Tag Archives: house

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 Lobster Rope Mats

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It is worth it to spend a bit of extra time shopping for a doormat since it is not something you likely purchase often. Once you have bought it you are going to be looking at it for a very long time so make sure you get one that compliments your décor, is hardy and that you like it!

A doormat is not JUST a doormat. TI is the outdoor house décor that showcases the entrance to your home. It is iconic of the welcome that you give people before they set foot in your dwelling and symbolizes nothing less than a statement about your personality and how you live.

For the ultimate in both contemporary and rustic chic and also the ultimate in being ecologically correct consider a door mat made out of recycled Maine lobster float rope. This light hairy durable rope is perfect for catching dirt and grime so it does not get tracked inside.

The original purpose of the rope that is used to make lobster rope doormats was to tether lobster traps together. The reason there is so much lobster rope d that must be recycled somehow is because fishermen have now changed to the much heavier sink-rope. Sink rope is preferable because it does not trap whales and other marine life during lobster catches. That is why the reclaimed float rope is now being rewoven into beautiful mats.

Each lobster rope mat is unique. They are not dyed after they are recycled even though they appear to be so artistic. Each fisherman has his own rope color so his catch is not confused with his colleagues. The raw ropes come in all shades of green, aqua, yellow, blue, orange and are woven together and sold under various general color schemes – you name the color and you are likely to find it sold as a lobster mat.

Lobster mats come in all shapes in sizes from the almost doily shaped front door mat that is only about 18 to thirty inches to the very large porch mat that is 24 inches to 36 inches. You can choose mats in colors that accent your personal style. In fact the right mat can even help you define how to decorate a porch.

For instance if you have one of those ocean-side houses that is painted a sea foam color you will like this doormat in light green or blue. Brilliant dark blue and creamy yellow white suit homes with a nautical theme. Lazy faded yellow, seafoam or hydrangea colors suit cottage porches.