You are in My World Now

You are here: Home / Archives for Home and Lifestyle

Practical Feng Shui for the Home

by

Feng Shui for many people is something mysterious and somehow magical. But if you analyze the basic principles of this ancient Chinese art, they are in fact rational whether you believe it or otherwise. This system of beliefs lies on the theory that energy flows through everything. It is the practice of placing objects in such a manner that they allow and not hinder the proper flow of energy. Arranging the home the Chinese way brings luck even to the non-believer. Here’s how:


Doors

Make the flow of chi (positive energy) from the front entrance to the back door continuous and unhindered. Doorways should be cleared – no big furniture or seats should block the way. This makes sense – who wants to hit her shins against a carelessly-positioned chair, anyway? Hang wind chimes outside huge doors to deflect sha, or negative energy. Aesthetic-wise, they make nice accents as well, to break the monotony and massiveness of the wood.

Stairways

Poorly positioned stairways deflect chi that enters from the front door. Stairways that are opposite front doors direct good vibes into the second floor, thus starving the ground floor. In a practical sense, such accessibility also poses danger should anyone break into your house.

Winding staircases – not spiral staircases that seem to bore a hole into the earth – are ideal for the flow of chi.  They are good for small units because they don’t take up so much space.

Dining room

Round tables signify stability and the Earth (and money), so get one for your dining area. Round tables also encourage participation of everyone during dinner conversations.

Kitchen

Your sinks represents water and your stove signifies fire, which are two clashing elements, so these two shouldn’t be placed side by side. Besides, imagine the damage if you accidentally splash water on your electric stove! Remedy with a wooden plank or counter in between (the wood represents earth, which balances the two out).

While you’re at it, paint your kitchen white, a “reflection of purity” – and a color that makes it easy to spot stains.

Toilets in the kitchen are a definite no-no because they produce negative vibes (the flushing action of the toilet represents the flushing down of wealth, which is symbolized by the food in the kitchen). They produce diseases, too.

Bedroom

The Chinese carry their deceased feet first out the door, so never sleep with your feet directly towards the doorway. Besides, you wouldn’t want anyone to look up your nightgown, would you? It is not advisable to hang picture frames on the wall behind your bed as doing so may bring you nightmares and unhealthy results. Do not place your bed too close to the window as well to prevent bad dreams. Your bedroom must not be situated very near to the kitchen as the latter is related to fire which is a symbol that could be very fatal to anyone’s bedroom.

Lastly, placing a mirror right in front of your bed is also a no-no because they are said to be the hiding place of ghosts and other earthly creatures that you don’t want to see.

Keeping these Feng Shui tips in mind can be advantageous especially if you intend to sell the property sooner or later. You might not expect it but there are actually quite a number of people who value this oriental concept in home building. It will be easier to sell your unit as even believers will be drawn in by how your unit’s design agree with the dynamics of Feng Shui. On the other hand, potential clients who don’t really buy this superstition will most likely just shrug it off and not care whether or not the unit’s design adheres to such principle.

Meanwhile, if you are not too sure about the authenticity of this concept, perhaps you just have to decide based on the premise that following the principles of Feng Shui poses no direct harm on your home, the inhabitants, and your budget. It does not necessarily entail a lot of bizarre addition to the home fixtures, nor does it require bigger funds for home building, so you might as well give it a try. While it may or may not directly bring in “luck” and prosperity to the home, it could heighten your earning potential especially if you are building for real estate business.

Cedric Loiselle is an experienced writer who enjoys imparting useful information to many readers. The topics he usually writes about include finance, home improvement, relationships, and health. Looking for a good property manager? He can give sound referrals be it for Louisiana, Baton Rouge, or New Orleans property management.





DIY vs. Hiring an Interior Designer

by

interiors

So it’s time for you to start working on tearing down that old drab wallpaper, repainting the walls and redecorating. While many people think this is an easy project to take on by themselves, it’s not as easy as one might assume. As much as you think you know about something, experts always know more. Here are the pros and cons of doing it yourself vs. hiring a professional interior designer and why you might want to consider hiring someone to do the job for you.

Knowledge

Being on the DIY side means you know what you want to have done and you know what the final product looks like in your head.

On the other hand, an interior designer is a trained professional with experience. Interior designers understand spacial layouts, can envision the full picture, have other professional contacts and guarantees satisfaction. They also have expensive software that they can use to visualize room setups, so while you may have the concept in your head, they can create it on paper to ensure it’s exactly what you’re looking to do.

Decorating


You look through magazines and see the perfect furniture for your newly decorated room but it’s at an astronomical price. Because of this, you can only buy furniture that fits your budget and a lot of the time, that’s not what you are looking for. If you hire an interior designer, you have the time and freedom to research and find replicas of your favorite furniture for a fraction of the cost, allowing you to essentially have your cake and eat it too.

By hiring an interior designer, their expertise is guaranteed to get you the most bang for your buck and help you to avoid making any costly mistakes. The interior designer also can work with a clients budget to create the perfect space for the client with the furniture that makes the most sense.

Time

There are both pros and cons of doing a project on your own time. If you have a family in the picture, once you dive into a big interior design project you can find that it consumes all of your time and leaves little to no time for your family. If you have a full-time job, it could be extremely difficult to find any additional time to do anything besides work on this project. On the other hand, if you’re performing this project on your own, you have the ability to do it at your own pace in the comfort of your home.

As an interior designer, this is their profession which means they can do the legwork for you and save you the time and exhaustion of running around trying to get this project done. The experience an interior designer has can help consolidate the time that it would take you or someone else with little experience to complete the project.

Budget

Budgets are always a big issue when it comes to redecorating and changing the interior design of a space. If you’re doing it yourself, you have the opportunity of saving tons of money by doing the work yourself and not having to pay labor for trained professionals to come in and do it for you. One thing to keep in mind is that if you make an error due to your handy work, you will have to pay for your lack of experience.

An interior designer might be costly, but the knowledge and experience he or she brings is truly priceless. By hiring an interior designer, you have the guarantee that whatever project they’re doing for you will get done exactly how you want it done and it will be done properly. The peace of mind of knowing your space is being taken care of by professionals is in many cases worth the extra money.

Whether you choose to do the project yourself or hire someone, it’s important to know the pros and cons of each side. This way, when it comes time to make your final decision, you’re well educated and can make a responsible decision based on your research.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer who enjoys DIY projects. Recently she finished a strenuous project that required the use of platform trucks to help her move a lot of her materials. She hopes that others interested in DIY projects learn from her tips to help them with their projects!

9 Low Cost Ways To Save On Your Winter Heating Bills

by

Winter can be financially crippling for many families, with the kids going back to school, christmas, new years and the freezing temperatures. Sadly, due to the rising cost of energy and budget cuts winter looks set to become even tougher in upcoming years. Luckily there are some simple solutions you can take to save on your monthly heating bill. Don’t worry I am not going to suggest you spend £5000 on double glazed windows all these solutions are either free or at most cost £40.

  • Closing the Curtains When the Sun Goes Down – this is a subtle action that can make a big difference.
  • Layer up! You may like wondering around with just your underwear on, but maintaining those kinds of temperatures are expensive. Socks are absolutely essential in winter, you lose a large proportion of your body heat through your feet.
  • Close Up All Gaps – you may be shocked by the number of spaces that air can get through in your house. If you have a fireplace, make sure to close the flute when it’s not in use. Window and door frames are often filled with gaps – light a candle and follow its movement to spot them. Gaps are easy to fill, you can use simple caulking for gaps in the windows and a sweep.
  • Upgrade your radiator valves – Thermostatic radiator valves regulate the flow of hot water to the radiator, controlling the temperature of a room.
  • Lowering the base temperature of your house by a few degrees is unlikely to be noticeable (assuming you haven’t already done it), you should consider taking similar action with your water heater.
  • Regulate the times your house is heated, there is no point keeping the sofa warm while your at work or asleep.
  • Closing your bathroom and kitchen fans when they are not needed will prevent unnecessary heat escaping.
  • Make use of all the heat you create! Leave the bathroom door open after you shower and the kitchen door open while you cook so the released heat can help heat the house.
  • Get maintenance done on your house! Your local electrician can improve the efficiency,  of your heaters and you personally can ensure that your filters are clean, further reducing heating costs.

Hopefully this list will make your Christmas that little bit merrier and your new years that little bit happier. Keep in mind that while reducing the energy cost of your heating you also reduce you carbon footprint. So you can go forth knowing that you have done that little bit extra for the world as well as your wallet.

Written by Jacob Catt on behalf of Heated Towel Rails, suppliers of towel rails for the whole of the UK.

photo by: Five Furlongs

5 As Seen on TV Products People Still Find Useful

by

Am I the only one who thinks I need to purchase every product I see a commercial or infomercial for? Man, they really know what they’re doing with their marketing that’s for sure. I live my life totally fine, completely oblivious of a particular product. And then I see a commercial for it… and my whole world changes. I need that product NOW. I begin to wonder how I ever survived up until that point without the use of that product in my life.

Whether you are a sucker like me, or you think most “As Seen on TV Products” are kind of a joke, one thing is for certain. There are definitely at least a handful of As Seen on TV products that really are quite useful. Really when it comes down to it, all I can say is this: don’t knock it till you try it.

Here are 5 As Seen on TV products that people find useful:

1. ShamWow

Most of us, when we first saw the commercials for the ShamWow, probably kind of made fun of them. I mean, really, I’ll just use paper towels, thank you very much. But then we saw them hanging out in the grocery store checkout lane and we picked them up. And once we got them home, we realized that these cloths really are super absorbent, and it’s nice to have a product like this that we can wash and use over and over again.

2. Insanity Workout

Again, most of us have probably made fun of these commercials. I mean, sometimes it seems like every other commercial is advertising for some sort of workout video or in-home workout equipment. But then we started hearing the reviews. And for people who have used the Insanity workout program (and a few others that are similar to it), they can all agree on one thing: it produces great results!

3. Snuggie

Every single one of us has made fun of their commercials. When I was forced to continually see that woman throwing her blanket off in frustration when she couldn’t answer the phone, I swore I would never own one of these items just on pure principle of how much I hated the commercials.

Then I came across one in the store. And as I really started to think about it, I began to realize that this could actually be a pretty useful product! Having those sleeves in the blanket as you try to read, use the remote control, or talk on the phone, really could be pretty nice. So, I will admit it, I broke down and purchased one.

Even though we’ve all made fun of snuggies’ commercials, when you really start looking into it, at this point most people you know probably actually own one of these products. And we’ve all enjoyed not having to throw off our blanket in frustration when the phone rings.

4. Neck Pillow

We’ve all seen these on commercials, in gas stations, and in the airport magazine stores. The neck pillow. Anyone who has ever been on a long airplane ride, or a road trip, will all agree: these neck pillows are a lifesaver!

5. Slap Chop

Again, this is yet another one of those As Seen on TV products that many of us have made fun of… until we own one. These little handheld choppers really do save quite a bit of time over having to chop those items with a knife.

Nicole is a writer for StarReviews.com, where they review websites, software and services. Check out Star Reviews 2012.

photo by: randomcuriosity

Fun Resources to Make Posters Online

by

A poster is a very versatile medium – a poster can fit perfectly in a teenage girl’s room, a CEO’s office, or any public location. They’re excellent for marketing or for just expressing yourself. If you want to create a custom posters, here are five fun online resources that will help you do it.

Zazzle.com

Zazzle is a print-on-demand company that allows you to create many different types of materials, including posters. It’s easy to make your own poster with Zazzle, and you have lots of options to customize it. You can choose from five different types of paper finishes. You can create custom framing or choose from a selection of custom frames. Your posters can be up to 40in by 60in, and you can get them in less than 24 hours. If you want, you can even decide to put your posters on sale in the Zazzle marketplace where you can set your own price and set up your own Zazzle shop.

Vistaprint.com

Vistaprint can help you design your poster with an easy-to-use interface. There are tons of customization options, including size, font, color, paper, and much more. There are hundreds of templates you can select from to use as a starting point for your poster. If you prefer, you can also just upload the poster you’ve already designed, or you can start with a completely blank poster. Vistaprint makes it easy for you to add your own photos to your posters, and they are very reasonably-priced.

CafePress.com

CafePress is another print-on-demand company with tons of different types of products you can customize. You can create posters, banners, yard signs, and more. CafePress is fun to use because you are literally given a blank canvas, and you have a tool bar of options like text boxes, graphic boxes, colors, fonts, and more. If you’re not great at designing things it could be a little challenging, but it’s an excellent choice for people who want to start their poster from scratch. Like Zazzle, if you want to you can sell your posters through your own CafePress online store for the price you choose.

Fathead.com

Fatheads are wall graphics that began as life-size posters of athletes and sports-related graphics. They’re made of die cut vinyl or canvas, and they’re a unique, memorable way to create a poster. You can design your own custom Fathead in an easy six-step process. Upload the photos or images you want to use, choose a layout, add effects or text if desired, and order. There are 13 sizes to choose from. While Fatheads are a lot more expensive than other types of traditional posters, they make a big statement.

PosterBurner.com

PosterBurner is a poster-making company that can help you create the exact poster you want. There are countless options for size, paper type, backing material, layouts, text, and more. Just start with an uploaded image of your choosing and work around it to design your poster. PosterBurner has a quick turnaround time, and its blog also provides insights on how to make great posters.

This article was prepared by M.P Brown. M.P writes about enhanced site solutions by Icon.

Meta

Pages

Connect with Us