How Home Remodels Can Lead to Romance This Valentine's Day

This Old House Magazine

Forget New Agey romance rehab (we saw how well that went for Vince Vaughn in Couples Retreat). If you really want to rev up your sex life, think remodel. Tackling even a minor domicile makeover can spark erotic notions, amp libidos, and bring you closer. Here, in honor of Valentine's Day, learn ways to his/her heart (among other organs) that are built into most any remodel. --J.S. Ramos


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Share Your Dreams in the Bedroom
The local news is over, and you and your mate are relaxed and reclined-the perfect time and place to broach the subject of a project. Sharing fantasies about your ideal abode is sure to deepen your bond-and who knows where that kind of closeness will lead on a typical Tuesday night? Even the language you use will be rife with double entendres: Master suite! Play area! Bonus room!

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Indulge in Some Bath Action
If the bedroom is the act, the bath is both foreplay and post-romp cuddle. There's even a website dedicated to the proposition: TheSexyBathroom.com. Incurable romantics may yearn for a deep claw-foot tub and Victorian vanity; hedonists may get hot for heated floors and Jacuzzi; and you show-offs out there may get your kicks from an all-glass shower enclosure and lots of mirrors. Even fix-ups like new fixtures and window treatments can turn a blah bath into a sweet spot.



Kink Up the Kitchen
Men just can't keep their hands off a woman busy cooking; for the ladies, a dish-washing guy is sure to put her in the mood. So keep these other erogenous zones in mind as you plan your redo: A kitchen island can be more conducive to a quickie-a quickie meal, that is-than a basic countertop. That cozy breakfast nook might just be made for getting close. A butler's pantry? Just plain lascivious, with or without the French maid get-up.

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Refresh Your Sexy Space


A boring boudoir dampens intimacy, but jazz things up in there and you'll recapture that "first time" feeling. Paint can set the scene for provocative encounters: Choose colors that arouse the mind (studies have shown a red-romance link) and enhance the skin tone (flattering shades include eggplant, soft rose, and teal blue). Lighting also delivers: Dimmers put "the mood" at your fingertips, but even new lampshades can soften the glow. Pushing out the bedroom walls might allow for that king-sized bed you've hankered for-and more nighttime gymnastics.

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You Get to Play Dress Up
Everyone harbors a bit of a costume fetish, so captivate your mate with the appropriate attire. The most important aspect of contractor couture is the jam-packed tool belt, crucial to revealing that irresistible expanse of backside. As to the outfit itself: Ladies, reference classic Pamela Anderson as the Tool Time Girl on Home Improvement. Fellas, see Bob the Builder-really, the right gear inspires confidence, and confidence is sexy.

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