3 Simple Ways to Add Luxury to your Life

January 10, 2024 Janet Lorusso

I think, whether they realize it or not, everyone longs to live graciously. And a few small, easy changes can add a touch of luxury and enjoyment to every day living.

Having just finished binge watching the latest season of The Crown (best intro music ever BTW), I am, once again, wondering how I missed my calling to be a princess.

I mean, I don’t have staff…but I am extremely grateful to have a cleaning service that comes in occasionally because I don’t ever “find the time” to clean my bathrooms as I would rather spend any leisure time cooking and entertaining friends.

And I don’t have a gardener, or a ladies maid, though I do retain a yard service so I don’t have to wrestle a lawnmower or deal with leaves on the lawn anymore, and I do, since the ORC last spring, have a beautifully organized closet.

But I suspect I am not alone in the desire to live like royalty. And by living like royalty, I do not mean an attitude of entitlement, but rather the idea of living a lifestyle of graciousness and refinement that seems to come with the job.

I’m sure there are downsides…the constant scrutiny of the media, the ever-present lurking security detail, and the general lack of privacy and lack of autonomy in many ways…but I’ve always secretly fantasized about suffering through all that.

There are, however, a number of ways in which you can live like a prince or princess, royal title optional.

Here are our 3 favorites:

Keep fresh flowers around your home.

Royals and top tier hotels have elaborate floral arrangements delivered weekly for the public rooms. Fresh flowers are the essence of indulgence - they are beautiful and fleeting.

Many years ago, I read that you should devote 5% of your weekly budget to fresh flowers. That seems like a lot. A lovely ideal but perhaps impractical for many of us.

But, there are many inexpensive ways to get fresh flowers or greenery. I mean, if there are tree branches or flowers in your yard, you can cut them and bring them inside!

There is nothing more glorious than a vase full of cherry blossom or lilac branches in spring or an urn filled with evergreen branches and pinecones in the winter.

You can get princess-level drama with even a few branches by making it a large scale arrangement.

Arrangements from a local florist are lovely, of course, but so are flowers from grocery and warehouse club stores, which often have great cut flowers at an unbeatable price.

The flower buckets at Trader Joe’s and BJ’s are favorites of mine, and I enjoy the process of arranging them in a variety of containers from pitchers to vases to teapots!

And of course, any time you are gifted flowers, it is a real treat! Currently, we are enjoying the remnants of two bouquets we have been gifted recently.

PRO TIP: as flowers fade and wilt, remove the spent blooms and rearrange the remainder into shorter/smaller containers or divide them up into bud vases to keep the magic alive as long as possible.

Set a real table

Use actual plates and silverware. Can you imagine royalty eating with a plastic fork?? Or, God forbid, a spork?

It’s a simple way to enjoy a refined state of living. Food looks better and tastes better when you take the time to present it well.

It is healthier that way too - a beautifully set table invites you to slow down and appreciate your meal with all the senses.

Even if you are eating takeout, transfer it to dinnerware and use real utensils and you have a gracious repast.

And let’s not even talk about drinking coffee or tea from a Styrofoam cup…it absolutely will taste better in a pretty porcelain mug or china teacup.

Use only beautiful linens and towels

Edit your collection of towels and bed linens, keep only the nicest and donate the rest.

Those ratty, undersized, or threadbare towels are not doing their job all that well.

Enjoy the luxury of soft, absorbent, generous-sized towels and you can smile every time you step out of the shower. Bonus points if you have a fluffy terry robe for a spa experience every day.

I have a not so secret addiction to beautiful bed linens…

I adore my Peacock Alley sheets with the pale aqua scalloped embroidery, my pretty, down-filled throw pillows, and my scalloped matelassé coverlet and shams. It makes me happy every time I make my bed and even happier every time I climb into it.

Quality linens are a wise investment - with proper care, they last nearly indefinitely and always feel wonderful. You use these EVERY DAY! Opt for quality over quantity, your linen closet will thank you.

Your surroundings should bring you joy, and that is the essence of living graciously!