Luxury lifestyle incorporates homes, second homes, travel, food, wine and other luxury indulgences.
by Roberta Murphy While going through a luxury home in Del Mar recently, our client was surprised to discover a snoring room off the opulent master suite. It measured perhaps 8 by 10 feet, and was furnished with a simple twin bed, a lamp and an easy chair. The room bore no resemblance to the larger bedroom, and at first glance might have been perceived as the proverbial dog house…
by Roberta Murphy In an emerging trend, more and more upscale spas are offering a self service option. Perhaps they are hoping to appeal to the spa-shy or those who might see the spa visit as a social opportunity, where friends or significant others can apply treatments to each other. Wrap your pampered brain around this scenario reported by The Wall Street Journal: At Manhattans Townhouse Spa, you can receive…
by Roberta Murphy Hallmark, you’ve done it again. All right. You must have known that I suffer from occasional bouts of bumbling wordlessness when: Someone confesses to being diagnosed with cancer. When infertile friends share they are considering adoption after years of infertility. A family friend shares his Alzheimers diagnosis. Our neighbors announce their divorce. My brother-in-law loses his job. Life surprises. It appears Hallmark Cards is going to allow…
Last night I wrote about Kohler’s $6000 overflowing bathtub that has been added to my Dream List, but now have a more practical and traditional suggestion for Valentine’s Day. How about some award-winning and long-lasting flowers? Our friend, Marian Meyers with the infectious smile and impeccable taste in wine and food, owns FlowerGram, an online service that just took top honors in beauty and lasting floral freshness. It was a War of the Roses contest conducted by New York’s…
Proposed by Roberta Murphy It’s probably unrealistic to wish for one of these on Valentine’s Eve, but it never hurts to dream (or hint!). I love the sexy looks of Jan Puylaaert’s illuminated tub, but Kohler with its patented SOK Tub for Two probably takes the honors. Note how it can be filled from an overhead fixture—and how champagne bubbles are generated with the touch of a switch. Kohler’s exquisitely designed and…
I am seasoned enough to have had more than a few stoves and cooktops in my cooking life. There have been the ones I hate (Frigidaire’s electric/glass cooktop, for example) because they have no self control—and allow little from me. Favorites have included a great big commercial Garland with six burners, large oven, a salamander and a spacious grill. Those were the days! But the hands down favorite cooktop of my life…
by Roberta Murphy I used to joke about needing a cell phone implant that I could answer with the twitch of a nose. That way I wouldnt have to play hide and seek with my phone and jump out of the shower when I hear it ringing. (Its really not that bad these days. I am a recovered celloholic who only occasionally relapses). Fujitsu Genies, after three long years of…
by Roberta Murphy A television on display in a well-appointed master bedroom? Banish the thought! A bedroom television is never seen in home decor magazines, model homes or in Feng-Shui-directed abodes. At the very least, a bedroom television is hidden in cabinets because sleeping areas are seen as sacred sanctuaries and spaces. Yet, how many of us watch television while in bed and wish we could totally hide the evidence?…
by Roberta Murphy Though I live in palmy, balmy coastal San Diego County, my south-facing office windows at the Carlsbad Forum occasionally melt candles and ignite otherwise cool tempers. These floor-to-ceiling shaded and plant-screened windows were just tinted in a last-ditch effort to avoid black-out draperies and one very grumpy Realtor and writer. That may explain an unusual and abiding interest in windows technology. And there must be a Murphys…
by Roberta Murphy It is with blushing embarrassment that I admit to still listening to a vintage Sony Jukebox which holds 100 CD’s, and that I bought my own personal i-POD less than two years ago. (Are these confessions allowed in a luxury home blog?) There is hope, though, for audinosaurs such as this writer. A couple of week’s ago The Tomato’s Jim Cronin suggested I take a look at the Sonos Digital Music System. He…
