Home Improvement – Designing a Beautiful Home

Posts Tagged ‘Bedroom’

The idea of a sprawling bedroom is appealing to some people, but many of us have only a small space to work with. Luckily, with a few interior design tricks, you can maximize the space in your bedroom. Here are 7 quick tips for making your small bedroom look bigger.

Tip 1: Clean, Clean, Clean

When space is at a premium, you don’t want your lovely bedroom furniture to compete with scattered collections of books, shoes, and clothing. Keep your open spaces clear and orderly by using clever ways to hide the clutter. Keep your closet closed. Look for shelves and armoires that can be drawn shut to keep contents out of sight. Table and bed skirts are also great ways to make the room look tidier.

Tip 2: Keep Open Spaces Open

Don’t close off your precious floor space with too-big furniture or too many pieces. Opt for smaller furnishings with clean, simple designs. Modern furniture is a great choice. Chaise loungers and ottomans leave more open space than heavily cushioned couches. Shove your furniture up against the walls to make the most of your space, and always leave a clear walkway through the bedroom.

Tip 3: Lighten Up!

You might have heard that dark colors are slimming. That’s true for interior decorating, too. If you fill your room with dark furniture, dark carpeting, and dark walls, you’ll make it look smaller than it really is. To get the opposite effect, use light-colored neutrals or pastels to open up the room.

Tip 4: Keep it in the Family

The color family, that is. For example, if you’ve decided on a blue color palette for your bedroom, use a variety of pale blue hues that complement each other on your fabrics and upholstery. This will give the room a monochromatic look that’s anything but boring. It will also make the bedroom appear wider and more open.

Tip 5: Match it Up

If you have bedroom furniture, drapes, and sheets all in contrasting colors or busy patterns, you’re breaking up the natural continuity of the bedroom and making it appear fragmented and small. Instead, match the furniture to the walls and the drapes. You don’t have to use the exact same color on everything, but keep the tones similar.

Tip 6: Let There be Light

Nothing brightens up a room like ambient light, be it natural or artificial. Be creative with your use of luminosity. Hang wall sconces and use drop-down ceiling lights that don’t take up floor space. Opt for sheer curtains, and place candle arrangements in front of mirrors for a sense of depth and space.

Tip 7: Bigger is Better

It might seem counterintuitive, but a few quality pieces of large furniture in a small bedroom look less crowded than several smaller pieces. Choose your bedroom furniture with care. Only select pieces that harmonize well with your color scheme, and look for ottomans and tables with hidden storage spaces.

These interior design tips can be put to good use by anyone with a small space they want to enlarge. With a few subtle changes, you’ll soon have an attractive bedroom that’s comfortable enough to relax in – and that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Whether you’re single, dating or married, the bedroom blues (and blahs) can strike at any time.  Here are five simple and easy to implement Feng Shui cures to help increase your romance quotient in the bedroom and beyond.

To begin, stand in the doorway of your bedroom, and make a note of the rear right corner of the room.  In the Feng Shui bagua map, this is known as the love and marriage area, and it is the area of the room that we will be focusing on.

Cure 1: De-clutter and clean the area.  This will help allow the ch’i, or energy in the home, to flow freely through the area.  Take the extra step, and remove clutter from the rest of the room as well.  Not only will that help the ch’i, it will also help improve your relaxation level while you are in the room, which can help romance.

Cure 2: Enhance the romantic decor.  Look at any photos, art, or collectibles you may have in the love and marriage area of the room.  Sad clowns, photos of exes, or solitary figures are not desirable for this area.  Choose items which represent romance for you.  Some positive examples might include a vintage poster of a kissing couple, abstract sculptures of two intertwined figures, or even something as whimsical as two happy clowns (if you happen to like clowns and find them romantic) or a figurine of cuddling frogs or bears.  The most important thing is to represent couples, particularly romantic or loving couples.

Cure 3: Add fresh flowers in a pretty vase.  Living things add ch’i  to a space, and flowers in particular add beauty and romance to any space.  Roses would be a traditional choice, but tulips, irises, or any flower you love will work well.  Avoid single flowers, however, because that implies aloneness.  Larger groupings of flowers imply an abundance of love and romance.  Take good care of your flowers, and replace frequently.  Allowing dead or dying flowers to remain in the area will detract from, rather than enhance the ch’i.

Cure 4: Hang a small wind chime and/or hanging crystal above the area.  This will soften the corner of the room.  Choose wind chimes that make soft, pleasant sounds that won’t disturb you while you sleep if there is a breeze in the room.  The design should suggest romance to you in some way- either by its’ shape (a heart, for example), or by the design (again, avoid solitary figures).  Hanging crystals, besides reflecting lovely rays of light on the wall,  help move ch’i throughout the room.

Cure 5: Place a small, tabletop indoor fountain in the area.  Choose a design which speaks to you of romance, either by design or by shape.  Many indoor fountains feature whimsically romantic designs (cuddling frogs, for example), or have groupings of candles, stones or bamboo.  This will keep the ch’i in the room flowing, and provide soothing sounds to enhance the romantic aura of your bedroom. 

Implement these five easy Feng Shui cures, and you will be on your way to upping your ante in the game of love!

Different forms of energies are everywhere around you, and if you know how to utilize these energies, you will be able to enrich your life in a great way. Feng Shui is one way of utilizing the energy, as it tells you how to design every corner of your home for better effects.

Employing Feng Shui design tips in the way you layout your bedrooms can have a profound impact on the flow of energy. This unique science focuses on creating a perfect balance between negative and positive energy by utilizing spaces efficiently. You’ll find that when you employ these principles in your bedroom design it will not only be practical but could also enrich your life by creating a harmonious flow of energy through the environment.

There are many things that can affect the flow of energy in your bedroom. The position of your bed for example is one of the most crucial elements that will determine the flow of energy. The experts in this particular field suggest that your bed should be kept in the command position. This is so that it enables you to derive the desired level of energy that flows through your room.

What is the command position? The fact of the matter is that you may not always be able to get everything right according to Feng Shui principles. Ideally speaking, the perfect command position would be the furthest diagonally opposite space from the entrance of your bedroom. This is a good place to rest your bed as it keeps you at a good distance from the entrance while making sure that you are in direct reach of the harmonious flow of energy. Keep in mind, it is not recommended to place your bed right opposite the door as that will overexpose you to the flow of energy.

If possible, you should strive to have a full-scale wall behind your bed. This will allow you to lean on the wall as you sit on your bed and thus provide you with a comprehensive visual command of your bedroom. This is important symbolically as well as physically.

Another thing that you need to watch out for is your bedroom window. Feng Shui experts suggest that the window should ideally appear on the right side of your bed and not directly above it. Again, the object of placing the bed in this manner is so that you derive positive energy in the desired quantity from the window along with the door.

However, the manner in which your bedroom is designed may not always enable you to employ these principles as they are. This is where you have to take the advice of a professional Feng Shui expert who will be able to create improvised solutions for your bedroom. Similarly, you can consult the professional to help you with the layout of the entire house or even your office space so as to benefit from the fine balance of positive and negative energy which Feng Shui interior design helps to accomplish.

Get more tips on feng shui by clicking here!

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephanie McWilliams

Feng shui is manifesting at it’s best. It’s a way of inspiring our minds to think more about what we DO want, and less about what we don’t. When we create a bedroom that’s already built for our perfect partner, we’re more likely to bring that person into our life. Here are 10 quick feng shui tips to help add a spark to your current relationship, or help bring in the partner of your dreams.

1. REMOVE ALL LONELY, SOLITARY OR DEPRESSING ARTWORK

Objects that remind us of being alone can keep us stuck in solitary relationship patterns.

2. INCORPORATE SETS OF TWO’S

By placing objects together in sets of two, it inspires thoughts of partnership and togetherness.

3. ADD ROMANTIC IMAGERY

Bringing in sculptures, artwork, photos or objects that inspire thoughts of love and romance can bring a sizzling spark to an otherwise loveless space.

4. CREATE A ROMANTIC ENVIRONMENT

Adding things like candles, soft fabrics, tactile surfaces, warm, sensual scents, soothing sounds and mood lighting can heat up a cold environment.

5. INTRODUCE SENSUAL COLORS

Using warmer skin tones or fiery colors into your space, especially your bedroom, can add warmth and inspire sensuality and intimacy.

6. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS

Keep televisions and exercise equipment out of the bedroom or keep them covered behind screens or in cabinets. These things can distract you from the business at hand: ROMANCE!

7. FRESHEN UP THE ENERGY

Try replacing your bedding each year to keep the bedroom energy fresh and alive. Another great rule of thumb: replace your mattress after every major relationship so the energy of your past doesn’t end up haunting your future relationships!

8. REMOVE ALL THE BLOCKS

Remove any blocks that you may have unconsciously placed into your home. Look for clutter behind doors, cabinets or dressers placed in tight hallways, or furniture arranged awkwardly so that it’s difficult to maneuver. All these things can unconsciously sabotage relationship efforts.

9. LET GO OF THE OLD TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW

Holding onto old, depressing love letters or sad memorabilia and nick-knacks locks stagnant or negative energy into our home and life. By releasing these, and only surrounding ourselves with things that inspire us forward into our ideal future, we can easy manifest the partner of our dreams.

10. BUILD A ROOM FOR TWO

As they say, “If you build it, they will come”. Same goes for bedrooms. Make sure the room is built for two: equal space on either side of the bed, two nightstands, two lamps, and a nice sturdy headboard to support a relationship.

When you apply the principles of feng shui to decorate your bedroom, you can also apply these principles to your child’s bedroom. However for the application of feng shui design for your child’s bedroom, you should note the following:

Kid’s bedroom should be located to the east and southeast corners of the house because it will trigger for the movement and development of your child. If your child already under active positive, you should choose the Southeast to create the harmony of yin and yang. If your child is shy, gentle, sedentary than negative attributes, you should choose East to activate your kids, make them more confident and more active.

You should design a monochrome for your child’s bedroom and a gentle warm style, not to create a tranquil, too, so will cause hard feelings, making the child sleep without sleeping, dreaming sleep. So your child’s bedroom should be painted with warm colors just right, along with materials with soft lines, neutral and decorations appropriate to the age of your child.

Your child’s bedroom should be located close to your bedroom. So you can easily control their activities and timely help them if necessary.

While designing the bedroom of your child, you just spent an area of more than 3 to 5 times the area of bed is enough, so your child will not feel empty, lonely and not feel worried, scared.

As well as your bedroom so, your child’s bedroom should not put too many electronic devices such as computers, televisions, loudspeakers, sound amplifier… they can generate waves lead to the child’s mental disturbance during sleep. Your kid’s bedroom should be neatly organized, to create good habits for your kid.

As you know, kids have a very bright soul. All of nature through the eyes of them are very strange. All around them are certain to affect on the child’s soul. Therefore, building a colorful environment, lively for children is also considered important to their world view. Therefore, the principles of feng shui design would be useful to apply to the design of children’s bedrooms. It will help your child have an interesting life, happiness and create an orientation to develop a good character to your child later.

Wish you have best choices for your dear kids!