sawdust and paper scraps: Playhouse closet

sawdust and paper scraps: Playhouse closet, check this out! how fantastic is this!!!

Excited about trying Feng Shui in your house?

Well I am! I have been trolling through the web and my books to come up with a list of cures that can implemented with a minimum of effort as I dont know how practical it will be for us to source a piece of crystal to hang, a Bagua mirror or 3 legged toad. I shall save that for the next step. For now, simple easy to implement steps that can improve the flow of energy in your home.

1.  In Feng Shui , the front door is called the "mouth of chi (energy)" as that is how chi enters your house. So there should be no shoes or slippers next to main door or just inside. There should be free flow of chi (energy) from outside. As chi passes over dirty shoes it picks up negative energy and brings it into your home, and is believed to cause sickness. Also try to make this area clutter free and beautiful with potted plants/wind chime or fish bowl. It is believed that the quality of feng shui entering your house is determined by the state of your front door.  
2. To bring in good fortune, make sure you open all doors and windows for some time every day to refresh the air in your house. If not you will be living with stale chi and find it difficult to move forward in life. 
3. Chi flows better around curves so try to have round edges or circular furniture such as round dining table. It is creates a harmonious environment. Sharp edges create "poison arrows", creating aggressive yang energy and causing harm.
4. Clear clutter from your home. 3 rooms specially : Your bedroom, kitchen and the front door, these rooms have special significance in Feng Shui. They are called the "Feng Shui Trinity". Clutter is a low, stagnant and confusing energy. It causes drain of good energy. 
5. In the bedroom, clear out clutter from under your bed and wardrobe. Its advisable to not sleep on the floor, as chi cannot circulate under you. Also its better not to store anything under your bed, if you must, make sure its stacked up tidyly and is cleaned often. From your closet, let go of items that no longer fit, are too worn out or you simply cant imagine wearing. Donate/recycle. They are creating stagnant energy. Wardrobes should not be bursting at the seams. Limit the clothes in it at any point in time, so that chi can circulate and you shall always be blessed with new clothes :) 
6. The kitchen is associated with your health specially the liver. And as you know Liver is the organ responsible for detoxifying the body. So do take good care of your kitchen by  de-cluttering and getting all broken parts fixed on your utensils such as loose wobbly handles. Remember to clean your fridge regularly and make sure that fridge is not opposite the stove. Also try not to use harsh chemical cleaners, opt for green alternatives such as vinegar and baking soda for clean ups.  
7. Bathroom is considered a room that drains energy. So the first thing to do is to block access to it by A. always keeping the door closed B. Always keeping the pot lid down. Also fresh air is very important here, so make sure you leave a window open most of the time. 
8. Did you know a clock has a special significance in Feng Shui? In fact it actually has a negative reputation as it reminds us of the passing of time and therefore death. So be careful with your clock. never hang it in your bedroom. Hang them where you dont see it often, it shud not be where you can see it first thing when you enter the house. Its ok to hang clocks in  Kitchen, Living Room and Home Office. 
9. Now about using "the aspirin of Feng Shui" : Mirrors! They are called Aspirin as they are a great solution for solving the headaches of bad feng shui. Mirrors are a two way sword in Feng Shui. Used in the wrong space, they may deflect good chi out of your home or even alter the path of its movement, therefore blocking energy from flowing all over your home, thus creating pockets of bad chi. Used at the right place, it can allow chi to become bigger and spread better. Firstly, no mirrors in the bedroom above your bed or even where it can reflect the bed. Mirrors are supposed to bring "worry" into the bedroom, obviously something you dont want. Its good to have mirrors in narrow corridors and on closet doors (as you know closets have stagnant energy) just as long as it doesnt reflect your bed. 
10. Now I leave you with an interesting tip, use pink bedsheets to make your life more romantic!  

Can Feng Shui help you, really?

Thats what I am trying to find out.. I have been plagued with various aches and pains and ills and after having tried allopathy and homeopathy, wondered if its actually just blocked energy or negativity thats causing all these irritating symptoms.So I pulled out an awesome book that I've had for ages and never actually implemented, and I thought, why not give it a shot.

Here's the plan: I am going to condense and provide to you an overall understanding of the way Feng Shui works and provide some simple tips that can be implemented by you in your own home. I will also share with you the "cures" I will try out in my own home and then we can compare notes and see if Feng Shui can really help...

First off, its actually "Foong Shway".

2. Its based on the concept that we are surrounded or enveloped by Universal Energy (Chi) and if the flow of energy is not proper, then we face hurdles in our life. Quality of our life is dependent on Chi flow, so we need to monitor how it is flowing in our house. This way we can see if there some obstacles in its path that are indirectly creating issues in our life, from a difficult boss to frequently falling ill.
3. It looks at 8 aspects of our life which are located in the following directions of our house:

• North : Career & Path in Life
• South : Fame & Acknowledgement
• West : Creativity & Children
• East : Family & Health
• North West: Helpful People, Blessings & Travel
• North East : Spiritual Growth & Self-Cultivation, Knowledge
• South West : Relationships, Love and Marriage
• South East : Wealth & Abundance

4. The way to do this is, sketch out a basic layout of your house and map out directions. Then look at the list above and mark where each aspect lands in you house.

5. Then think about which aspect of your house you want to correct. Is it career or fame and acknowledgement or is it do with health and children? This is what is called a Ba-Gua Map.

6. Then watch out for my next blog which will detail the suggested cures for each of the 8 aspects above. 

Simple right?!

Spring Cleaning

Spring has definitely arrived in Bangalore. Trees are laden with voluptuous flowers and are a treat for the eyes (and a great distraction from the rest of the chaos around us). Its also time for a spring cleaning ritual. There's a great community called Apartment Therapy (www.apartmenttherapy.com) which says its 'saving the world, one room at a time', my sentiments exactly. It features an abundance of inspiring 'real' homes, it can and does make you want to leap out of your chair and start pottering around your home, suddenly overcome with ideas that must be implemented NOW! My carpenter knows that only too well now! But what I want to bring to your attention now is that they have this fantastic exercise called the "Cure".

You sign up for it and join the fellow participants in a 6 week program. Every week, you get a set of targets/activities that you carry out , one small step at a time and at the end of the Cure, you have climbed a mountain. I love the concept, had signed up for the Fall Cure last yr and am now enrolled in the Kitchen Cure as well as the Spring Cure. Its a great concept for houseproud owners who like to nurture their home environments, as you well know, a house is never ever "done', it evolves as you do, sometimes your tastes evolve or you finally get around to finishing some corner/wall/room that you didnt the first time round or you find something that you fall in love with and want to make a special place for it in your home. I firmly believe that the house is not a dead entity, that you do up once and forget about, it needs to grow and evolve with you, ever more beautiful and ever more 'You". So check it out and sign up!

Starting Off!

I am finally here, documenting my journey as an interior designer (hopefully a wildly successful and celebrated one ;) ) with my first blog entry. I shall share here some glimpses of what goes on behind the scenes when a client and designer work together, and no its not all smooth sailing. I have had my share of drive-me-up-the-wall clients and, am pretty sure, have stepped on some toes myself, though at the end of first year of my independent practice in Bangalore, I can proudly say I have made a few new friends too...

Till the next one....

Priyanka