Feng Shui is the Chinese art of detecting Chi, the energy in and around our physical world that affects our well being, sense of comfort and peace of mind. The spaces you live and work in are powerful forces in your life. Home is where you physically manifest your beliefs about the world, and it affects you just as you affect it. You can shift its energy to restore balance and encourage growth by integrating feng shui into your design choices on many different levels, depending on what resonates with you. Each design choice has a physical aspect, a psychological/emotional aspect, and a cultural aspect.

Step 1 : Ready your space by clearing it of negative energy. Most experts agree space clearing will improve the quality of our lives more effectively than any other feng shui technique.

- Thoroughly clean and organize the space as much as possible.
- Focus your mind on your intention to clear and energize your space.
- Light a sage wand or incense and walk through the entire space, saturating the atmosphere with the cleansing smoke.
- Ring bells at a slow steady rhythm while moving around the space.
- Refocus your attention to what your intention is for that space.

Step 2 : Consider how Chi flows. Some physical aspects should be considered at the outset.

- Doorways and windows that are directly across from one another allow Chi to flow straight through the space. Redirect the energy back into the room with screens, plants, crystals, etc.
- Long hallways that dead end may block the flow of Chi. Move the energy back out of an enclosed space through mirrors, chimes, and/or crystals.
- Rearrange the placement of furniture that blocks walking through a space.
- Arrange rugs to direct movement through the space.
- Soften sharp corners with plants, crystals, chimes.
- If there are any unused doors, place a folding screen in front of it.

Step 3 : Locate the areas in your space that relate to the areas of your life you wish to enhance. Begin with laying out the space in relationship to the Baqua Map.

- Sketch a floor plan of your space
- Sketch the areas of the Bagua Map over the plan
- Place the main entrance to your space in line with the bottom of the map.
- Small sections may extend beyond or intrude into the map
- Determine what specific life aspect(s) you wish to enhance.
- Place objects that have meaning and reflect those aspects so your intention for enhancing that area of your life is personally significant

An important note: Only use those feng shui adjustments that make sense to you and reflect your intentions. Placing something in your home that you don’t like just because it is “good feng shui” will not enhance your home or support your personal growth.

Owner : EnerChi Living Spaces & Gallery. We are a unique Home & Garden decor store. Specializing in Feng Shui design and consultation. We offer one-of-a-kind gifts and personalized ideas for decorating your home, garden and office. We offer workshops in Feng Shui decorating, meditation, journal writting, and manifesting your dreams. We support our local artists and musicians with shows and vignettes. Our merchandise is selected from all over the world with an emphasis on Asian Western design. The store exhibits a unique blend of products in a tranquil peaceful setting. We have just launched a home staging service for our local market. We have just completed an expansion to over 2,000 square ft. and our new website is under construction. http://www.enerchilivingspaces.com

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I always prefer to place an office area in a room other than the bedroom if it is going to be used for work.  Your bedroom should be a room where you can go to rest and let go of the work activities of the day.  But if the bedroom is the best place for you, place it where you will not have a direct view of it from the bed.  Your mind needs time to rest and relax and you might not be able to do that if you are lying in bed looking at work that needs to be done.

One option, place it in a corner and use a folding screen to hide it, any clutter and paperwork you’re working on.  To make the closed screen look, like a part of the room and not something hiding the desk, accessorize the corner.  Place a floor plant, an uplight and large floor accessory on the side you will not be opening and closing.  Or disguise the corner with draperies you can drop down at night.

If your bedroom is large enough, try angling your bed and bringing it out into the room enough to place the desk behind the bed.  Now, you don’t want the desk to act as your headboard, so you’ll need one. Make sure to leave enough room so that you can easily get behind the bed to your office area.  If you don’t have the room to angle, bring the bed straight out from the wall.

Need more storage along with a desk?  Build a unit with two bookcases and attach a desk top in-between or use a free-standing desk.  Use bi-fold doors, a folding screen or drapery panels to conceal the desk area.

Other ideas are to use a roll-top desk, armoire, decorative writing desk or even a baker’s rack.  If your desk will be open to view, purchase attractive desk accessories to keep your desk organized and the clutter out of view.

Gail Mayhugh is a Certified Interior Designer, Instructor, Speaker, Author and Design Columinst. Visit her website to read more decorating articles and sign up for one of the many classes that she instructs. http://GMJinteriors.com/

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Permanent Dividers

Permanent dividers make sense if you can commit yourself to a fixed room arrangement for the foreseeable future. Low walls are relatively simple to construct and you can finish and decorate them to match the rest of the room. Alternatively, you can fit one side of the divider with built-in shelving or cupboard space to provide additional storage. Counters to screen the cooking and preparation areas of a kitchen may need to be slightly higher to provide effective concealment.

Half-width, as opposed to half-height, partitioning is also a possibility. In a bedroom, a narrow partition at right angles to the wall can separate a bed from a study alcove. On the study side, you can add shelves for books and files.

Display shelves make effective dividers when you want to make a visual distinction between areas but don’t necessarily want to block views. Sturdy storage units, open on both sides, are good for separating living from dining areas and provide extra storage space for books and knickknacks. Bear in mind that units must be sturdy enough to withstand being toppled over if you accidentally knock into them. Alternatively, you can construct an open wall of shelving that is fixed securely to both the floor and ceiling.

Improvised Dividers

One of the simplest ways of dividing space is to position a dominant piece of freestanding furniture, such as a sofa, cabinet, sideboard, or chest, strategically across a room. If you place a table or console behind a sofa that has its back to a portion of the room, the effect will look more considered.

Plants make good improvised dividers, too. You can mass together groups of large plants, such as croton, coffee plant, schefflera, or podocarpus, or use a freestanding weeping fig tree or palm to divide the area. Plants trained on wooden trellises, stakes, or canes, such as philodendron, creeping fig, or grape ivy, grow over time to create a wall of green between two areas.

For a subtler effect, construct a trellis by running lengths of string or wire from the plant pots or floor to the ceiling and train the plants to grow up the framework.

Hanging baskets can also be used to divide the space. Suspend two or three from strong ceiling hooks. House plants such as hoyas, Swedish and grape ivies, and spider plants make good hanging displays and are easy to look after.

Flexible Dividers

In some circumstances, permanent dividers are too restrictive. If you want to retain the option of changing the focus of the room at a moment’s notice, movable dividers make better sense. Display units on castors provide one solution; standing screens are equally versatile.

Folding screens can offer just enough privacy for a reading corner or dressing area, without committing you to a fixed arrangement. The advantage of screens, aside from their flexibility, is that you can buy them or decorate them yourself to suit the character of the room.

Choose Japanese-style screens paneled in opaque paper and framed in black wood molding for a contemporary setting; fabric-covered screens – either upholstered or with tied or ruched-on fabric panels – for a countrified look; or cover a plain screen with a collage of decoupage images to create a Victorian-style accessory.

Sliding panels or folding screens that retract into a door or window jamb or special housing or open accordian-style flat against the wall allow you to partition a room in an instant. This solution makes good sense for children’s shared rooms, for example, where you may wish to provide a degree of privacy for each child at night, without sacrificing the use of the entire space during the day.

Home Decorating Tip: Find some pictures and in depth home decorating ideas which will help you make your home so beautiful it’s the envy of all your friends and family! Visit HouseDesignIdeas.com right now to find photos, home decor, decorating ideas, and much much more.
Kathy Burns-Millyard.

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There are several different types of bath screens, and it’s important that you choose the right one. The first type is a full bath enclosure. This is similar to a typical sliding shower door; except it goes around your entire bathtub. They are easily cleaned and block water from escaping better than a shower curtain. You should get this type of screen if you have flooring that can’t get wet or a bathtub that is no enclosed by walls on three sides.

If a big bulky frame isn’t your thing, you should look at frameless over-bath screens. These screens are for baths that are surrounded on three sides. They cover the half of open side that the shower is on. They’re more visually appealing than traditional bath screens because they don’t have big metal frames. The problem I with these screens is that water can splash around the outside or through spaces between the screen and the tub. These screens are best for bathrooms with tile or flooring that won’t get water damaged. Frameless screens are available fixed, or with a hinge so they can open and close.

The previous types of screens generally work best in larger bathrooms because they can take up a lot of space and seem too big in a small area. For smaller bathrooms, you should consider a folding multi-panel screen. These can be pushed up and stored in a small area by your tub, or pulled out to cover the same space as a frameless screen. This way they only take up space when you’re using them.

Hopefully you’ve learned a lot and are ready to go out and find the perfect screen to improve your bathroom.

Check out our selection of bath screens.

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One of the main points to tell if your screen is Japanese or Chinese is by the composition of the illustration on the screen. In Japan, in a lot of important ceremonies or eating as a family will take place in a seated position on the floor. Therefore a lot of the detail of a Japanese screen will be low down – at eye level when seated on the floor. A Chinese screen however may well use the whole area of the screen to depict an image, an the main central point will be the focus.

The second easy way to tell if your screen is Chinese or Japanese is by type of illustration on it. The illustrations found on Chinese screens will look far more complicated when placed next to a Japanese screen. The Japanese illustrations focused much more on symbolism and significant compositions than the Chinese did. The Chinese screens were more likely to be romantic scenes of swans and beautiful scenery that weren’t meaningless, but certainly didn’t have the underlying meanings that the Japanese illustrations did.

The third way is to look at the materials and construction method of the screen. The Japanese paid much more attention to the material that were used with their screens. You only have to look at a typical traditional Japanese home to see that care and intricate use of different timbers that go in to creating it. This intricate use of differing timbers has not surprisingly been passed through to the construction of their screens. Some Chinese screens it would be difficult to identify that there was any timber in them at all as one traditional method was to coat the timber in a clay. This gave a beautiful fine finished surface to which they could apply their designs.

Chinese or Japanese, the choice is down to you, to a certain extent it will be your home interior that make the choice for you. If the screen is going behind a sofa or other piece of furniture you may well be better off opting for a Chinese screen – as a the main focal point of the Japanese screen will be hidden out of view.

The room divider screen site has lots more information about choosing the right room divider screen

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Decorating your home doesn’t have to be patterned the usual way. You can make use of anything in a creative way to come up with something exceptional. I would like to share to you some suggested wall decors I find matchless:

Polystyrene wall art

This wall art is made from lightweight material, which is so versatile that it can be displayed anywhere. One can easily substitute the materials depending on the kind of art you want to come up.

Assorted plates

Sometimes, it’s good to keep old collections like plates in the kitchen cabinets. You can hang them randomly on the walls to create a striking effect.

Quilts

Instead of the traditional wallpapers, you can make use of framed quilts as or even an ordinary fabric as your wall cover. You just need to choose the right theme to match your entire surroundings.

Removable wall graphics

Vinyl decals are removable designs that can be placed anywhere on your walls. Lots of forms to choose from like sayings, numbers, and other customized designs. This gives you the power to remove and rearrange them anytime.

Floating wall shelves

Since the usual wall decors are paintings, hangings, and clocks; try something that is far beyond the usual like floating wall shelves. You can’t help but take a second look to make sure if it really floats.

Folding screens

If you don’t have empty walls to decorate, folding screens are good alternative. You can explore any possibilities by choosing a best design to be placed on one corner of your home.

Stained glass

To have a bit of elegance, stained glass as wall decor is a great choice. Although not so unusual, this kind of wall art offers a contemporary look.

Wood

Birch wood and bamboo are carved images that can be displayed in such a way that they appear as if they are floating.

Plant wall

Here at opulentitems.com, a unique way of displaying plants is to hang them on the wall with frames to make it appear very confined.

Over-sized buttons

A unique decor, which comes in a very rare design, is the over-sized buttons for a set of 5. They have various sizes, shapes and color – all for $34.99 only.

For more information on iron wall decor, please go to: http://www.metal-wall-art.com/

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The first place I lived when I moved out of my parents’ house was off-campus housing near my college in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon. I shared a teeny, tiny kitchen and a very small bathroom with the student in the room next to me. A bed, a sink, a built-in desk that doubled as a dresser, and a closet without a door were the extent of my “furnishings”. The space was easily half of what I’d had at home and yet I had most of the same possessions. Everything I owned was in a state of constant battle – stacks of clothes pushing books off of the desk, homework and make-up huddled shoulder to shoulder on a smidgen of counter space, and a regulation ironing board threatened to topple and knock them all down if someone shut a door too hard.

Only recently have I come across some great contemporary ideas for saving space that would have truly made my life so much easier in that dorm. These ideas are perfect for small apartments, city lofts, or for anyone who wants a little more space. Maybe you even have all the space you need but want a little less clutter. Contemporary design elements focus on a clean, uncluttered living environment where your furnishings work for you – not against you. Many contemporary pieces are also styled to be works of art in their own right, providing great interest and visual appeal.

For small kitchens – If your cabinet shelves leave enough space between their edge and the cabinet door, install a hanging, drop-down shelf on the inside of a couple of them. These shelves can hold light cooking items or utensils while you work. You can also use self-adhesive hooks on the inside of cabinet doors on which you can hang cooking utensils, measuring cups, measuring spoons or anything light with a small hole in the handle. This can clear out some drawer space for other items. Find some artistic salt and pepper shakers that you won’t be embarrassed to leave on the table and free up a small amount of cabinet space.

A cutting board that’s large enough to cover your kitchen sink pulls double duty. Slide it over as needed to put items in the sink. Having this additional working area available not only gives you more counter top but can also quickly cover up any mess if company shows up unannounced.

In the dining area – Drop-down tables are available for attaching to the wall, leaving you greater ability to move around your home. You might also use a table that gives you added storage space. Tables are being made today that have large bases that act as storage space and can be accessed by lifting the table top itself. Or make a dining area out of modular, attractive storage boxes and a separate table top.

Bathrooms could always use more space – Use hooks for hanging hair appliances in order to keep them off of the counter. Get small, stacking storage boxes to use every bit of space under a bathroom sink. Hang rows of sleek, glass shelves high on your bathroom walls in order to make use of that empty space up above. Move bulky towels to those shelves as towels tend to take up valuable cabinet space.

Maximize storage in living rooms – In small quarters, your living room probably has the most opportunity for maximum storage space. Select seating options like storage cube chairs. Go for slim sofas without ruffles and place modern, metal storage containers underneath. Televisions also used to take up a lot of space but a flat-screen television on the wall makes perfect sense these days. Need more storage? Put a folding screen in the corner and hide storage containers behind the screen. Put more glass shelves higher up on the walls to leave floor space free for necessary furniture. These glass shelves are also made for corners so if you have a spare corner somewhere, add another shelf.

Finally, add decorative items that won’t be lost in the clutter and add touches of fun color: funky throw pillows, trendy wall decals, beautiful floor cushions that can be stowed under beds and chairs but come out to add seating for guests. Once all of your possessions have their rightful place and you’ve maximized available storage options, you will find your living space appears to be more open, spacious and functional. In fact, these changes can transform what you might have described as “my dinky, little apartment” into “my truly, comfortable, home”.

Contemporary Furnishings

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First measure out the amount of space you can allocate for your work station. Then, start to plan. You need a surface for your computer monitor or laptop, and room underneath for your hard drive. If you have a printer and/or a scanner, this also needs a work surface, ideally with storage space underneath for printer paper and other supplies. You may also want space for an additional external backup hard drive. Measure all your equipment and furnishings and play with a floor plan.

If you can find a ready-made work station that fits into your space, great. If not, make one. A 24- to 30-inch core door thrown over a couple of two-drawer filing cabinets makes a handy desk, but takes up quite a bit of room, and it may or may not be comfortable for you depending on your height when seated. An alternative would be to check home improvement stores like Home Depot for components like counter tops, shelving, and legs that can be assembled in a number of configurations. (Check the kitchen section of the store!) Assembling a desk with an L- or U-shape allows you to spread out your work. If you want an L-shape, make sure the extra arm is to the right of the monitor if you’re right-handed, to the left if you’re a leftie.

You’ll need shelving to store CDs, computer manuals and other reference books, computer accessories and supplies, project files, and inboxes. Magazine holders make great containers for computer manuals and other documentation, and can be filed on a shelf along with reference books. Use bookcases as boundaries for your office and as additional storage space. The tops of the bookcases can also provide additional work space in a pinch, or display space for personal items to give the area a homey touch.

If you have a closet you can spare, remove the doors and replace them with louvered doors that can be folded out of the way while you’re working. Install a work surface spanning the length of the closet, and then build shelves above it. You can also create storage space beneath the counter, but leave an area open to slide in a comfortable office chair.

If you have a CPU for a monitor, make sure the depth of the closet will accommodate the CPU; or consider upgrading to one of the newer, compact flat screen monitors. Or use a laptop -you’ll have room to spare. You might also consider building or buying a rolling cart for your printer that can be stored in the closet when not used, and pulled out while you’re working. Also consider a pull out work surface or a folding table which can be tucked into the closet when not in use. Additional storage space can be built along the sides of the closet.

You’ll need both electrical outlets and a phone jack (or cable outlet if you use Roadrunner) in or near your work space. If you can install them, great; otherwise you’ll need to run extension lines in from elsewhere. Make every attempt to provide easy access to all outlets and jacks; having a surge suppressor with several plugs attached to the back of the closet right above the work surface should make life much easier for you. If you have to run extension cords over a high traffic area, run them through protective conduit that allows you to put them underneath carpet without causing accidents. Don’t run unprotected cords underneath carpeting; a worn cable can create a fire hazard, and people can trip over the bump!

If you’ve managed to renovate a spare closet, all you need to do is close the doors to hide your office space. If it’s in a corner of the bedroom or living room, think about setting up an ornamental folding screen to block off your view of the office; remove it when you’re using the office, or leave it up for some privacy.

Take a few moments during the planning phase to think about the look of the work space. Your choice of materials, colors, and design accessories go a long way to creating an attractive area that’s an enjoyable, comfortable place to work.

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

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In The Workplace

If you have one big office area, you might consider room dividers to section off different departments or individual offices. This will give your employees some privacy in which they can concentrate on their work. An area divider offers you some great benefits of an actual wall not the least of which is avoiding the cost and substantial changes to your office environment construction. What this means is you won’t need to concern yourself with your security deposit or disturbing your property manager and for folks who lack months to upgrade a business office; an area divider may be adequately mounted within just a day.

While you might want something really stable and a bit more solid for an office partition, there are plenty of folding room dividers that can work well particularly for small or home office areas where there are only a couple of employees.

In The Home

A room divider offers many options in the home and is perfect for adding a little decorative punch. For folks that want privacy or wish to section off a large living area, a divider is perfect. You can buy them in almost any type of style or design so you can be sure it fits in with your decor.

In fact, they are so decorative, that some people actually use them in the corner to soften the edges and add dramatic flair to the room – they don’t even use them to divide up the space!

A room divider can be used to add just enough of a wall to make a cozy dining area out of a large dinning/living room space. It doesn’t have to totally cut off the room, but can work effectively to add the ambiance of a smaller area. And, when you don’t want that ambiance, you simply fold it up and put it away!

It doesn’t matter what size of flat or residence you stay in, you can immediately make a new space or work space by using a room divider. Just be sure you set them up properly so that they are stable and will not tip over and you have a great decorative touch that doubles as a wall.

Next, find the perfect room divider for your needs and see how a screen room divider can help to beautifully create 2 rooms out of one.

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Also be sure to know your budget. Prices on room dividers vary widely, so there is a room divider available to suit any pocketbook. If your budget is tight, those partitions and privacy screens made of particle board and veneer might be ideal, although there some reasonable prices to be found on solid wood ones as well. A company that manufactures room dividers may sell their product more cheaply than suppliers might. This is not always the case, but it is worth looking around.

Understand what kind of a divider you need for the area you are wishing to furnish. A folding free standing divider is ideal for many because it is not permanent. It can be moved when you change the furniture around, and in the event that you do not wish to use it for a period of time, it folds like an accordion and stores easily. On the other hand, you may want something more permanent, in which case you can install tracks on your ceiling and floor, and install your room divider as a rolling or sliding partition. Be sure to know the dimensions of the area before making a purchase.

Finally, to choose the style you would prefer, think about the area. If it is small or you would like to have more space, consider a mirror room divider. Obviously, a mirror divider will not actually make a room bigger, but it will add depth and a sense of space. Another divider for a room with limited space is the accordion divider, which needs no space for a door to swing open and closed; it opens by compressing against the edge of the doorway and closes by sliding into place. A modern style divider that serves a dual role is the bookcase divider that will provide storage and decorating space to a room while acting as a partition as well. Bookcase dividers are less mobile than some others, especially once you have arranged your books and/or belongings on the shelves, and obviously, accordion dividers are not mobile at all.

Japanese dividers, while not appearing particularly modern, are wonderful privacy screens because they block out one side of the room from the other, but, if made with rice paper, they continue to let sunlight stream through. Louvered partitions can be solid, when the louvers are closed, but, for most dividers, the louvers can be opened. While it is still doing its job, it will then also allow light to show from the other side.

For additional info concerning Modern Dividers, visit http://www.moderndividers.com.

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