Linda Varone | Nurturing Spaces Feng Shui

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Forest Bathing and Feng Shui: For Health and Happiness

Forest Bathing? What does that have to do with Feng Shui? While Feng Shui is often thought of as just arranging furniture. Feng Shui is essentially about balancing and connecting your personal energy to the restorative energy to your environment, including Nature.

The average American spends 90% of their time indoors with 2-5 times the air pollution as outdoors, states the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Meanwhile “Forest Bathing”, the Japanese tradition of Shinrin-yoku, has recently been proven by Dr. Qing Li to increase helpful immune responses and decrease stress hormones.

Forest Bathing - pathway though lush forest
Forest Bathing is immersing yourself in the experience of being surrounded by restorative Nature.

What is Forest Bathing?

Forest Bathing is the Japanese tradition of spending time walking in a forest and consciously tuning-in to what you are experiencing. The goal is refreshing and reviving your mind and body. This is different from a hike in the woods with your focus on reaching a goal; or a jog or bike ride with the woods as a backdrop for a cardio work-out. Forest Bathing is time in a wooded area to be alive to the restorative power of Nature – especially trees. (I love the term “Forest Bathing”, it suggests total immersion.)

In his book Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, Dr Li described how time in forested areas decreases stress, anxiety, depression and anger. Benefits include energy levels increased by 30% and sleep improved by 15% after a 2-hour forest walk. Subjects also experience a boost to their immune system.

Sounds too good to be true?

In an NIH (National Institutes of Health) peer-reviewed article (the gold standard for medical research), Dr Li documents how time in wooded areas measurably decreases stress hormones (adrenaline and noradrenaline) and increases the body’s “Natural Killer” cells which have anti-cancer and anti-viral functions. Note: These effects do not occur under identical conditions while subjects walked in a city. It is not the walking alone, but environment and awareness that has this impact.

Don’t have a large forest nearby to wander around in? Or two hours to spend there? Dr Qing Li has some suggestions:

Simple Ways to Get a Taste of Forest Bathing

  • A short walk in a wooded area or simply out in Nature
  • Aromatherapy with essential tree oils – especially pine tree and cypress
  • Placing plants in your home or office will benefit everyone
  • Spend time outdoors, even if simply on your porch or patio.

Intuitively you know that time in Nature is restorative; now science is proving you right!

How do you use Nature to revive yourself? Let us know in the comments below.

Want to see more about how to make the most of the restorative energy of Nature?

Feng Shui Patio, Feng Shui Porch

Declutter for Summer Outdoor Energy

Contact me for more information on how to energize yourself and your home.

Accent Wall Color Harmony Pulls the Room Together – Part Three

Accent Walls: Pulling It All Together

In the two previous articles about how to create a successful accent wall we analyzed Accent Wall Mistakes to Avoid and how to Make the Most of Fireplace Accent Walls.

This third article is about looking at the big picture so the color and shade of the accent wall works in harmony with the rest of your room.

Personal stylist, Doreen Dove, suggests when you wear a color accent accessory (scarf, purse, shoes) that it repeats a color in your main outfit. This makes you look thoughtfully pulled-together rather than like you added a last-minute splash of color.

This concept applies to adding accent colors to your home.

If you don’t know what color to use, look at your chosen wall. Is there a painting or piece of artwork there that you love? Pick a color from within the painting, ideally not the dominant color in the picture, and use a variation of it for your accent wall color.

A client and I were looking for a warm yellow for a room that would harmonize with brilliantly hued art photograph. The first color my client picked looked on her wall an “off” yellow. Together we looked deeply into the picture and found a warm yellow in a small spot on an apple. (We’re talking about a small spot of color in a large photo.) As a paint color it gave the room a warmth the other yellow lacked and worked well with all the colors in the the artwork itself. We nicknamed it “golden apple yellow”.

Note: Often the best wall color is not a literal rendering of this color. The color may need to be a version that is either more bold or more subtle. Remember an accent wall is just that – an accent to highlight the whole – not something that draws attention only to itself.

See these successful harmonious accent walls:

Kitchen accent wall in terra cotta orange
The bold color of this kitchen accent wall highlights the pottery and harmonizes with the table and chairs.

In this kitchen a storage wall is the accent wall. See how the bold color highlights the pottery display, while the orange tone picks up the wood tones in the table and chairs. This is an example of finding a color in a room and taking it a step or two bolder, thus pulling the room together.

If you don’t have a special something on your accent wall, look at the rest of the room. Do you have a colorful throw pillow you love?, or a patterned rug with a color you can use on your wall?
 
 

Modern living room with terra cotta accent wall
Rich terra cotta wall gives this large neutral space warmth and drama.

This is a room full of neutral tones. Although the architecture is striking, the space would be vast and boring (think airplane hanger) without the accent wall. You can find this warm terra cotta color in the lower right quadrant of the painting on that wall. Using a bold earthy color here stands-up to the large neutral space and frames the green garden seen through the window. I would add some accent pillows on the chairs in a color similar to the wall to further enliven and tie-together the entire space.
 
 
 

Accent Walls Can Be Fun, Daring and Sophisticated, If You Know:

  • Which walls work best as accent walls,
  • How to make the most of a fireplace accent wall,
  • Harmonize the accent wall color with something else in the room.

Want help making the most of colors in your home? Contact me for a personal consultation.

Let me know about your experiences with accent walls and colors in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

How to Attract Chi to Your Home: Front Door Magic

In Feng Shui, before you can attract beneficial Chi to a specific area of your home (wealth, health, romance) you need to draw Chi to your front door. Your front door is the “mouth of Chi”, where Chi enters to nourish and energize your home and your self.

A classic Feng Shui cure is a red front door. How does a red door work? It captures attention, it has energy (in this case color energy), and in traditional Chinese culture the color red is thought to bring luck.

How to draw Chi to your front door so it can enter and energize your home?

Something that catches the eye will also catch Chi. The best Feng Shui cures are objects with their own energy: plants, and personal treasures; and things that enhance the energy of a space: mirrors, stained glass or crystals in sunlight. This creates many options for enhancing your front door.

“Where the eye goes, so goes Chi.”

Feng Shui front door, bold yellow with yellow large house numbers
Red is not the only Feng Shui color for your front door.

1. Color

Red is traditional, but any bold color will work. (The “Good Taste Lady” in me suggests the bold door color compliment the basic color of your house.)
Consider: Purple, Cobalt Blue, Sunny Yellow, or Bright Green.

 
 
 

2. Plants

Planters, potted plants or a walkway bordered with greenery or living colors. Healthy plants have chi and will attract Chi to themselves and to your front door.

3. Bold Decoration

Add a stylish mailbox instead of your standard, utilitarian one. Find a mailbox with bold color or intriguing hardware.

Use large graphic house numbers.
Working with a client, who was a graphic designer, we came up with the idea of painting his house number on the extetior wall next to his front door in a very large font in a color that complimented his house. This not only attracted Chi, but added zing to the modest exterior of his ranch house.

Bold graphic house numbers with light above.
Illuminated house numbers not only attract Chi, they welcome guests.

4. Lighting

Your house needs more than a single 40 watt bulb above the front door. I’m not suggesting you spotllght your entry, but a couple of energy efficient light fixtures near your front door will make your home more welcoming for visitors and Chi.
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. Good Maintenance

All of the above assume you give your house good maintenance. Enhancement will be useless if you have a broken step, stuck front door or non-functioning door bell. It would be like putting lipstick on a pig: It won’t attract Chi and the pig will be mad.

Note: While some of these photos show several cures, more is not necessarily better. One good cure is more powerful than several weak cures.

What is the first and easiest thing you can do to create Front Door Magic for your own home? Please share your ideas in the comments below.

Click here to read about “Porches for Pleasure”

Chinese New Year Resolutions: Modern Psychology for Success

Gung Hoi Fat Choi – Happy Chinese New Year

oragami dragon
Chinese New Year Resolutions. Re-energize your resolutions and Feng Shui intentions

Use Chinese New Year for a fresh start.

Chinese New Year is a time to feast on traditional foods. Chinese New Year Resolutions is an opportunity to re-energize and re-formulate those January 1st resolutions that are running out of steam. New Years is also a great time to review and renew your Feng Shui intentions.

Because Feng Shui is an ever-growing art and science we can use the insights of modern psychology and philosophy to make more effective intentions. Richard Holton, a philosopher at MIT with more than a decade studying choices, decisions and willpower has the following insights:

Tips for Powerful, Effective Resolutions:

  • Making resolutions without specific actions will make you feel good about yourself, but will not change your behavior or give you the outcomes you desire.

    Make resolutions that are specific, with positive do-able action steps that can become part of your routine. And then do them.  Instead of saying “I will lose weight this year.” say “I will eat no more than X grams of carbs a day for healthy weight loss” or, “I will exercise x times a week to achieve a healthy weight of XXX pounds.”

  • Once made, don’t overthink your resolutions.

    “You can sabotage even the most effective resolution by indulging your thinking mind and rethinking it too soon and too often.” says Holton.

    A good resolution is a rule we make for ourselves and follow. It is a choice made that eliminates other choices,

    and the chances to talk yourself out of doing something. If you are on a low-carb diet overthinking can lead you to rationalizing a pasta dinner to yourself with “it won’t ruin my diet.”

  • If a resolution is difficult to keep ask yourself what is getting in the way.

    Look deeper into your motives, emotions and rationalizations. You can gain some positive learning from a “failed” resolution. If you can’t stick to a low-carb diet ask yourself what is preventing this? Do carbs boost your mood? Do you crave sweet carbs? Is this the right diet for you? Are you really motivated to lose weight at this time?

Learn more about psychology and resolutions and intentions with Why Your Subconscious Sabotages You & How to Use Psychology to Craft Successful Resolutions.

Celebrate the New Year with Traditional Foods

Eat a juicy orange-color citrus fruit (orange, tangerine, or clementine). The orange color of the fruit symbolizes gold which represents wealth. The sweetness of the fruit establishes a sweet year for you. If you are on that low-carb diet, eat fish, which symbolizes prosperity.

If you want to learn how to use Feng Shui Intentions to improve your life, contact me for a personal consultation.

photo by Brett Jordan

Fireplace Accent Wall: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

A fireplace is a promise of warmth, light, relaxation, and gathering together. A fireplace accent wall celebrates this.

This is the second in a series on How to Avoid Accent Wall Mistakes.

If you have a fireplace (functioning or not) it is, by definition, the focal point of the room: visually, functionally, and energetically. If your fireplace is the focal point of the room that wall would be perfect for a fireplace accent wall, right?
Not always.

Ask yourself, is your fireplace attractive on its own, or is it just taking up wall space. A colorful wall is not an accent wall unless the color frames or hightlights s
omething bold and dramatic, something worth looking at. (See Accent Walls Mistakes to Avoid for photos and more.)

If your fireplace is:

  • Just a hole in the wall
  • framed by a bland, outdated or unattractive mantelpiece, or
  • topped by a boring piece of art or framed mirror.

This is not a wall that should be made an accent wall.

red fireplace accent wall failure
The Ugly: There is nothing attractive about this fireplace accent wall. The red color is highlighting a nothing.

This fireplace accent wall is underwhelming.

  • The fireplace is not attractive on it’s own,
  • The mirror above it is undistinquished, and
  • Framing the doorway in color make the wall look off balance.

 
 

Fireplace accent wall battling with room focused on TV
The Bad: This room is arranged to focus on the flat screen TV (far left). The accent wall ends up a miscellaneous decoration.

The focal point of this room and the furniture arrangement is the flat screen TV (far left), not the fireplace. Adding an accent color to this fireplace wall creates two focal points for this room – which is distracting and confusing.
 
 
 
 
 

This fireplace accent wall is a successful focal point for this room.

Teal fireplace accent wall is true focal point
The Good: This accent wall highlights the true focal point of the room.

This mantelpiece is attractive and deserves to be highlighted with color. Furniture is arranged to frame the fireplace and creates a comfortable seating and conversation area – it meets the promise of the fireplace itself.
 
 
 
 
 
Building on this and the ideas of the previous Accent Wall article, be sure your fireplace wall is up to being the focal point of the room before adding accent colors.

Next: Accent Wall Color Harmony

Get a personal color, feng shui or home design consultation. Contact me!

Accent Wall Mistakes to Avoid: Color Alone Does Not Make a Successful Accent Wall

People frequently ask me about accent walls when I’m teaching my class: Choose Colors with Confidence. It’s easy to make accent wall mistakes. I decided to go into more depth on accent walls for a recent presentation. Searching for example photos I saw many sad mistakes.

Accent walls are popular because they’re featured in so many home makeovers. I believe this is because the TV decorators have twenty four hours and a budget of $1.98 to transform a room for the “big reveal.” Painting a wall in a bold color and grouping all the best pieces from the room in front it is a quick and easy solution for dramatic television visuals.

So why so many sad mistakes when creating accent walls in the real world?

Learn How to Avoid Accent Wall Mistakes. Learn the logic to successful accent walls here.

This is the first of a series of articles that will show you when to use accent walls and how to make them a success in your home.

I rarely recommend accent walls just to have an accent wall because they can visually chop-up the look of a room.

I suggest an accent wall when it is desired by a client and supports an existing or planned focal point of a room.

An accent wall by it’s nature becomes the focus of the room. Your eye is automatically drawn to that area of color. But looking at some of the photos, I noticed that I felt cheated because the furniture and artwork framed by the accent wall were bland and boring. As a viewer I wanted a bigger payoff. If you are going to use an accent wall you need some drama there. Without drama this is an accent wall mistake.

Accent walls are most successful when they:

  • Frame a large and bold piece of art that is the focal point of the room
  • Frame a large and dramatic headboard in a master bedroom, when there are no other competing decorative or architectural features.
  • Highlght an architectural element:
  • A large wall that works as a sculptural element in the space.
  • A large and beautifully designed mantelpiece.
  • In a very large space that has nothing architecturally or decoratively interesting in it, a bold color on a large wall can work.

living room with sage green accent wall mistake
This accent wall is a missed opportunity. Color alone will not create enough interest.

This is an example of an accent wall that falls short. There needs to be more drama on that wall. And the accent wall makes the room look smaller.

 
 
 
 
 
 

orange accent storage wall in kitchen
Bold color on a bold wall makes a successful accent wall.

Here is an example of a bold color highlighting a wall that is big and works like a sculptural element in the space.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

accent wall mistake: bedroom with gray accent wall on side
This accent wall would be much more effective behind the headboard and framing the yellow painting.

Here is a missed opportunity. This dark gray wall would be so much more effective if it was behind the bed and framing the artwork above the headboard.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
White and gray master bedroom with blue accent wall.
White and gray master bedroom with blue accent wall. Success!

This is an example of a successful accent wall. The room itself is rather unadorned architecturally. With the artwork on the wall, the accent wall anchors and supports the bed and provides some decorative drama to the room.
 

Avoid Accent Wall Mistakes: Successful accent walls work in harmony with other elements to create a focal point for the room.

What experiences have you had with accent walls? Join the conversation below.

Next article: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Fireplace Accent Walls.

Curious about Color and Feng Shui? Click here!

If you would like a color consultation, a feng shui or interior psychology consultation, please contact me today.

Feng Shui: Declutter Gifts and Heirlooms

Declutter Gifts and Heirlooms

Recently a Feng Shui client asked me what to do with several things she had inherited from her father that didn’t fit into her home. They took up her limited space and didn’t really fit in with her taste and décor. She needed help to declutter gifts and heirlooms.

What do you do with well-intentioned gifts and family treasures that clutter your space and your life?  

decluttering gifts and heirlooms, antique chest partially open
Do you have heirlooms or gifts that don't fit your home or your lifestyle?

“Clutter,” as Karen Kingston writes in Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, “is something that is not genuinely useful or truly loved.” It could be the ump-teenth dolphin knick-knack you received long after you out-grew your infatuation with dolphins. Or your great uncle’s umbrella stand – but you never knew your great uncle. Feng Shui tells us that clutter blocks chi-energy. If you are feeling stuck in your life, it could be due to clutter in your home or office.

There are three ways to approach this dilemma:

Let go of those thing that do not enhance your life, functionally or emotionally, while you hold on to the love and warm feelings with which the gift was given.

  1. Donate to charity – get a receipt for taxes
  2. Sell through a consignment shop – get it out of your house and make a little money
  3. Or, if it is beyond repair or useful function – toss it.

If these items are hard to let go, take photos of the items and create a memory book, either a scrap book or an online photo album. And then donate, sell or toss.

If it is something you have inherited and these things have meaning for your extended family, perhaps they would be treasured by another family member. Ask them if there is anything they would like to have. Then give them thirty (30) days to pick it up or arrange to have it shipped to their own home. If not claimed within that time period – then give it to a charity or toss it.

These may seem like harsh words, but I am sure the people who gave you these gifts or family treasures did not intent for them to clutter your life. Think of the larger circle of giving and receiving. What is your clutter may be someone else’s treasure. Trust that the universe will find the right home for these things.

Need help to re-vision your home without clutter and in harmony with your lifestyle? Contact me, today.

Get more inspiration for your decluttering.

photo by mckay savage

Porches for Pleasure

Porches for Pleasure: “A porch has a railing around it, and a roof over it, and it’s all white, and it has a swing and some rocking chairs…and a little table with lemonade glasses, and warm nights and fireflies, and crickets, and soft music, and a moon in the sky…” – Linus, Peanuts by Charles Schulz, August 27, 1995.

A porch is more than an attachment to your home. A porch is a place to create memories like Linus’. A porch, or patio, or balcony, can be made a place for cozy gathering or quiet rest in contact with Nature. Learn how to make porches for pleasure.

You are familiar with the healing and balancing qualities on Nature. Make your connection with Nature and your outdoor space welcoming with a few simple additions.

porches for pleasure by Linus - Peanuts
Linus’ Perfect Porch…anything else is just a stoop.

Linus Knows All the Essentials for the Perfect Porch

“A Swing”
This is ideal for your porch. Friends of mine have a swing on their deck and it adds to the enjoyment of their garden and hummingbird watching.

“Rocking Chairs”
If a swing doesn’t work for you then consider rocking chairs. They come in singles and bench style. Rockers or gliders.

There is something primal and soothing about rocking that you never out-grow,

Comfortable Chairs for Lounging
Comfort is essential for porches for pleasure. You want comfortable, practical and affordable seating for your outdoor space. This is the triple play of furniture, no less for the outside than the inside. If your furniture is not comfortable you won’t use the space – no matter how attractive it is. One client scored their dream porch chairs at an end-of-season sale.

“A Little Table”
Get a big table to eat around if that is your lifestyle and you have the space. If not, at least a small table for your “lemonade glasses,” or wine glasses. And on cool evenings or in chilly weather for a warming mug.

“Soft Music”
If you have your music on your cell phone then use your phone speaker dock, a Bluetooth speaker or something similar. Remember you want “soft music”.

“Warm Nights, Fireflies, and Crickets”
These words bring back wonderful memories of my childhood. Summer evenings my friends and I would run around the neighborhood trying to catch fireflies in glass jars, enchanted by their magical glow. Giddy with the sheer joy of the bob-and-weave of chasing after these winking points of light.

You you don’t have “fireflies and crickets” you may have the sound of the breeze in the trees, the song of birds, or the murmur of soft voices in the distance.

Light
So you don’t sit in the dark add candles in protective hurricane sleeves or lanterns. They will provide a warm glow and a gathering point on your porch. Battery-powered candles can add to the atmosphere.

Porches for Pleasure

Think about what will make your porch/deck/balcony a comfortable and welcoming place to be. Make those changes and enjoy one of the overlooked pleasures of summer: an evening outdoors with Nature.

No Mosquitoes
Citronella candles are optional for the scent memories. If you are trying to keep mosquitoes away, then try a fan. Science Magazine Online notes that most chemical deterrents don’t work. The New York Times reported that a fan pointed at you is more effective. How does this work?: mosquitoes don’t like flying into a headwind, and a fan will disburse the body heat and odors that attract insects. Use an oscillating fan or box fan for best results.

What are your favorite porch pleasures. Please comment below.

Click here to see more about creating gardens for warm memories.

Want to create porches for pleasure, a garden, or home that grows warm memories for you and your family? Contact Linda.

Gardens that Grow Wonderful Memories

Gardens are unique as a place for creating wonderful memories. My favorite garden is one I saw on a garden tour in Newbury, Massachusetts several years ago.  It was not the fanciest, but it was the most personal in expressing the lives of the family that lived there for 3 generations.

gardens grow wonderful memories stepping stones on moss covered path in garden
The best gardens invite you in.

Walking up the gravel drive I noticed pachysandra circling the bases of trees.  A shaded patio next to the screened porch was made of old brick pavers with moss growing in the cracks. A wrought iron table and chairs invited conversation and relaxation.  I could almost hear the clink of ice cubes.

Straight ahead I saw a tall hedge with a narrow opening. Squeezing through, we entered an outdoor room, enclosed on three sides by the hedge and on the fourth by a garden house.  The garden house was a small cottage with a roof and three walls, the “missing” wall opened to the outdoor room. It had a soot stained stone fireplace on the back wall and was furnished with well worn upholstered furniture covered with faded chintz. It was the perfect place for a drizzly summer day read or cool spring evening gathering.

The far back of the yard had a large lawn, perfect for games, with the tall hedge corralling both kids and balls, while muffling the sound of excited play.

Back at the house, near the kitchen, was a stand of tall pines.  Clustered under the broad branches I saw several small crosses – the graves of several generations of family pets.

This garden is unpretentious, loved and lived in. It offeres places for different activities and even different age groups.  It is a garden where wonderful memories are made.

Few of us have a multi-generational home on a few acres of land. But we can rethink our garden. We can create areas within our gardens that support gathering, quiet, contemplation, and active play.

Rethink the interaction between inside and outside.

  • In the garden arrange something especially beautiful to be seen from a particular window.
  • Inside arrange furniture near that window to encourage connecting with nature.
  • Think of how adding lights or a fireplace can make your garden more welcoming in the evening.
  • Or simply open your windows and let in fresh air and energized Chi into your home.

What gardens have you known or experienced that create wonderful memories for you?

If you would like guidance creating a memorable garden or outdoor space contact me.

Outdoor Spaces with Feng Shui: Connect with the Power of Nature

Feng Shui Makes the Most Out of Nature

Feng Shui power of nature: "Every blade of grass has its angel that whispers grow grow."
Experience the Power of Nature.

After a bleak and cold spring Nature is now in her glory. Gardens are exploding with life. You are experiencing the restorative power of nature. More and more scientific studies agree that time in Nature reduces stress and improves health and wellbeing. Feng Shui knows the power of Nature is balancing: if you are feeling frazzled Nature calms you, if you are feeling down Nature lifts your spirits.

Click the links below to see how to savor your connection with Nature.

“Declutter your Summer Stuff for Less-Stress and More Fun”

“The Secrets to a Porch or Patio You Can Enjoy”

Contact me to help you bring the power of Nature into your home and your life.