Ways To Bring Unexpected Luxury Into Your Home

If there is one thing we have learned during the past year, while the Covid pandemic has kept us isolated in our homes, it is that the ho-hum, everyday elements of our home life matter. 

We have painted walls to make rooms more pleasant, we have rearranged furniture to meet the demands of working from home, we have planted gardens and adopted pets. Above all, we have learned that we deserve luxury. 

Take your morning shower, for example. Wouldn’t it be more fun with music? Or your favorite podcast, or the local news? 

At the 2021 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, Kohler introduced Moxie, the portable speaker that fits into a showerhead. The showerhead is equipped with a speaker that either uses Bluetooth technology for $179, or Amazon Alexa for $239. The speaker part of the showerhead lifts out and can be carried anywhere. There are no distance limitations with Moxie; the shower head acts as a docking location for the speaker, so the user can take the speaker wherever they like. But for an unexpected jolt of joy, the shower is best.

Guests at fancy hotels know the pleasure that comes from sleeping on luxury linens. John Matouk began to make superb sheets, duvet covers and shams in New York in 1929; his son moved the company to Massachusetts in the 1980s, where it, still family-owned, is located today. Matouk bed linens are favored by interior designers and sold at high-end retail stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

Colleen Mistry, product line director at Matouk, explains that, while thread count is highly touted, is not a sheet’s best quality indicator.

“Thread count tells you how many threads are in a square inch, and this is really only one factor within the properties that make up a fabrication. The type of cotton plays a huge role into the final sheeting quality, along with the weaving techniques and the finishing for the fabric,” Mistry says.

“Among other cotton varieties, we offer sheets that use a very special type of Egyptian cotton called Giza, the longest staple of all long-staple cotton. It results in a very uniform and fine cotton fiber. The fabrics we develop have an incredible touch to sleep on, will keep their luster, will not pill and will last many washes for many, many years to come.”

While improving your sleeping experience, consider your mattress. Like your shoes, it carries you through a significant percentage of your life, and the very best quality is just good enough. 

“Since 1846, Stearns and Foster has believed that a great mattress is one that is built with the highest quality materials and craftmanship to provide supreme, indulging comfort,” says Brent Pfister, vice president of marketing for Tempur Sealy Brands. 

“A high quality mattress should last up to ten years, so when you’re shopping for your next mattress, you want to be sure you’re selecting for comfort, durability and support, and quality. Our mattresses are designed to provide supreme, indulgent comfort – with dedicated, experienced craftspeople layering materials with care by hand to create a mattress that’s luxuriously comfortable.”

Adults who smoke cannabis know that few items are as essential, and as uninspiring, as the humble rolling paper. With the introduction of ZBooks, that has changed. ZBooks’ parent company, Z’s Life, is the brainchild of Izaak Cohen, who launched the business with $30,000 he won in his college business competition.

“There has been a big change in the stigma and taboo around cannabis,” Cohen says. “It’s not just COVID, though that has spurred increased use. There is an ongoing trend towards legalization, and we have also made a psychological shift towards luxury in our spaces. Everyone has a ritual with cannabis use, and our papers make the experience far more luxurious.”

ZBooks, in two sizes, are made from best-quality, ultra-thin and slow-burning European paper, packaged in decorative books made from heavy card stock. Each has a gold-plated magnetic clasp that closes the book with a satisfying click. Each book holds fifty papers and fifty filters; last week, the company introduced papers in a rosy shade of blush pink.

“Our Certified Organic ZBooks are the most beautiful papers in the world,” says Cohen. “They are ultra-slow burning, the card stock is the highest quality, and that click of the magnet is the sound you’ve got the right papers.”

Cohen is passionate about the environment and has incorporated his commitment to sustainability into his daily business practices. Conscious of the negative impact his business’s carbon footprint may have on the planet, Cohen has partnered with One Tree Planted, whose reforestation projects plant trees that clean air and water, create habitats for biodiversity, and create jobs for social impact. Since this partnership started in early 2020, they have planted over 1,800 trees across the U.S., mostly in California.

ZBooks are available via the website and in​ retail locations in New York, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and North Carolina. They range from $7-$12. While that is more than the cost of ordinary papers, it is a small price for luxury.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.