INSPIRATION TO CREATE YOUR OWN SPECIAL GETAWAY OR RETREAT
Getaways & Retreats - Jayne Oliphant-Thompson from Jotty’s inspires us to create our own special Retreat or Getaway either as an area in our own home or in another place. A true “Getaway” is somewhere that encourages family gatherings and a place for personal renewal. It is a special place that provides an escape, a Retreat, a Haven – and it can be found in a variety of different forms in various locations. It doesn’t have to be a Log Cabin in the Mountains, or an elegant Villa by the Sea, it can be a part of your own house – it simply needs to be a place that encourages an easy-going spirit, where families and friends can gather to relax and recharge themselves. It can be a Harbour hideaway, or a one room Cottage, a Tree House, an Arbour in a garden, an old Boat, a Weekend Home – it’s a place that serves as a private refuge in the midst of our busy lives. It’s simply a private escape where we can nurture our physical and spiritual well being ands it’s now more important than ever to find that place.
In this article we reveal some simple design elements that can inspire a feeling of comfort and warmth in any home. We’ll help you to gain a vision for how to create a getaway of your own. Let’s first start with lighting ….
Atmospheric Lighting - Candles are the most subtle and stylish way of lighting your home to create a haven. They are also the fastest and easiest way to transform an every day space. Whether you want to create a haven of tranquillity or an intimate sanctuary, or a decadent dining area, candles are the key component. They bring a magical feel to any setting.
We should decorate with Candles every day. Candles at the table create a relaxed family meal and encourage everyone to stay and talk at the table much longer. I always find that if I light an arrangement of candles on the table at the evening meal time, my children are never in quite the same hurry to leave the table after they have finished eating. Make sure you always have a good supply of candles on hand. Tealights are always useful and can be popped into all sorts of containers to create a small, cosy, calming light effect. Glass Storm Lanterns filled with candles create a soft glow.
If your Retreat is a Garden Room, or a Conservatory, then create a more subtle light effect by simply filling a large tray (round or square) or deep round glass dish with lots of Tea Lights popped into recycled glass holders to give a concentrated light source – perfect as a table centrepiece, or take them around the house and place them on window ledges or dotted around individually, to add a warm welcoming touch to your home.
Lanterns - If your Garden is normally your Sanctuary or Retreat, then in the Summer you can light up the garden with multiple Lanterns hanging from a single tree. In winter, when you can’t use your garden, bring the lanterns into your home. Hang them from crooks that you can have standing in buckets filled with sand and topped up with a layer of pebbles and maybe even some shells and use them in you bathroom instead to remind you whilst soaking in the bath of summer evenings spent in the garden.
Outdoor Candles - There is something very special about using candles outdoors. Candles positioned along a garden path or at the steps to the front door look stunning. And if you prefer a real flame light, then Garden Torches are both lightweight and affordable for all year round use. We have a range of Tropical and Spiral Torches that are manufactured from stainless steel and aluminium and standing over 7ft tall they produce very dramatic real flame lighting.
Natural Candles - At Jotty’s, we have a fabulous range of Natural Bamboo outdoor candles (handmade beeswax), the smallest candle in this range burns for 170 hours, the largest burns for 320 hours. I use these Bamboo candles to help create a peaceful sanctuary in the bathroom at home because they create a wonderful dancing flicker of light all around the bathroom wall, floor and ceiling – perfect for that long hot soak in the bath.
A Fragrant Escape - A Getaway does not always necessitate a journey to a Beach House or weekend home in the country. For many of us it can be a room in our home or a secluded shade-covered edge of our garden. For me, it’s the natural stone tiled Bathroom in my home that has all the elements and accoutrements required for sanctuary and retreat. In this room, I feel as though I am a guest in my own home”. It’s wonderful to soak in a steaming bathtub and fill my senses with the various fragrances that waft through the open French doors that lead onto the large balcony overlooking the garden. It’s a very spacious bathroom with no clutter in it. The bath itself is an enormous high-backed Victorian Slipper Bath freestanding in the centre of the room. “I relish every moment in there, it’s thoroughly relaxing – an idyllic getaway where no-one disturbs you.”
Silk Flowers - No Getaway or Retreat would be complete without flowers and what better way to keep it truly alive than with stunning floral arrangements shown here. For me, flowers are essentials, not luxuries. When I used to work with my husband in our corporate offices in the city, I would always buy fresh flowers (usually Lilies) and plants both for the office and also for our home. Now running my own business and having a family to look after, my own environment is just as important to me and my house and office are still full of flowers.
The difference being that I no longer have time to shop for them regularly, I’m hopeless at remembering to water plants and I detest having to clean out grungy vases, so the flowers in our house are now mostly beautiful reproductions.
I discovered these marvellous silk flowers that I can place in dim or draughty corners where real ones simply wouldn’t survive, and haven’t looked back since. They look incredibly realistic and require no looking after at all. They are perfect for your Getaway/Retreat because no matter how long it is before your next visit, they will still look just as stunning and they even come with their own flower scent spray.
Sitting around the Camp Fire - My favourite way to create that special place of Retreat in the garden is by using a Brazier to give that real-fire feeling on the deck or patio (Available from Jotty’s). These stunning Braziers help create that campfire feel - essential to all Retreats.
Natural style - When creating a Retreat/Getaway for a client, then my preferred style is to use natural products particularly when the Retreat is in a rural setting. Nothing beats wood that seems to have come straight from the forest. It breathes life into a building and gives us a spiritual link with nature. It needs only a little imagination to transform a collection of twigs and branches into a lamp base or into a Mirror Frame straight from the woods. Here we feature these stunning “Twig-style” mirrors (available from Jotty’s) to help create this natural theme within our Retreat
Bed Covers/Throws/Floor Cushions - For that special Retreat or Getaway, essential accessories must include those “just to die for” Bed Covers/Throws and Floor Cushions that truly make a luxurious retreat. Why not treat yourself to some of our new collection made from exquisite raw materials – beautiful suede’s, sheepskin and soft leathers.
We hope we have given you some new ideas of stunning accessories to furnish your existing Getaways and Retreats and some inspiration to others for how to create that special place in your own home.