle (far enough away that I didn't burn my nose hairs off, of course). I extinguished it after an hour since it wasn't smelling up my home like I'd wanted it to."

Sheer White Musk: I'm not normally drawn to musky scents, so I was surprised to enjoy this one. It was light, clean, and very earthy with some subtle notes of jasmine and violet. I used it in a room that was smelling a bit musty, and it definitely freshened up the room. But, it didn't really seem to waft well - my go-to candles can normally be smelled throughout the house.

Lily Orange Blossom: I love the smell of citrus blossoms, so I was excited to light this candle. While I loved the scent when it was unlit, once I struck a match to its wick, I had a hard time discerning the blossomy scent. I let it burn for about an hour, and while the scent was definitely there, it was very subtle, unless I was very close to the candle. I'm not a fan of overwhelming scents, but I would've enjoyed a more robust scent here.

Honey Lemon Crème: This candle has a lovely, rich scent that reminds me of sugar (or should I say honey?) cookies. Its scent, too, was quite subtle, but added a lovely, cozy smell to my home. Who needs to bake when you can simply light one of these candles?

Do You Have Roses in Your Garden?

CasaSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:00:43 -0700

Roses add elegance and color to any garden space. While many modern-day cut rose varieties are bred for looks rather than scent, my favorites are the old, fragrant varieties. They may not have a perfect appearance, but they smell wonderful.

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