31 Days of Sensuality Day 24: Make Space For Sexy By Revamping Your Living Area

1.) Lighting: When creating a mood, one of the most underrated areas is lighting, but of all the changes it can have the most dramatic effect on a space. For sensual lighting, we recommend lowering the lights and using bulbs with a warm color temperature (colors ranging from soft yellows to ambers to reds). Stay away from anything too bright, stark white, or with bluish or greenish undertones.Twinkle/string lights set a starry evening vibe, and draping a scarf over a lampshade is a quick way to tone down or change up the color of your lights (just be careful this can be a fire hazard if you don’t have LED lights). Candlelight or a boudoir-style chandelier will also lend itself to a more sensual ambiance.

2.) Fragrance: We all know an average-looking person can suddenly become sexy when you catch a whiff of a sultry scent wafting off them. The same can be said for a space. Try to find your scent signature. Do you like florals, musky, fruity, or fresh scents? Explore fragrances with those notes and up the sexy in your bedroom. You can use a room spray to add a temporary boost to the air, try a lavender linen spray on your pillows and sheets for increased relaxation, and scented candles, diffuser oils, or incense can add a longer lasting aroma to the air. Just don’t overdo it on the fragrance and give yourself a headache!

3.) Music: Even the quietest whisper of a smooth soundtrack can change the energy of your space into something sensual. My personal go-to is neo-soul or trip-hop when I’m feeling sensual and want to relax or get intimate with myself, however, you know what you like. Because I live in a city, sometimes I will layer my music with white nature noise such as bird songs or crickets, or the sound of beach waves crashing. It gives me the feeling of being closer to nature while listening to music.

4.) Textiles: Even if you live in the coldest most industrial loft, you can sensualize your space by adding the right textiles. Anything that speaks to your senses is a go, but for sensuality, I like to lean towards furry or silky materials. The bed is the focal point of the bedroom so try stepping your bedding game up by getting some hotel-quality sheets. Silk or satin sheets can give you a bit of slip against your skin and bonus points: sleeping on satin is great for your hair! Filter the light and give yourself some privacy with an extra-long window treatment that pools just a bit on the floor. Throw pillows and rugs warm things up and can add additional texture and color of your choice.

5.) Art and Paint: If you want to go for a more dramatic or permanent sensualization option, the paint will take you there. It’s such an affordable facelift and instantly changes the ambiance. For a sensual bedroom, I’d lean towards muted colors, neutrals, pastels, or moody dark shades as opposed to brights, neons, or whites. you can make a huge impact by painting the wall that your bed is against, but if you really want to immerse yourself in the color, paint all the walls and even the ceiling. If you’re living in an apartment or somewhere you can’t paint, you can still put up some art or hang an over-sized piece of fabric/tapestry on the wall to change up the mood. For a cheap and removable wallpaper job, you can buy rolls of fabric from a fabric store and apply them to the wall with a water and starch mixture that is will come right off when you’re ready to leave.

6.) Personal Touches: Add a bit more of your personality by creating a focal point for your room that represents who you are. I was at a little restaurant in upstate NY and stumbled into a really inspiring display where they’d hung red roses from the ceiling. You could play with ideas like that and make it your own. Maybe an entire wall of flowers behind your bed would inspire you. Maybe adding a water feature with floating candles would make your space feel sexy to you.

Think outside the box. It doesn’t have to be expensive or dramatic to make an impact. Sensualizing your space is really about tapping into your inner self and pulling out those ideas that make you feel cozy, sexy, relaxed, and happy inside and re-interpreting them into physical manifestations.

Good luck!