Luxury Personally Defined

When and where do you give yourself time to listen to nothing and to think about what drifts into your over-stimulated mind?

Luxury, and its adjective form luxurious, are overused, often poorly-applied words in marketing. The concept at the root of them is something that few people really stop and think about. Do you know what luxury really means to you?

Rarity, cost, quality and craftsmanship are integral elements of generic luxury. Salesmanship reveals the value of luxury in real estate and design to targeted consumers. But luxurious materials or craftsmanship do not always create true luxury. For instance, a cleverly-created floor of rare marble is not automatically a luxury. If it lies in an entrance way where it frequently becomes wet with tracked-in rain, and therefore as slippery as a sheet of ice, it is definitely a liability.

Museums often house items of luxury as do money's-no-object homes and the businesses that cater to these owners, but luxury is not always material nor is it the sole domain of the extremely wealthy.

Life without at least occasional luxury is hard. Increasingly, as maturity naturally shifts personal value from the acquisition of "you can't take it with you" material objects and toward character-building, value-reaffirming experiences, boomers and their multi-generational families will chase luxury differently and in different places ... but that's a discussion for another time.

Here, we explore Decisions & Communities, so this perspective on luxury has a pre-defined context. You can apply the ideas to your personal life and if, your work requires you to view the world from your clients' perspective, through theirs as well.

When it come to real estate, luxury is not just the high-end finishes and materials described in marketing. Deciding what is an important luxury to you is essential to determining value, especially in discretional spending, whether that's for interior design features or when shopping for recreational property. For instance, if you live a fast-paced, noisy life, driven by responsibilities and the wishes of others to plan every moment of every day, then calm, unstructured time, filled by your impulses and your reactions to interests and adventures is a luxury. This could be as delicious as time to sit and read in the midst of a striking natural setting or as simple as resort living that offers everything with flair, including the time and space to do nothing.

As research for my next book, I visited Poets Cove on Pender Island, British Columbia (BC) to explore their fractional offering, While there, I was struck by how a physical setting and the time to enjoy it has become a luxury in today's frantic world. It also became clear that, tainted by recessional thinking, we may ignore the replenishing power of a mental holiday as a starting point for turning this "lemon" economy into something decidedly palatable. Yes, they tell us the recession is over, but what will shift your thinking into a creative forward mode?

To take a break, seek out a definite change from the familiar. For instance, a 40 minute ferry ride from the BC Ferry Terminal at Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island and you're on North Pender Island, which is joined to South Pender Island by a short, picturesque, one-lane bridge. The winding road to Poets Cove Resort & Spa takes you through towering forests and past one-of-a-kind waterfront recreational homes, rugged rocky shorelines and pastoral farm fields until at the last curve the view opens up to reveal colourful arts and crafts buildings on the hillside sloping down to the inlet of Bedwell Harbour.

Build in 2004 by Alberta developers intent on bringing up-scale fractional ownership to the Southern Gulf Islands, Poets Cove remains Pender Island's stunning surprise. It skillfully blends high-comfort design with BC-style outdoor living. Boaters and sailors seek out this spot, as do those who chose to fly from Victoria, Vancouver or near-by American cities.

On trend with eco-sports and back-to-nature pastimes like hiking Mount Norman or kayaking in Beaumont Marine Park, will keep you busy, but this is also a great place to do nothing. The busy marina is a pleasure to watch even if you prefer land sports. Both outside pools offer terrific views and great contemplative lounging if you want a change of pace from the patio off your lodge suite, villa or private cabin. Yes, there's wireless, but if you can bring yourself to disconnect, this is a great place to unplug your brain.

What local spot came to mind when you read that description? Mental time out is both restorative and energizing. If you don't have your own Poets Cove to visit, where and when do you turn it all off?

"There's nothing to do," should be your goal. Not because there aren't activities galore and distractions to explore, but because you've actually decided to stop working, texting, tweeting and acting like the world can't get on without your input for a few days. So the goal is to do little but rest and luxuriate-everything that this means to you.

• Perhaps you're fortunate enough to have a home or cabin that affords this "mental space" if you'd just unplug and take advantage of it for a few hours or a few days.

• You may have a favourite park or inn that is your escape from the high tension world. Check out rates and specials. Most businesses are making it easy for us to say yes to a visit.

• If you would like to buy a haven, why not explore the fractional and recreational offerings in your chosen area for a value equation that makes sense to you?

• Those considering a move to a condominium or lifestyle complex may discover that a guest suite is available at a very reasonable rate, so they can experience the community first hand.

• Sometimes telling everyone you're going away for a few days, then staying home and unconnecting can be that luxury mental break.

When's the last time you visited your favourite place to think?


Written by PJ Wade
September 22, 2009