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Boost your
bedroom's sex appeal in nine easy steps
If your boudoir looks anything like ours, your bed sits amid
cluttered nightstands, teetering stacks of books,
overflowing laundry baskets, and countless pairs of shoes.
As a room that's meant to inspire sultry pillow talk and
wild abandon, it's a total joke. That's why we enlisted
psychologists, decorators, and even a randy culinary whiz to
help us create the perfect booty chamber: one that looks
harmless enough to the unsuspecting eye but is so sexually
charged you won't be able to hang out in it without feeling
the urge to strip naked and growl like Eartha Kitt.
1."One of the easiest ways to change your environment is
with sound," says Stephanie Buehler, Psy.D., sex therapist
and director of the Buehler Institute in Irvine, California.
"Customize your playlist so the genre matches the mood
you're in -- and the music builds to the mood you want to
reach." For example, start with the soft sound of Band of
Horses, shift into the sexy groove of Calexico, and graduate
to the steady, pulsing rhythms of Bjrk or Portishead. (Check
out our perfect playlist.)
2. A recent study in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
found that women perform better on creative tasks when in
the company of plants. Choose classically foxy flora like
roses, which emit a mood-enhancing chemical called
phenylethylamine, or PEA. Or, more creatively, surround
yourself with lavender and lily of the valley, whose sweet
fragrances, according to the Smell and Taste Treatment and
Research Foundation, help increase arousal in men.
3. You don't need an expert to tell you that action on the
tube can inspire real-world raunch, but Patricia Covalt,
Ph.D., author of What Smart Couples Know, is happy to do so
anyway. She suggests racy non-porn; we like Y tu mamá
también or 9 1/2 Weeks. Open to female-focused erotica? Heat
up your DVD player with Chemistry, by feminist author and
sex educator Tristan Taormino.
4. When selecting duvets, pillows, and throws for steamy sex
scenes, Jenny Oman, a set decorator for Showtime's sizzling
series The Tudors (yes, the one starring Jonathan "Too Hot
to Be Human" Rhys Myers), mixes in posh materials like
velvet and satin. "Light-enhancing sheens and deep, rich
colors like dark crimsons and pinks feel sensual and
luxurious," she says. And get this: Less is surprisingly
more when it comes to thread count. Designer Anki Spets,
founder of Area linens, says a 200 to 400 thread count in
high-quality cotton is ideal (anything higher and you'll be
covered in sweat, since tighter weaves decrease much-needed
breathability).
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