7 sexy Valentine's Day essentials

Turn up the heat with these rakishly attractive finds for every room in your home. You may just find your love nest’s ambiance moving from ho-hum to va-va-voom! Best part? Their chic – not schlock – designs (and flavours) mean they can add glam and style to your space year-round, not just on Valentine’s Day.

Hot chocolate!
Warm, melty bouchons (French for “cork”) are Chef Thomas Keller’s signature pastry at his esteemed Bouchon Bakery, in California’s wine country. Williams-Sonoma’s easy-peasy mix calls on premium Guittard cocoa powder and Callebaut chocolate chips to recreate the decadent dessert. (TIP: Use the special silicone bake tray to get the cool, cork shape.) Chocolate Bouchon mix (makes 18), $24, Bouchon mould, $35, Williams-Sonoma.com for store locations.

Something in fire-engine red
Add a jolt of red-hot romance to your rooms with a hit of rouge. This luxe, two-ply 100 percent cashmere throw is just the thing to dress up a loveseat or to drape across the foot of a bed, where it adds warmth as well as visual oomph. It measures 56” by 83” and has a generous 4” fringe. (Psst: It’s from Bluefly, so you know you’re getting a steal!). $186 US, bluefly.com.

Fresh blooms
Is your sweetheart someone who likes things just-so, or are they more of a wild-at-heart kind of Valentine? Traditionalists will love a dozen (or more) red roses – Ecuadorian Black Bacarra channels the right opulence – while free spirits will adore anything bright and informal: ranunculus, anemones, hyacinths, and tulips, for example. Call a local florist at least a week in advance so you can get exactly what you want. Featured: Rose arrangements from $50, Burst Flowers, Toronto, 647-436-8565, burstflowers.com.



A smokin’ hot fireplace
White-hot in stainless steel, the supremely modern Blomus Chimo Round Face is the perfect fireplace for your shagadelic pad. Space-saving and easy to install, the unit mounts to the wall and doesn’t even require a chimney. The Dutch-designed unit burns ethanol fuel and sparks conversation – as well as romance.  $1,625 (free shipping), gabrielross.com.