Feng Shui is an ancient system of balancing the good and bad, the Yin & the Yang. This Chinese philosophy believes that the arrangement and positioning of things in our surroundings can affect the flow of energy, which can produce either a favourable or unfavourable effect on one's health and wealth. Below are some Feng Shui tips to improve the flow of good Chi (energy) in our homes:
● Clear the way leading to your front door. Do not leave any objects including shoes in front of your doorway, this will block good Chi that will flow inside you house.
● Put a pair of Fu Dogs in front of your front door they guard your home or business against bad elements. If space is not enough outside your front door, you can place them inside the front door.
● If you have your front door or front window open directly to a window or door at the back of your house, place a big screen or furniture to block the alignment to prevent good Chi from entering and leaving your house straight away.
● Open your windows and curtains daily to allow sunshine and fresh air to come in. Good Chi will not come in if your windows are always closed. And health wise, our lungs need that fresh air to stay healthy. Also, if you have a vacant bedroom, do not leave it always closed and dark, bad Chi will linger in that room if it is left closed and dark for a long time.
Consider faux wood blinds or custom blinds to allow Good Chi to flow in through the windows as well.
● Plants which has thorns or spikes like the cactus is inauspicious, leave it outside your home. Instead of the cactus, use round leafed plants, wind chimes and crystals. All these are auspicious and will bring good chi inside your home.
● Find a way to brighten long and dark corridors. They trap bad chi inside your home and prevents the good chi from entering and circulating inside.
● It is good luck to place an aquarium or a fountain inside your home. Good Chi is attracted to water. A good place to place your aquarium is facing your front door inside the house to invite good Chi to come in. Other good places to put an aquarium or fountain: On the south-east element of your home for wealth, south-west for marriage, east for health, west for friends, north for career and north-east for education.
● Don't place your kitchen directly below a bathroom, nor place your kitchen in front or the centre of your house. Ideally, the kitchen should be located at the back of your home. And if you cook by open flame, it is best to cook outside the house.
● Inside your kitchen, do not place your cooking stove directly in front of the sink, water dispenser, refrigerator or washing machine, this creates conflicts between household members. Water and fire elements don't mix.
● Don't put mirrors that reflect your bed. Put your mirrors in bathrooms, inside closet doors or anywhere else but not in front or the sides of the bed. In Feng Shui, it is bad luck to have your bed reflected on the mirror.
● It is bad luck to have a table, chair or bed with a beam hanging over. A beam is a heavy object that pressure you down. If the ceiling is high enough it is best to cover the beam by putting up a flat ceiling. Also, don't put your staircase in front of the main entrance. It facilitates volatile and negative chi to go straight to the upper floor.
● Generally, choose smooth and rounded objects, corners, tables, counters as against sharp, jagged and knife like objects. Rounded things encourage the flow of good energy.
Kamis, 16 Juni 2011
Interior Design Advice: Good Design Tips For Using Bi Fold Doors
Bi-fold doors are a great way to hide clutter, create separate rooms, and add to the decor of your home. Follow these instructions for quick easy installation.
Bi-fold doors are an ingenious way to hide clutter, create separate rooms, and add beauty to areas of your home. Bi-fold doors come in all sizes and can be hinged together or hung separately. One area of the house where you often see bi-fold doors is the laundry area. Many times the laundry room is directly off of the kitchen, but often, there's no doorway between the two rooms. This is an excellent opportunity to install bi-fold doors. If it's a narrow doorway, two of the doors should do, and track can be laid on the floor and above the doors for the bi-folds to slide. If it's a rather large doorway, two sets of two doors each can be hinged together. With this, as you part the two central doors, the 2 hinged doors slide across the track for opening. Adjustments may have to be made to the doors or the opening for an exact fit. Bi-fold doors are ideal for the laundry room, since they usually have slats that allow air and heat to travel in and out, but keep the contents of the room out of sight.
Another perfect place for bi-fold doors is the kitchen entryway. The doors should be short enough for the average person to see over them to prevent calamities. The doors can be hung so they swing, like saloon doors, or 2 doors can be hinged together so that both doors open or shut, from side to side, when you scoot one door across the track. Of course, if you have a very large kitchen entryway, you might need to use 4 doors - 2 sets of 2 hinged doors.
Closets with no doors are unattractive and seem to display your clutter to the world. Measure the closet openings for bi-fold doors, which are fairly easy to install. The tracking must be secured to the floor and above the doors, then the doors hinged and inserted into the tracking. For extra large closets, you might want to choose two or four sets of the hinged doors, depending upon the size of the opening. This is usually done by hinging 2 doors, sliding them into the tracks, then hinging 2 more doors and tracking them. If still more doors are needed, often a two-by-four or larger board is installed before beginning the installation of more door sets. The board serves as a "wall" between the two sets of closets. And, if you have no closet, bi-fold doors can be used to make an instant closet. Section off a corner, put up a wall on one side, then install the doors on one side. Similar to a closet, pantries are often door-less but this can be fixed by hanging bi-fold doors over the pantry opening. Bi-fold doors are also perfect for utility rooms, garbage areas in the kitchen, and even, in some instances, bathrooms.
If you have a very large room, such as a living room or den, you can use bi-fold doors in some interesting ways. To make two rooms out of one, lay the tracking completely across the room, then completely across the ceiling. Install the hardware and place the doors in the tracking. You suddenly have 2 rooms where there was only one. For corner rooms, tracking should be placed on one section of the floor, and then the other side should be enclosed with sheet rock or another wallboard to complete the room.
A unique idea for using bi-fold doors in an extraordinary manner is to hang one door on each side of a large window in your living room. Hooks and hangers can then be used to display plants on the doors for an unusual window treatment. Bi-fold doors are very easy to install, making it simple and fun to change rooms, add decor or install simply for their functionality.
Bi-fold doors are an ingenious way to hide clutter, create separate rooms, and add beauty to areas of your home. Bi-fold doors come in all sizes and can be hinged together or hung separately. One area of the house where you often see bi-fold doors is the laundry area. Many times the laundry room is directly off of the kitchen, but often, there's no doorway between the two rooms. This is an excellent opportunity to install bi-fold doors. If it's a narrow doorway, two of the doors should do, and track can be laid on the floor and above the doors for the bi-folds to slide. If it's a rather large doorway, two sets of two doors each can be hinged together. With this, as you part the two central doors, the 2 hinged doors slide across the track for opening. Adjustments may have to be made to the doors or the opening for an exact fit. Bi-fold doors are ideal for the laundry room, since they usually have slats that allow air and heat to travel in and out, but keep the contents of the room out of sight.
Another perfect place for bi-fold doors is the kitchen entryway. The doors should be short enough for the average person to see over them to prevent calamities. The doors can be hung so they swing, like saloon doors, or 2 doors can be hinged together so that both doors open or shut, from side to side, when you scoot one door across the track. Of course, if you have a very large kitchen entryway, you might need to use 4 doors - 2 sets of 2 hinged doors.
Closets with no doors are unattractive and seem to display your clutter to the world. Measure the closet openings for bi-fold doors, which are fairly easy to install. The tracking must be secured to the floor and above the doors, then the doors hinged and inserted into the tracking. For extra large closets, you might want to choose two or four sets of the hinged doors, depending upon the size of the opening. This is usually done by hinging 2 doors, sliding them into the tracks, then hinging 2 more doors and tracking them. If still more doors are needed, often a two-by-four or larger board is installed before beginning the installation of more door sets. The board serves as a "wall" between the two sets of closets. And, if you have no closet, bi-fold doors can be used to make an instant closet. Section off a corner, put up a wall on one side, then install the doors on one side. Similar to a closet, pantries are often door-less but this can be fixed by hanging bi-fold doors over the pantry opening. Bi-fold doors are also perfect for utility rooms, garbage areas in the kitchen, and even, in some instances, bathrooms.
If you have a very large room, such as a living room or den, you can use bi-fold doors in some interesting ways. To make two rooms out of one, lay the tracking completely across the room, then completely across the ceiling. Install the hardware and place the doors in the tracking. You suddenly have 2 rooms where there was only one. For corner rooms, tracking should be placed on one section of the floor, and then the other side should be enclosed with sheet rock or another wallboard to complete the room.
A unique idea for using bi-fold doors in an extraordinary manner is to hang one door on each side of a large window in your living room. Hooks and hangers can then be used to display plants on the doors for an unusual window treatment. Bi-fold doors are very easy to install, making it simple and fun to change rooms, add decor or install simply for their functionality.
Ten Tips for Smart Home Design
Once you’ve made the decision to build rather than buy your next home, the biggest step after finding the right building lot is to design your future abode. This can be tough; putting together a home design that reflects your taste, yet also fits your needs and budget is a balancing act that takes planning. The following are ten guidelines to help you on your way.
1. Do Your Home Design Homework
You must first decide what type of home to build. House styles today are as varied as those who live in them, offering you a banquet of ideas from which to borrow.
When you see a home that appeals to you, decide exactly what features or characteristics caught your eye. Make a note of these or, better yet, make a quick sketch. Keep all these ideas together in a file. You don’t have to decide how to implement them all yet, but eventually you’ll decide how best to fit these into your home design plan.
2. Create Your Home Design List
When creating a list of criteria for your home design, start with the basics: the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, the number of family areas, the choice between a formal dining room or a more open, community eating area, porch or deck styles for your home’s entrances and the size of your garage.
Once your basic list is complete, tackle planning for individual rooms. You’ll want to list features that are most important to you first and then add from there. This list can include kitchen features, master bathroom features, audio wiring for speaker systems, Internet and phone connections and so on.
3. Check Local Zoning Laws
Zoning laws can affect everything from house framing to yard fencing. Checking first to see what zoning laws your community has can save you many headaches.
4. Design Within Your Budget
Once your list is completed, compare it to your budget and adjust to fit. This is particularly difficult for first–time home builders, a big problem according to Tom Dickinson, veteran builder and a Building Inspector for Logan City, Utah.
"It happens more than you’d think," said Dickinson. "People’s eyes get too big for their budgets and in the end they wind up overshooting the mark—sometimes leaving them without drapes, blinds and even furniture."
One way to get a handle on your budget from the beginning is to invest in home design software that includes an estimator, which gives you a running total of costs as you design your home.
5. Design to Fit Your Plot
Your land is unique; each plot has assets and challenges. Keep these in mind while creating your home design. Use existing grades of your plot to your favor. If your lot slopes sharply to the side, consider a walkout side basement door instead of the traditional back door. Working with your land, instead of against, saves you excavating costs and retains more of your plots natural character.
You should also position ground–level bedrooms and bathrooms toward the back of the house, away from street and foot traffic, and design windows, foliage and fences to maximize beauty and increase privacy.
6. Maximize Your Space Efficiency
When mapping out your floor plan, make sure there is a logical flow to your home design. You want to simplify life for your contractor while he builds and for your family while they live in it. Some things to consider:
* 1 Design direct access to the kitchen from the garage
* 2 Design all your plumbing in one general area, reducing pipe distance
* 3 Place your heating ventilation and air conditioning system as centrally as possible, allowing for better temperature balance throughout your house
* 4 Bedrooms should be isolated to reduce noise and increase privacy
* 5 Place your washer and dryer on the same floor as bedrooms (for two or more story homes)
* 6 Make sure all doorways, hallways and stairways are wide enough to move furniture through
* 7 Make sure that light switches are placed appropriate to traffic flow and that outlets are conveniently placed
7. Plan for Expansion
If you can’t afford to build your entire dream house now, plan your home design so that expansion is not only possible, but easy. One way of doing so is to build your home in phases.
For example, build your main house first, add your detached garage in a few years and then finally, finish that basement. Pick affordable priorities and tackle those first.
8. Picture Interior Design
When putting together your floor plan, place furniture in the design to see how it all fits together. You can do this using graph paper, magazine clippings or by using home design software. Also, consider your lighting scheme, paint and flooring choices, and how your design will work for entertaining–planning for all your favorite activities will help you create proper seating, dining and socializing space (and will insure that your kitchen sink is not visible from the front door!)
9. Don't Forget the Sun
The position of the sun can affect your home design in many ways, depending on the direction your home faces. A south facing home will be warmer in the winter, but hotter in the summer. Place windows to take advantage of natural light, which allows for better energy conservation. And if you particularly enjoy sunrises or sunsets, then design places into the east or west sides of your home to spend time doing so.
10. Beautify All Sides of Your Home Design
Remember that window placement affects the inside and outside look of your house. Whether you live on a corner or in the middle of the block, the sides of your home are going to be seen. Design the look of your home so that you’d be proud to let anyone walk around it, putting small design elements here and there—whether they be architectural (decks, porches or a covered patio), "landscaping" (flowers gardens, shrubs or an arbor) or better yet—both. Work to create a pleasing, comfortable atmosphere wherever visitors may go.
1. Do Your Home Design Homework
You must first decide what type of home to build. House styles today are as varied as those who live in them, offering you a banquet of ideas from which to borrow.
When you see a home that appeals to you, decide exactly what features or characteristics caught your eye. Make a note of these or, better yet, make a quick sketch. Keep all these ideas together in a file. You don’t have to decide how to implement them all yet, but eventually you’ll decide how best to fit these into your home design plan.
2. Create Your Home Design List
When creating a list of criteria for your home design, start with the basics: the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, the number of family areas, the choice between a formal dining room or a more open, community eating area, porch or deck styles for your home’s entrances and the size of your garage.
Once your basic list is complete, tackle planning for individual rooms. You’ll want to list features that are most important to you first and then add from there. This list can include kitchen features, master bathroom features, audio wiring for speaker systems, Internet and phone connections and so on.
3. Check Local Zoning Laws
Zoning laws can affect everything from house framing to yard fencing. Checking first to see what zoning laws your community has can save you many headaches.
4. Design Within Your Budget
Once your list is completed, compare it to your budget and adjust to fit. This is particularly difficult for first–time home builders, a big problem according to Tom Dickinson, veteran builder and a Building Inspector for Logan City, Utah.
"It happens more than you’d think," said Dickinson. "People’s eyes get too big for their budgets and in the end they wind up overshooting the mark—sometimes leaving them without drapes, blinds and even furniture."
One way to get a handle on your budget from the beginning is to invest in home design software that includes an estimator, which gives you a running total of costs as you design your home.
5. Design to Fit Your Plot
Your land is unique; each plot has assets and challenges. Keep these in mind while creating your home design. Use existing grades of your plot to your favor. If your lot slopes sharply to the side, consider a walkout side basement door instead of the traditional back door. Working with your land, instead of against, saves you excavating costs and retains more of your plots natural character.
You should also position ground–level bedrooms and bathrooms toward the back of the house, away from street and foot traffic, and design windows, foliage and fences to maximize beauty and increase privacy.
6. Maximize Your Space Efficiency
When mapping out your floor plan, make sure there is a logical flow to your home design. You want to simplify life for your contractor while he builds and for your family while they live in it. Some things to consider:
* 1 Design direct access to the kitchen from the garage
* 2 Design all your plumbing in one general area, reducing pipe distance
* 3 Place your heating ventilation and air conditioning system as centrally as possible, allowing for better temperature balance throughout your house
* 4 Bedrooms should be isolated to reduce noise and increase privacy
* 5 Place your washer and dryer on the same floor as bedrooms (for two or more story homes)
* 6 Make sure all doorways, hallways and stairways are wide enough to move furniture through
* 7 Make sure that light switches are placed appropriate to traffic flow and that outlets are conveniently placed
7. Plan for Expansion
If you can’t afford to build your entire dream house now, plan your home design so that expansion is not only possible, but easy. One way of doing so is to build your home in phases.
For example, build your main house first, add your detached garage in a few years and then finally, finish that basement. Pick affordable priorities and tackle those first.
8. Picture Interior Design
When putting together your floor plan, place furniture in the design to see how it all fits together. You can do this using graph paper, magazine clippings or by using home design software. Also, consider your lighting scheme, paint and flooring choices, and how your design will work for entertaining–planning for all your favorite activities will help you create proper seating, dining and socializing space (and will insure that your kitchen sink is not visible from the front door!)
9. Don't Forget the Sun
The position of the sun can affect your home design in many ways, depending on the direction your home faces. A south facing home will be warmer in the winter, but hotter in the summer. Place windows to take advantage of natural light, which allows for better energy conservation. And if you particularly enjoy sunrises or sunsets, then design places into the east or west sides of your home to spend time doing so.
10. Beautify All Sides of Your Home Design
Remember that window placement affects the inside and outside look of your house. Whether you live on a corner or in the middle of the block, the sides of your home are going to be seen. Design the look of your home so that you’d be proud to let anyone walk around it, putting small design elements here and there—whether they be architectural (decks, porches or a covered patio), "landscaping" (flowers gardens, shrubs or an arbor) or better yet—both. Work to create a pleasing, comfortable atmosphere wherever visitors may go.
Rabu, 15 Juni 2011
How to use space more effectively
There's a difference between insufficient or ineffective space. Insufficient space means there's not enough while ineffective space means there's not enough space but it's not being used wisely. Sometimes the arrangement of items in a cupboard or drawer is ineffective and much more can be stored inside them. There are lots of ways to improve storage situations (other than doing some spring cleaning).
1. Add a rod.
This is great for inside closets just so long as there are at least two walls to install the rod on. Hang one at head height for longer pieces, like dresses or pants, and another below for skirts, shirts and so on. You can also hang non-clothing items such as backpacks, shoes (on the hangable shoe trees) and scarves.
2. Build shelves.
Keep in mind that many shelves can be adjusted. If there is extra space at the top of a shelve, you can move it up so the shelf underneath has more space for larger items. You might even be able to add another shelf! You can also add corner shelves for pictures and other little knick knacks; they work great aesthetically.
3. Get storage units.
Racks are great alternatives; for instance, there are spice racks and can racks to save room in cupboards and pantries, shoe racks and more. You can put smaller items in things like ice cube trays rather than large jewelry boxes. Also, make sure the furniture you already need has spaces for storage, such as coffee tables with extra shelves underneath or piano benches with space under the seat.
For dorms and other small spaces, get those containers that can fit under beds and other necessary furniture.
4. Take advantage of wall space.
Look at all the empty space on your walls! You can hang pots and other kitchen utensils on hooks. Tools go well on pegs in the garage. Put up shelves for pictures and more. Don't forget the corner shelves! Show off some of those forgotten items and take them out of drawers where they take up room.
5. Store regularly used items where you use them most.
You don't need to walk between rooms to get to the things you use most. For instance, hang extra rolls of toilet paper next to the appliance or on the door. Put linens in the bedroom and videos by the entertainment center. You may even want to get more of one item for convenience.
6. Add drawers or sliding shelves.
These can be installed inside or underneath cabinets for more space. They allow for greater ease in access if space is tight; just slide it back in when you're done. It's also easier to see the items when you can roll out the drawers or shelves rather than looking for something in the back of a pantry.
7. Clean off your desk!
You can be more productive if you have enough space on your desk, after all. You also won't have to keep looking for buried items that you'll need. Get good file cabinets to store papers. Use hanging file boxes to use more vertical space. Also use caddies or trays within your desk.
8. Don't be afraid to rearrange.
Make sure whatever you do is comfortable for you. Make your space work the way you want it to. You can alter or switch rooms if you don't use one enough and need more space for another. Consider the uses of rooms and design accordingly.
9. Sometimes rotating items makes for more space.
You might be surprised the difference it makes to turn around a desk or a couch. The arrangement of the room may allow for more space if a single item is rotated.
10. Use storage rooms.
Buy a space and store some items while keeping others in the home. Every once in a while, switch up the items for a little change.
How to Arrange a Room - Tips
* Arrange the largest pieces first
It's import that the biggest pieces of furniture that are utilized most, like the bed, desk or couch, are placed first in the room. They should face the center of the room, or where the most activity will take place (sometimes an entrance, or toward a window, fireplace or a TV).
The large pieces should also be evenly placed about the room for balance. Make sure there's plenty of space between them for ease of movement. Also pay mind to the shapes in the room, such as curves created by the wall, and the shapes of the pieces and how they fit together.
* Place the rest of the furniture relative to the main pieces you've already got down
Make sure the arrangement of the pieces in the room is aesthetically pleasing, comfy and practical. Consider what you'll be using the room for. Is there enough room? Will you need more storage? Is there enough seats? What if something spills?
If you have items of the same scale, try to keep them together; a small chair might look better by a little table or lamp than by a large sofa. Also, still maintain balance in the room; this can sometimes be achieved by placing items opposite of each other
You may also want to mix things up by placing curves around lines and vice versa; this breaks the monotony. You can mix types of furniture as well, such as upholstered and natural pieces, or surfaces, such as rugs and fabric with metal or wood. Consider the colors of pieces as well and make sure they mesh well with each other.
* Add accent pieces to the main pieces for alternative activities
Doing this allows for more function in a room. You can add sections to a room for more utilization of space, such a game rooms or reading corners. You can even make a single wall more interesting and usable by adding pictures or an entertainment center. Place things under a window to take advantage of the light and/or provided views.
A nice piece to add is a cupboard, which looks nice and can add function and space.
* Put your furniture where it looks the best
Pay attention to the lighting in the room. Try not to put dark items in dark corners or places where lighting is dim. Similarly, brighter pieces may look bad in well-lit areas.
Continue to try mixing things up, such as by placing tall things amidst shorter items. Use plants to break up manufactured pieces. Mix lines with curves and so on.
* Consider potential room traffic
Depending on how you arrange your furniture, you can control the flow of traffic in the room. For walkways, it's best to allow at least two and a half feet. Try not to lead traffic into areas where there will be conversation. People should be walking around the edges of the room for less disruption through the focal points where people's attentional will be.
Also consider the traffic of adjacent rooms as well as the colors from one room to the next.
* Let the room reflect your personality
Don't let home design books and TV shows control the arrangement and design of your room. Make sure the ultimate result is something you are happy and comfortable with. You are the one living there, after all.
It's import that the biggest pieces of furniture that are utilized most, like the bed, desk or couch, are placed first in the room. They should face the center of the room, or where the most activity will take place (sometimes an entrance, or toward a window, fireplace or a TV).
The large pieces should also be evenly placed about the room for balance. Make sure there's plenty of space between them for ease of movement. Also pay mind to the shapes in the room, such as curves created by the wall, and the shapes of the pieces and how they fit together.
* Place the rest of the furniture relative to the main pieces you've already got down
Make sure the arrangement of the pieces in the room is aesthetically pleasing, comfy and practical. Consider what you'll be using the room for. Is there enough room? Will you need more storage? Is there enough seats? What if something spills?
If you have items of the same scale, try to keep them together; a small chair might look better by a little table or lamp than by a large sofa. Also, still maintain balance in the room; this can sometimes be achieved by placing items opposite of each other
You may also want to mix things up by placing curves around lines and vice versa; this breaks the monotony. You can mix types of furniture as well, such as upholstered and natural pieces, or surfaces, such as rugs and fabric with metal or wood. Consider the colors of pieces as well and make sure they mesh well with each other.
* Add accent pieces to the main pieces for alternative activities
Doing this allows for more function in a room. You can add sections to a room for more utilization of space, such a game rooms or reading corners. You can even make a single wall more interesting and usable by adding pictures or an entertainment center. Place things under a window to take advantage of the light and/or provided views.
A nice piece to add is a cupboard, which looks nice and can add function and space.
* Put your furniture where it looks the best
Pay attention to the lighting in the room. Try not to put dark items in dark corners or places where lighting is dim. Similarly, brighter pieces may look bad in well-lit areas.
Continue to try mixing things up, such as by placing tall things amidst shorter items. Use plants to break up manufactured pieces. Mix lines with curves and so on.
* Consider potential room traffic
Depending on how you arrange your furniture, you can control the flow of traffic in the room. For walkways, it's best to allow at least two and a half feet. Try not to lead traffic into areas where there will be conversation. People should be walking around the edges of the room for less disruption through the focal points where people's attentional will be.
Also consider the traffic of adjacent rooms as well as the colors from one room to the next.
* Let the room reflect your personality
Don't let home design books and TV shows control the arrangement and design of your room. Make sure the ultimate result is something you are happy and comfortable with. You are the one living there, after all.
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