Tag Archives: asian

Decorating With Western Style Feng Shui

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One of the reasons that some people are reluctant to practice Feng Shui is because a lot of the “cures” and decorating tips in Feng Shui are a bit too Chinese looking for this culture. You don’t want your place to look like the lobby of a Chinese restaurant!

Thankfully there are equivalents in our culture that you can use that will bring you the same type of good fortune without looking too ethnic.

For instance it is a Feng Shui tradition to decorate with plastic or silk flowers in order to attract love and good energy into the home. To make this more contemporary looking use live flowers instead and choose modern looking vases instead of the red or green ceramic vases favored by Chinese Feng Shui enthusiasts. You can also use vases that have eight sides to attract good fortune as well.

The color red is lucky in Feng Shui but you can use different shades of it as accents all over your house. For instance to attract fame into your life you can just paint one South wall red and leave it at that. You can also use red light bulbs, which symbolize fire to light up the appropriate corners to attract love.

Pairs of ducks are used in Feng Shui to attract love. Traditionally a wooden pair would be placed somewhere in the home. You can find a more elegant answer in a work of art or you can be quite funky and use rubber ducks instead. Placing two happy looking yellow ducks in the southeast corner of your bathroom can help attract a love to you.

All things in pairs are said to strengthen the love and relationship vibe in your life. If you do not like the obvious look of some of the Feng Shui statues then consider hanging pictures of flowers that contain two buds in the Southeast corner of your home to attract love. Yet another idea is to hang pictures of birds. In your kitchen consider salt and pepper shakers that are figurines to you. Pairs of things symbolize love.

Copper vessels are used in Feng Shui to attract love. Hanging anything copper on your kitchen walls, including pots, pans and molds will help.

A remedy for bad luck in Feng Shui is to hang wooden flutes from the ceiling or from a beam that might be causing negative energy to prevail. However if you do not like the look of wooden flutes you can use any type of musical instrument that is hollow and makes noise instead.

You might find aquariums full of fish or fountains too fussy to deal with in your modern life. If that is the case then try putting lava lamps in place instead. Lava lamps symbolize the water element!

Remember that any time you want to use a lucky Asian symbol that there is probably a North American equivalent for it in art!

Decorating With Window Shades

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Many people think that window shades have nothing to do with interior design and fashion. This is because when shopping for window shades many consumers believe that they should go with the first type of shade that actually fits the window. This is a little big like putting the cart before the horse. The result is often pedestrian plastic Venetian slats in the children’s bedroom (more suited for an office) and rustic folding door type window shades in the bathroom (more suited for a kitchen.)

The point is that when it comes to choosing window shades you don’t have to make your various rooms look like a bad renovation from a cheap landlord. Here is a run down of which shades look best with different types of decors.

If your décor is Italian neo modern, then Venetian blinds are your best choice of window coverings. There is no point in decorating your home with sinuous curving couches and sleek lamp fixtures only to ruin the effect with ratty looking rattan blinds or roll down blinds for Ikea. Lateral Venetian blinds suit the Italian neo modern look the best. The vertical ones just look tacky.

If your décor has an Asian or Mediterranean flair then bamboo slatted or roll down venetian blinds can look fantastic. These types of window shades also suit rooms that contain rattan or teak furniture. Roll down blinds made of rice paper with minimal designs on them also add oomph to oriental or Asian décor.

If your décor is Rustic, Mission or Country in style then you are best to avoid plastic Venetian blinds altogether. Mission furniture plus Venetian blinds equals the white trailer trash look. You are much better off to opt for drawstring style window shades made of bunched or draped fabric. Wooden shutters that are hinged so that they open like cupboard doors also flatter more rustic looks.

Aside from décor you should also keep in mind the function of the room where the windows for. For instance blackout roll down shades may help you sleep by blocking out all of the light. In this case attractive sheer curtains or swags can also be hung to conceal the black roll. A roll down shade is also better for a children’s bedroom as drapes are easily pulled down and tiny fingers can get trapped in the slats of Venetian blinds.

However given the fantastic designs that are available on the market that are available for sale there should be no reason at all to have to conceal a roll down shade with drapes or sheers. Roll down shades are offered in thousands of exciting colors and motifs and there is definitely a roll down shade that is perfect for every décor. You can buy light pink or blue roll down shades to decorate a nursery, burgundy and gold ones to decorate an office or a library and ones boasting gingham or culinary motifs to decorate a kitchen. Given that roll down window shades are so abundant and inexpensive there is absolutely no excuse to have boring or mismatched window shade treatments in your home!