Room Redo

There is likely a book or two (or fifteen) about decorating a room for an approaching baby. It is definitely an exciting time in the life of a soon-to-be-parent, and has the potential to be rather stressful. Here are a few small but crucial tips to keep you sane and your baby’s room beautiful.

If you are still in the dark as to the gender of your baby, or even if you are fully aware of it, keeping a generally neutral color scheme is usually quite helpful. By makings use of neutrals like beige and green, you leave room to add accents of color later. You can do this with pillows, a single piece of furniture, an area rug, or really anything else that can have its color easy changed.

As far as furniture, remember these two things: Keep it simple; keep it safe. In a newborn’s room, there are really three essential pieces of furniture: a crib, a dresser, and a chair for you. As stated before, you can use a rug, art and accessorie for pops of color. You can also use fabric to add softness to an otherwise physical harsh room such as one with hardwood flooring. In addition to the floor, be sure to pay attention to sharp or protruding edges and do whatever possible to make them more baby friendly. Even though your child is months away from being able to make it to one of those danger zones on his or her own, once they possess the skill to move, they will become experts on every dangerous thing in your house.

Decorated Nursery - Photo: HGTV

It’s the time of year that many couples decide to settle down and pull themselves out of the dating game. Wedding season is definitely a time that dress and cake makers look forward to like Christmas is for the rest of the retail world. However, the feng shui of a wedding should be a little different.

How about lighting? As with many aspects of your home, natural light is almost always ideal. If your ceremony is outdoors, then you really have no choice. But that’s a good thing! In the case of an indoor ceremony, look for a venue with large windows allowing for a massive flow of natural light into the area.

Onto the color. Unfortunately for Western tradition, a white dress is not the best choice of color as white is a color of mourning in the Chinese culture. Off-whites are still fair game if you want to stay as close to tradition as possible. On the other hand, you may be please to know that black and white is a fairly common and acceptable color scheme. These two colors serve the same purpose as the yin and yang, representing balance and harmony in ceremony and the continued relationship. Another great color to use – in moderation – is red. In the West, red is a color of love and romance as we can see when February 14th rolls around. In terms of feng shui, red represents luck and happiness. So combining traditions will bring about some of these aspects to your new way of life with your new spouse.

Black and White Wedding - Photo: TheSavannahWeddingPlanner.com

You can look at it however you want – collaboration, keeping the peace, showing your love – but when it comes to designing for his and hers, it is really about compromise. Now that may sound a bit cynical, but in reality both parties can’t have their ideal design as everyone has different tastes. But that is not to say that you can’t make things work and be exciting for everyone.

Personally, when I think of “His & Hers” design, I immediately imagine double sinks and monogram towels. The bathroom really is the easiest place to think about such design considering men and women often have different routines in there. In designing a vanity for two people, size really does matter. There needs to be ample space for both parties as well as room to place or store their various hygiene “equipment.” Secondly, bigger is better with mirrors. Though it may not be as budget-friendly, one large mirror spanning both sinks has a few advantages over two separate mirrors. For one, the extra reflective surface allows you to see much more of the room behind you. If you both happen to use the space at the same time, you have a better view of your partner as he or she prepares for the day. Also it is much easier for men to flex in front of a large mirror when they are alone.

As far as the rest of the home, possibilities are endless yet restricting. Ideally, both people need to agree on the way to design their living spaces. Sometimes this can result in so many compromises that the home turns into a bland, no-one-got-their-feelings-hurt kind of beige. Not to knock it if beige is your favorite color. The point is this: look for ideas together and put them into motion together. Communicate with one another about what you like and don’t like. Hopefully this will lead you both with less of a feeling of “I can live with this” and more “I want to live with this.”

Ballard Designs' His-Hers Pillows - Photo: ScorpionDisco.com