Room Redo

Whether you want to spruce up your bathroom to make it nicer or you want to increase your home’s resale, value, everybody loves a great bathroom! Here are some quick ideas to try:

Color – the walls are biggest area of your bathroom and can be used to make the biggest impact. You will be surprised what a coat of paint can do to refresh the whole look of a bathroom.

Focus – a new shower curtain can make your bathroom appear “new.” Select a decorative shower curtain and build everything around it, even the wall color. This will ensure a themed and unified look. Choose one of the new interesting metallic rods (bronze/satin nickel/antiqued brass) and some special shower curtain hooks to add extra punch.

Update — replace accessories like tumblers, toothbrush holders, trays, lotion pumps, soap dishes, hamper and wastebaskets for an instant update to your bathroom. Use decorative baskets for scented soaps, candles, special lotions, and bath salts. Select nice, coordinating towels and bath mats to further accent your room. New decorative hardware like towel holders, knobs, toilet paper holders, etc. can go a long way in updating the room.

Although a lot of people like to remove their shoes when in the home, do not leave shoes or slippers lying around outside the main door of your house. Allow that space to be clear. The chi (energy) rides with the wind and will collect all the smell and ground debris on the shoes and bring them inside.

Many people love to lie in bed and watch television, but according to feng shui, there should be no television in your bedroom. If you cannot get rid of the tv, then cover it at night with a cloth. Too much electrical stimulation is distracting and detracts from good rest.

Do not hang mirrors opposite your bed or at the side of your bed. Mirrors opposite the bed can attract a third party to the relationship and feng shui principles state that if you awake in the night and can see your own image, it can be frightening and unsettling to your sleep habits.

In the kitchen, do not place a refrigerator, washing machine, wash basin or toilet opposite the stove. Fire and water elements clash and could cause family members to disagree.

Children should not sleep on mattresses on the floor. Chi needs to be able to flow underneath the bed for a healthy sleeping environment.

Bedroom design opens up lots of options.  Most of us spend about a third of our life in our bedroom.   Take time to evaluate how the room will be used. An understanding of this will help you design the rest of your bedroom plan as it relates to lighting, window treatments and other elements. For example, the needs of an adult master bedroom will be different from those of a young, school-aged child. And a baby’s room will need to support different needs than a guest bedroom.

Here are some bedroom interior design tips to consider:

• Paint the walls a soothing color to enhance a restful mood
• Incorporate a task area into a child’s bedroom layout for homework, computer use and creativity
• Maximize the use of your bedroom storage and minimize your furniture purchases with good closets
• For small spaces consider wall mounted, swing-arm lamps for either side of the bed to provide light for bedtime reading while saving space on nightstands

In addition to clutter, another cause of money shortages is neglecting to fix broken things in your home and office. If you ignore things that aren’t working right, you set an intention to attract scarcity rather than prosperity. Although most of us would rather buy a new flat screen TV than fix a leaky toilet, in the long run it’s a better investment in your financial future when you spend money on the less glamorous, but necessary, repairs.

Start with these fixes:

1. Clean Your Front Door:  This is one of my favorite tips as well as one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I arrive at a client’s house, I often notice the bad condition of the front door.  Even when freshly painted or refinished, they do need occasional cleaning and polishing.  The front door is where all good energy enters your home. A clean door attracts prosperity while a dirty or faded door repels it.

2. Replace Light Bulbs:  Another pet peeve!  Many clients complain of bad lighting and when I look up, I find two or three burned out bulbs.  What an easy improvement!  If your rooms are dark, so is your financial future. Replace bulbs, use proper wattage and brighten your possibilities to attract wealth.

3. Clean Windows:  Windows are the eyes of your home. Dirty windows cloud vision, while clean windows represent a clear view of your opportunities.

4. Remove Dead Plants:  Dead plants symbolize dead energy. Replace them with healthy living plants to grow wealth in your life.

5. Clean Your Desk Chair: If you sit on a stained, broken, or torn desk chair it represents disregard for your work. Clean your chair or get a new one to improve your career outlook.

Gray skies of winter move one and the bright sun helps pop out spring. By using spring colors in your interior design such as Granny Smith apple green or dewdrop yellow, you can bring the sunshine into your home. A few quick decorating tricks can put some zing into your home’s decor.

1. Clear the horizontal surfaces in each room of winter’s accumulated stuff. It’s been there for months, and it just gets in the way!

2. Add color by bringing in new pillows, accessories and flowers. Get new placemats or a tablecloth and napkins.

3. Wash the windows. The house has been closed up for so long it’s amazing how dirty the glass gets on the inside.

4. Take the ragged, old doormat away! Add a new, fresh doormat to make your entry more inviting. While you’re at it, make a plan to add some potted plants and flowers, so that when the planting season arrives in your area you’ll be all set with a design.

5. Paint or refinish the front door! Update and cheer up the exterior of your home. Pick a color that you love, provided it coordinates with the color of your house. If you can’t paint, bring fresh color into the entry with a wreath, pottery or baskets.

It is easy to create seasonal décor scheme for your home by dedicating a storage box for each season into which you will put the season’s accessories, pillows, and artwork. You can inventory the contents and put the list on the outside of the box so you’ll have a quick reference. To make it even easier, photograph the contents and tape to the outside of the box. This is a trick that has also worked well for storage of holiday decor!