by Linda M Hahn

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: March 08, 2012

Ambiance is the most critical part of at home pampering. Home should be the place you like the most and feel the best - the most comfortable place in the world. If your home is cluttered, dirty, or noisy, you will not be able to tap into the peace. So throw out all the excess junk, do a little cleaning, and create your own ambiance, at least in one area or room.

There are many tools that can be used for this purpose. These tools all involve the five senses, touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. Dressing for dinner is a pampering tool. It's true that sweats are comfortable and warm; but it's also true that dressing up a bit feels good. The touch of silk or satin on the skin is most satisfactory and it accentuates the feeling of luxury. A bath can do this as well, a bubbly or silky candlelit bath. A massage will do as well.

Food is next. Often food is just seen as fuel for the body or a way to stop hunger; but it can be so much more. The easiest way is to import delicacies from the supermarket or deli. Frozen appetizers can be quickly cooked. Sometimes a childhood comfort food is the way to go as it brings back sensory memories of the safety of childhood. At other times a person might want foods they usually don't have, such as a special luxury type dish or maybe ethnic food. A special meal can be delivered from a restaurant or made in your own kitchen. It doesn't have to be expensive, just a little different than the usual fare.

Visually, lighting is very important. Candles soften the appearance of a room, and the mood becomes stimulating as well as relaxing. Other soft lighting might be one little blue light in a corner or some form of lava lamp, thereby adding movement to the light, in much the same way a candle does. Combine the visual with the olfactory sense and use aroma therapy to create mood.  Whether it is candles, soap, perfume, or incense, what a person smells can send them into orbit.

The last sense to be addressed is hearing. Music, a bubbling stream, the ocean, or birds chirping are possibilities. Relaxation tapes can provide some of these. The varieties and combinations of sensory delights that are possible are unlimited. Ambiance is what you make it.

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