Please welcome our newest guest columnist: Candy Silvasy, Spa Expert and CEO of Art of the Spa (also the co-founder of #SpaWeekGossip)

Let’s clear the air.  Think you have to live a la Paris or Martha to savor a stylish, sumptuous, spa inspired home?. . . Not!  No matter where you flop from fancy to farmhouse or how much (or little for lots of us these days) money you have – you can Pamper Your Palace and thanks to Spa Week, we’re here every week to rescue your retreat.  And I’m christening our column with something so element-ary that everyone does it all day everyday – breathing!

Loving our lungs by deeply breathing air is not only the simplest way to relax – it nixes nasty toxins.  Many spas even distinguish themselves based on the luxuriousness of their air like the Rio Mar Resort & Mar which has supersonic air filtration systems in the spa and every guest room.

BUT chances are in your own palace dust, pet dander, allergens and/or mold are lurking – sending noxious to your nostrils.  The solution? A few simple Spa ways to Detox Your Ox:

Suck it Up – Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter so dust doesn’t get ejected into the air.  Electrolux’s Sanitaire HEPA Vacuum does it in cheery fire engine red too.

Turn Japanese – Remove and have guests remove their shoes when entering your lair.  (I have cute slippers for mine to wear & this Shoe Pad by the door to gently remind them.)   Oh, and if they’re Manolos put them somewhere safe (nod to Carrie Bradshaw).

Defeat Dust -  Clean with lint free cloths like these from Caldrea – so air tight that surgeons use them.  Green alert – They attract and hold the dust and you don’t have to use chemicals.

Wash the Air – Filter driven air cleaners are so passe.  Perk up your pad with an air washer like the Plaston.  It  draws air through water instead of a mucked up filter.  Beauty Bonus – it humidifies the air keeping your skin moist & glowy.

Purify with Plants – Space isn’t the only thing that NASA is up to.  Their Sick Building study proves many plants suck in harmful gases and clean the air.  The classic book How to Grow Fresh Air gives how-to’s and 50 plants (many super low maintenance) for irritant free inhales.

Listen Up – Check out this airy concoction of inspiring tunes! (Click here for all the other Spa Week Daily playlists)

Now just breathe. . .  ahh.

Live, Love and Lounge,

Candy

Candy Silvasy is CEO of Art of the Spa (www.spaaroundtheworld.com), a spacentric brand that delivers home decor, beauty, cooking, style and living advice with a Martha Stewartesque flair.  An internationally recognized spa expert, her latest book SpaHome: Makeover Your Maison from Blah to Ahhhhh will be released in February 2011.  Is your pad more stress than sanctuary?  Pick her spa brain at candace@artofthespa.com

Celeb and GOOP author Gwyneth Paltrow and family (Apple included) are going to be in Nashville for a while – so, as you do, Gwyneth had an industrial warehouse converted into a cutting-edge, million-dollar home in just 10 days.

In her newsletter, Gwyneth detailed the breakneck pace and the gorgeous results – at one point, 30 workers were busily installing drywall, painting, hanging, tiling, and wiring – all at once. The furniture and decor was moved into the home with just 3 days to spare.

Head over to Apartment Therapy or Paltrow’s site to check out the results – they’re undeniably gorgeous, but one has to wonder at the wisdom of building an entire home from the ground up just for a temporary stay. Aren’t there any 5 star hotels in Nashville?

(All images courtesy of GOOP)

If you’re fond of 90s television dramas and have 10 million dollars lying around gathering in dust, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s what you should do with all that scratch–buy the beach house from Beverly Hills 90210 (the original series.)

The house, which is located near the shops in Manhattan Beach, California, is on the market for a cool $10.5 million. No big!

If you don’t have millions of dollars lying around to purchase beachfront property with, like I do, then you just need a million to purchase Cameron Frye’s boxy, modern house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The house is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and costs a very reasonable $1.8 million. Which we all have lying around in our real estate piggybanks.

If you could buy any famous house, what would you buy?

With the economy putting pressure on just about everyone, more and more people are opting to skip costly vacations in favor of enjoying what their neck of the woods has to offer. Dubbed “staycations”, these vacations-without-leaving-home carry all the rules a vacation to any exotic locale might. Namely:

1. No work allowed. It’s not a vacation if you do what you always do! Commit just as fully to this vacation as you would if you had plane tickets, and you just might find a staycation as rewarding as any real vacation.
2. Get out of your comfort zone. If you wouldn’t do it on a vacation…don’t do it on a staycation! That means head to a restaurant you haven’t tried or visit a museum you’ve never gotten around to seeing. That way, your staycation will feel novel and not routine.
3. Consider day trips. Research tourist sites within a few hours of your home. You can still have all the excitement of heading toward a destination while still keeping expenses low. Treat yourself to lunch or a souvenir to remember your trip by!

And, our favorite tip:

1. Make your staycation a spacation. If your budget allows it, book some spa treatments you’ve never tried before (our Spa Week gift card and spa directory can help with that.) If you’re trying to maximize your fun on a shoestring, plan an at-home spa day with a friend. Wear fluffy bathrobes, light candles, apply facials, and take turns giving each other manicures and pedicures! Heading to the spa, whether it’s in your town or in your bathroom, is a sure way to make a short staycation feel like 3 weeks in the tropics.

Have you ever take a staycation? Got any advice for fellow intrepid “travellers”?

If you’re big on DIY and want to spruce up that extra room in your house (or if you live in Manhattan, that extra 20-square-feet) here are a few pieces you might find inspirational. You’ll enjoy having a calming place at home.

From Left To Right

Nature Wall Sticker by dVider | $48

Green Berries Pillow by Pier 1 | $25.95

Lavender Shadow Pillow by Blissliving | $50

OM Ergonomic Cushion by Traci Pollard and BOA for Object Interiors | $99

Priya Embroidered Throw by Debenhams | £60

Rusty Tin Pan Candle Pan | $1.99

Black Rococo Bedroom Chair by Sweetpea and Willow | £199