Well, according to www.decoratorsecrets.com, the color for 2010 is YELLOW.  Yellow is the color that makes us think of warm sunshine and bright happy spring days.  Yellow is a primary color, one of three primary colors and when mixed the primary colors will make up the basis for the other colors in the spectrum.

Light lavender is another color being recommended for bedrooms.  Since purple is often associated with royalty this may be a "trick" to try and help all of us in this slow economy feel better when we go to sleep in our purple bedroom.

Gray has made it on the list again. I am pretty sure, I saw this mentioned last year somewhere also as a new neutral color to try and replace the beige color that has been around forever.  Most people still prefer beige, it tends to blend better with wood furniture and greenery.

Another one of my favorite sites for color advice is MyPerfectColor.com and this site reports Benjamin Moore HC-35 Powell Buff as the top selling paint.

  This color certainly looks like a beige to me!

Going with the latest color trend is never really the best advice when you are staging a home.  Since most home owners paint their walls every five to ten years (my opinion), you need to make sure when you suggest a wall paint color that your client can live with this color for the next 5 years.

Before you pick a wall paint color, there are a few thing to consider:

1.)  The size of the room.  In a smaller room, you will want to go with a lighter wall color to make the wall appear to recede. 

2.)  The amount of natural light in the room.  Sunlight is reflective, so a room with six very large windows may need a paint color that is a little darker.

3.)  The ceiling.  I like to paint ceilings a lighter shade of paint as the walls as long as the room is large enough to support an added design element such as this.

4.)  The style of the furniture in the room you are painting.  The wall paint color needs to complement your decor.

5.)  The adjoining rooms.  The wall paint color needs to also complement the paint in the adjoining room, this is how you create a well put together home.

6.)  The taste of your home owner - if this is an interior design job.  If your home owner is planning on living in this home for the next 10 years, she/he can basically paint the walls any color they want to.  Remember, an interior design job is completely different that a staging job and should be based on the home owner's unique taste's.

When in doubt of the color you want to select, you should paint color boards and look at them during different times of the day and in different lights.  I recommend NEVER to paint directly on a client's wall, why leave a mess on a client's wall when you can use a paint board.  You can order small boards on the MyPerfectColor website, and use blue painters tape to secure it to the wall or ceiling.

I do not see beige going anywhere in the home staging world, it is such a nice neutral that is a better option than a stark white wall. 

What are your thoughts?

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room.  We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey.  We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors.

Even wonder why some homes draw in tons of buyers, while other homes just sit on the market for months, even years? There are several factors that will sell a home in today's difficult market, the price of your home needs to be competitve, your home's location, and your home's appearance (the inside and the outside).




In order to make all your rooms appear large and inviting, all additional furniture and clutter must be removed from every room before you place your home on the market.  A potential buyer will even look in your master bedroom closet, bathroom vanity, and kitchen pantry. Everything needs to be organized and anything you have not used in years should be thrown away.

Any dark window drapes or shades need to be removed before you take any pictures to be placed online to try and sell your home.  You blinds need to be cleaned and all your windows need to be washed.  A dirty window will prevent light from entering the rooms and the rooms can appear dark and uninviting. 

You outside landscape needs to be kept up even during the winter months.  If it snows, all walkways needs to cleared off immediately and all outside lights should be replaced with the highest wattage that is permitted so your home shines at night.  In the Spring and Fall, new mulch should always be applied to any beds to make then pop.  Also, when you place your home on the market for sale, always leave a light during the night hours to make sure any potential buyers can see your house number.

The wall colors need to flow from room to room and should compliment each other.  When you are selling a home, it is best to stick with more neutral colors (e.g. sage green, light yellow) to appeal to a larger buyer audience.

All your room accessories need to be larger to show up nicely online. One rule most home stagers use when preparing a home for a real estate open house, is not to use any accessories that are smaller than a cantelope.  I agree with this rule and apply it as well when staging homes for sale.

All of the above steps need to be done before any digital pictures are taken.  Today, over 90% of potential home buyers are searching for a new home on the Internet.  Your home's online MLS presence needs to show how great your home really is.  Make sure all your pictures are bright and taken from correct angles.  If you need help with this ask your Realtor or local home stager. Homes that have 20 or more pictures online tend to generate the most traffic, this is another important fact to consider.

Good luck with your home sale and remember to prepare your home before you take any digital pictures.

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room. We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey and Rockland County and Orange County of New York, basically the lower Hudson Valley. We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors, a member of RESA, ASHSR.

It all depends on which statistics you read, Home Staging for Dummies claims claims that about half of the potential buyers that tour your home will be pet lovers.  Some other home staging books, have said up to 60% of home buyers have an aversion to pets due to simple dislike or a health reason. 

In other words, your beloved pet(s) could be turning off up to 50%-60% of the potential home buyer traffic that is filtering through your home.  In my opinion, these numbers are pretty high and really need to be considered BEFORE you place your home on the market for sale. To make this post easier, I will only focus on dogs (my favorite pet) but the advice is also good for cat owners.

Here are some tips for pet owners who are selling their homes:

1.  Go out and purchase (2) large plastic containers with a lid.  It should be large enough to fit all the dogs food and food bowls inside one of them.  When there is an open house, one plastic container needs to go into the trunk of your car with the dog items mentioned here.  Please do not leave your dog's food bowls out during an open house, a half eaten dog food bowl does not scream sparkling clean home.

2.   Replace the dog beds.  Throw out the old beds and buy new ones at Walmart for $20.  These beds also need to be placed away during the open house inside the second plastic container.  This container needs to be stored out of the way.  Dog beds need to be washed every week when your home is on the market, this item is a real source of pet odor.

3.  The outside yard needs to be cleared of dog toys and leashes.  If you have an external dog house, please make sure it is in excellent shape.  If it looks horrible and is falling down, please get rid of it.  You do not want to send a message to a potential buyer that you did not care enough for your beloved pet, they may start to think about what else is not done or attended to in your home.

4.  Use PureAyre Odor Eliminator.  This is an all natural odor eliminator that can be purchased at Petco and will not harm your pets or children.  This product should be sprayed on any cloth fabric or carpets to remove the pet odors prior to the open house.

5.  Invest in an Air Purifier.  This will also keep the inside air in your home smelling clean while your home is on the market.

6.  Bath your dog more often (if possible).  This may also cut down on the pet smell in your home.

7.  Invest is a good vacuum with a hepaa filter that is able to pick up all the dog hair.  Please make sure you vacuum before every open house.  It is especially important that there is no pet hair on furniture, flooring, stairs, or carpets.

8.  If the weather permits, air out your home before an open house.  Fresh air blowing through a home always makes a home smell fantastic.

9.   Have a friend or neighbor perform a house check for pet odor and pet identification items after you complete this list.  Another set of eyes is always an excellent idea.

Good Luck with your home sale.

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room. We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey and Rockland County and Orange County of New York, basically the lower Hudson Valley. We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors, a member of RESA, ASHSR.

With home prices being at their lowest level in eight year and the foreclosure mess appearing to take longer than anyone expected to rebound, who is actually purchasing a home in this market?

Well, HGTV will have you believe that every potential home buyer wants a home that is perfect and "move-in" ready.  HGTV will also have you believe that you can transform a severely decrepit home in two days for under $2,000.  Well, HGTV is not completely wrong but preparing and marketing a home does take a bit more work.

According to the National Association of Realtor's Profile of Home Buyers and Seller (2009), the typical first-time home buyer was just 30 years old with a medium income of $61,6000.  First time buyers comprised a 47% of the home sales in 2009. The typical repeat buyer was 48 years old with a salary of $88,000.

New home purchases were at the lowest level in eight years.  The typical home purchase was 1,800 square feet in size and is 18 years old.  78% of the homes purchases were single family homes.

The median home prices were also lower than I expected:

- Northeast Region ~ $210,000 median home price

- Midwest Region ~ $158,000 median home price

- South Region ~ $175,000 median home price

- West Region ~ $240,000 median home price

94% of potential home buyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2009. This number seems to be increasing every year.  The importance of technology cannot be ignored when marketing a home or marketing to a potential home buyer.

With the average first time home buyer being 30 years old and very technology savvy, this may also explain 94% home Internet search numbers.  The tax incentives for first time home buyers has had an impact; with the tax incentive being extended until April (and the inclusion of home owners) hopefully more first time home buyers will enter the home ownership arena.

The typical home sold was almost 20 years old and most likely in need of some upgrades and home staging. I have always heard real estate is a young market, and our target demographic appears to be a 30 year old buyer!  Is there anything you would change to better reach your target market?

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves Rockland County and Orange County of New York, Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey.  We specialize in home staging, vacant home staging, home decorating, interior design, custom wood signs, virtual shows, semi-custom window coverings, and color consultations. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com or call 845-538-3623 for more information.

With all the HGTV shows ~ such as Spice Kitchen, Get It Sold, The Stagers ~ does the average home owner know when to call in a professional home stager? 

Or does the average home owner think home staging is nothing more than packing away some personal items, putting lemons down the garbage disposal, and lighting some candles?

Well, if home staging is done correctly it will be all the above and so much more!  Home staging is a relatively new concept in many areas of the county and it is still misunderstood. 

Home staging is the process of de-personalizing a home and making it "buyer ready" so it appeals to the largest potential buyer audience possible using proven design techniques that highlight the home's best architectural features.  Home staging, also know as real estate staging, is not home decorating but rather an art that utilizes a home owners existing furniture, lighting, and art work to draw a potential buyers eye to the positive aspects of your home.

With the average home buyer being between the ages of 30 to 48 and expecting a "move-in" ready home, home staging is no longer a luxury and is a necessity in this economy.  94% of potential home buyers are turning to the Internet first to search for a home; here again home staging needs to be done prior to the home's digital pictures are posted online for everyone to see.  94% is an extremely high number and  home staging really should be left to the professionals so an optimal result is achieved.

So, does a home owner know the right time to call in a professional home stager? 

Well, the wrong time is when your home has been sitting on the real estate market for six months and your Realtor has suggested you lower your asking price.

The wrong time is after your home's pictures have been posted on the Internet MLS and you are not receiving any responses from potential buyers.

No one gets a second chance to make a first impression and when you are talking about real estate, the only way to generate new interest in your home is to drop your price to attract a different group of potential buyers.

The right time to call in a professional home stager is before you place your home's pictures online!

A professional home stager can perform a home staging consultation, create a customized Action Report, and then help you implement all the required changes to ensure your home will show well online and at its' current location.  Your online presence is very critical in your home's real estate marketing.

Three things sell a home in today's real estate market:

1.)  Price - the price of your home.

2.)  Location

3.)  Presentation - this is where professional home staging comes in.

Before you sell your home, a professional home stager can tell you how to invest your resources so your home shows well and stands out against the competition. The latest statistics show that over 80% of Realtors believe in or recommend home staging. This is a win-win for everyone.

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York, Bergen County and Passaic County of New Jersey. Kate is an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors. Kate's Home Staging and Redesign is now offering Full Digital Services to sell your home quickly. In other words, we will bring in the accessories, we will stage your home, we will re-take all the digital pictures, and then we will load these pictures into a virtual show to help sell your home. The virtual show is being offered to all our clients FREE of CHARGE to help SELL your home.

External curb appeal and your entry way are the two items that create a buyer's all important first impression of your home.  A potential home buyer will make up their mind about your home in under one minute.

What first impression would your home leave a buyer?

The goal of using Feng Shui to stage your home is to balance all five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) in and around your property. (We are only going to look at external curb appeal and your entry way in this post.)

The external curb appeal of your property is very important when selling your home. The way your home looks from the street is representative of your home's chi or energy.  Abundant green landscapes, that are well manicured, are chi reservours.  To keep positive chi flowing on your property, please remove any dead trees or plantings from your front yard. Please keep your front yard free from debris and well maintained. The importance of a first impression can not be underestimated.

Please keep your driveway well lit and free from debris also; please fix any broken or cracked driveways immediately. If your driveway descends sharply towards the street, please install bright lights on both sides of the driveway.

Feng Shui considers the front door and entry to be the most important places in your home.  The front door (or Mouth of Chi), determines the amount and quality of chi or energy that will flow through your home. A grand, open entry way will support the flow of chi.

By clearing out items that are behind your front door (such as bikes, old magazines, shoes, toys), chi will be better able to enter you home.  The goal here is to let chi flow unobstructed right into your home. 

Your home's front door should be upright and well-hinged; it should be very easy to open and close.  If your front door creaks when it is opened, it is disturbing the harmony of your home and needs to be fixed.

The front door of your home needs to be the correct size and in correct proportion to the size of your home.  A door that is too large can cause financial problems, whereas a door that is to small can lead to family disagreements. Minor flaws at your front door can affect you negatively.  The reverse is also true, by making minor improvements at your front door entry you can significantly impact your life in a positive way.

Good chi can be further attracted into your home by proper lighting attached to the outside wall of your home. 

Your front door should open into a bright space that has room for chi to breathe. 

To maximize the movement of chi and to prevent stagnant chi, please open your windows and let the fresh air filter in.

By paying close attention to the placement of Feng Shui objects on and around your property, the amount of positive chi will be increased which will result in more potential home buyer activity.

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York, Bergen County and Passaic County of New Jersey. Kate is an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors. Kate's Home Staging and Redesign is now offering Full Digital Services to sell your home quickly. In other words, we will bring in the accessories, we will stage your home, we will re-take all the digital pictures, and then we will load these pictures into a virtual show to help sell your home. The virtual show is being offered to all our clients FREE of CHARGE to help SELL your home. We also sell a full line of semi-custom window coverings.

A home that is not properly accessorized ~ silk decorative pillows, chenille throws, silk plants, ceramic vases, vanilla scented candles ~ just does not feel like a home. A home that is overcrowded with clutter can be distracting and even confusing to everyone who enters.  So, how does Home Staging and Feng Shui fit together (actually more than you might think)?

Home Staging is the art of preparing homes for sale to attract the largest buyer audience possible using a multi-step approach that involves design, de-cluttering, addressing maintenance issues, color schemes, cleaning, lighting...

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese philosophy that has been around for 3,000 - 5,000 years that believes creating harmonious surroundings will bring happiness, prosperity, and good health. Without realizing it, you may have blocked the flow of chi (life giving energy that flows through our bodies) by the unfortunate positioning of an object. Feng Shui does recommend de-cluttering, depersonalizing, cleaning, repairing, and then implementing the 5 elements (water, wood, fire, earth, and metal) in every room.

Home Staging teaches us take external curb appeal very seriously, as this is what a potential home buyer will see first and will either "like" or "dislike."  Based on their first impression, the potential buyer will be seeking information to reinforce their initial impression. Home Staging a front entrance would consist of clearing the yard of debris, keeping the grass trimmed, placing flowers on either side of the main entrance, and purchasing a new front door mat.  Feng Shui's teachings agree with all the above recommendations, but also takes its requirements further.

The main goal of external curb appeal for both Home Staging and Feng Shui is to great a sense of harmony for all the potential buyers as they pull up to the home. According to Feng Shui, a positive first impression from the street will create an uplifted spirit and positive expectations. The amount and quality of Feng Shui chi  (or energy) is largely determined by the condition of your front door and entryway. 

The balance inside the home is very important and will influence how a person feels. Have you ever walked into a stranger's home and immediately felt at ease? Or have you ever been inside a home and been uneasy and not known why?  Feng Shui believes that the first room you enter in a home will impact your psychology and physical health.

When a room is in balance, it will feel right and create a pleasant feeling.  To achieve balance you need to ensure that the size and scale of objects within a room work with each other. All the elements in a room need to be taken into consideration and there should be no one dominant element overpoweringthe others. The art and accessories in a room need to be the proper size and need to be placed correctly to enhance the furnishing of the specific room. For example, the art behind a sofa needs to be 2/3 the width of the sofa; the art should not be wider than the sofa. All objects smaller than a cantaloupe are usually removed during Home Staging, they simply do not photograph well.  When staging a living room table, accessories should be set in only one corner and there should be three items used of different size.

Feng Shui takes balance and symmetry very seriously.  A bedroom should have two nightstands with lamps installed on them.  The artwork, especially in the master bedroom, should be or pairs. Feng Shui believes that a strong headboard promotes growth in your career and solidarity in your relationship; the headboard should be attached firmly to the bed. Bed sheets should be pink to attract love and romance, and green or yellow for good health.

According to Home Staging, the master suite should be a calming sanctuary for all potential buyers to escape to at the end of their days.  A Home Staging master suite basic setup is the two nightstands with lights using plush pillows and neutral bedding (probably not pink).

The more you look at Home Staging and Feng Shui, there seems to be substantial overlaps.  Both techniques recommend bringing in plants, opening up windows, removing excess items, cleaning all the windows, replace burned out light bulbs, extracting clutter, make your house numbers and mailbox visible, creating external curb appeal, and ensuring the proper flow between furniture. Feng Shui goes much deeper than Home Staging with Baqua Maps and cures, but using Feng Shui to Sell Your Home will generate some fantastic results.

The more I learn about Feng Shui, the more it is incorporated into my home staging jobs.  The changes are subtle but the results are not.  By allowing the chi to flow unobstructed through homes, the potential buyer turnout has been fantastic.  To ensure the chi does not flow out to fast, greenery is always brought in.

How much Feng Shui are you using in your Home Staging jobs?  I bet it is actually more than you realize!

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesignserves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York, Bergen County and Passaic County of New Jersey. Kate is an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors. Kate's Home Staging and Redesign is now offering Full Digital Services to sell your home quickly. In other words, we will bring in the accessories, we will stage your home, we will re-take all the digital pictures, and then we will load these pictures into a virtual show to help sell your home. The virtual show is being offered to all our clients FREE of CHARGE to help SELL your home. Visit www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623.

Your master bedroom is supposed to be a sanctuary, a place to retreat after a stressful day of work.  A master bedroom's design cannot be all flair, we also need to consider the room's function.  This is a room that can be more personal than most, when it comes to design.  Before you start any design process it is important to measure the space carefully and to document the doorways, windows, closets, baseboard heaters, and any other items that could impact your design. The budget is also important, as it will influence all the steps below...

Here are the basis steps to design a master bedroom (or any bedroom):

When starting to design your master bedroom, the easiest place to start is the bed.  The bed, after all, will be the focal point of the room. There are many options of headboards and beds that you can choose from ~ a four post bed, a sleigh bed, upholstery headboards, to a simple iron headboard. Here again, your unique tastes and style will come into play.

Next, the selection of luxurious linens occurs.  This is a logical step after you select which bed to place in your bedroom. The linen you select can be a design inspiration for the remainder of your bedroom. Decorative pillows are the logical next step after the linens are decided upon.  A master bedroom will have a minimum of four pillows and several layers of decorative pillows in similar colors.

Decide on a quality bedroom set that has a classic look. Please remember that you will probably use this set for the next ten years, so verify that the dresser drawers are made of real wood and will stand the test of time.  The color of the furniture should be a neutral wood, nothing outlandish that will be out of style by next season.

To keep a consistant color scheme in your master bedroom, your windows need to either have a blind that matches the bedroom furniture or a soft drapery that matches the lines and decorative pillows. (Remember to order your drapes or roman shades with blackout liners, so you can sleep past 5:00 AM.)  If you go with a wooden blind, you may want to add the two inch fabric swatch on the blinds in a coordinating color to the linens.

The actual design setup:

The master bedroom setup that looks fantastic is when there is a nightstand on each side of the bed with a matching light on each side. There also needs to be some greenery brought in.

To create a warm feelingin your master bedroom, please decorate with beiges, warm browns, and terracottas.

To create a cool feelingin your master bedroom, please decorate with pale colors such as light blue and lavender.

If you want to create a focal wall, choose the wall behind the bed.  The focal wall can be painted a different paint color, fabric, or wallpaper can be used for an even more dramatic look.

Remember to keep your accessories to a minimum as the master bedroom is a place of rest and relaxation.  Once the furniture has been setup with the appropriate linens, you should have no trouble selecting the finishing touches such as artwork, candle sticks for romance, and perhaps a rug to keep your feet warm.

Remember if you get stuck with your master bedroom design, you can always call your local home stager and interior redesigner!  We are always here to help with all your design needs, from paint color selection to furniture arrangement.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York, Bergen County and Passaic County of New Jersey. Kate is an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors. Kate's Home Staging and Redesign is now offering Full Digital Services to sell your home quickly. In other words, we will bring in the accessories, we will stage your home, we will re-take all the digital pictures, and then we will load these pictures into a virtual show to help sell your home. The virtual show is being offered to all our clients FREE of CHARGE to help SELL your home. Contact Kate today to see how a home staging consultation can help sell your home, for more information please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com or call 845-538-3623.

The five Chinese Feng Shui elements ~ wood, fire, earth, metal, and water ~ can define five different traits of chi or energy.  These five elements are also referred to as the "five transformations" due to the fact that each element can define a specific kind of energy to change the chi of that space.  Each of the Feng Shui elements is associated with a specific object type, color, and shape.  By manipulating the balance of these five elements in a specific space, the balance of chi is also adjusted.  The addition of more red in a space (which is the Fireelement), such as red candles, red curtains, or red pillows the chi energy will be more energized.  While the addition of browns and beiges (which is the Earth element), such as ceramics will help you feel more secure. The Water element, whether through the use of fountains or a picture of the ocean, tends to increase communication. Adding metallic objects or shapes (the Metal element) will help your ability to focus.  Through the addition of greenery or even the color green (the Wood element) will help you launch new projects.

The decorating in each room should contain all of the five elements; the Feng Shui elements do not need to be represented equally. A small grouping of the 5 elements can be used to balance a room.

Some objects combine several different energies together. For example, a white candle with a vine pattern represents a Fire object with a Wood shape and a Metal color.  The candle represents three elements. To make the candle represent all 5 elements it could be set on a blue (Water element) ceramic object (Earth element). If a green plant (Wood element) was placed in a blue (Water element) ceramic planter (Earthelement), three of the elements are already implemented and then all you need to complete your room's Feng Shui balance would be a white candle (Fire element) on a silver tray (Metal Element). 

How the Energy Interacts -

N/A - there is no interaction that will affect the elements.

N - the elements support and are nourished by each other.

D - the elements interactions are destructive to each other.  Metal is destructive to wood.

WI - the elements are weakened, when another element is increased. For example, you increase wood, the water chi will be weakened in the space.

DS - the elements are destroyed.

Based on this chart, metal is destroyed by fire, wood is destroyed by metal, water is destroyed by earth, fire is destroyed by water, and earth is destroyed wood. Metal nourishes water, water nourishes wood, wood nourishes fire, fire nourishes earth, and earth nourished metal.

If you add a Water element object, at the same time you are strengthening the Wood energy and weaking the the Metal chi.

Adding the five Feng Shui elements to every room will help you create balance and harmony within the room.  By understanding the 5 elements and how each element interacts with the others, will help you understand how to create an appropriate home decor scheme. To determine which areas to focus your Feng Shui knowledge on, use your Baqua Map to locate which of the eight areas to prioritize.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign, serves the New York and New Jersey area, we specialize in home staging, interior design, home decorating, color consultations, home decor discounts, and sell semi-custom window coverings.  Call Kate to schedule you design consultation at 845-538-3623 or visit www.kateshomestaging.com

Since the practice of Feng Shui has been around for 3,000 - 5,000 years and has brought prosperity and good luck to many, I felt this was the perfect place to look for business guidance for 2010.  Of course, prosperity in Feng Shui is associated with much more than wealth, it also encompasses good health, positive relationships with others, auspicious opportunities, meaningful spiritual life, and more. Feng Shui translates back to two elements - wind and water. Without realizing it, you may have blocked the flow of chi (life giving energy that flows through our bodies) by the unfortunate positioning of an object. Feng Shui does recommends creating balance and harmony through the use of the  5 elements (water, wood, fire, earth, and metal) in every room.

Many individuals are initially attracted to Feng Shui focused on increasing their business or financial wealth but are pleasantly surprised what the simple re-arrangement of furniture can achieve and the simplifying of certain cluttered areas can achieve. A Feng Shui practitioner will use a Baqua Map and place it over the blue print of your home to identify which areas of your home require action to create your desired life changes.

According to Feng Shui, a harmonious life is built upon of the following three principles:

1.  The First Principle ~ This principle believes that everything in the world, including your home and all of its contents, are alive with chi (energy). Possessions in your home that hold negative associations will foster negativity and keep unfortunate circumstances in place, while the complete opposite is true with positive associations; a positive object will attract good fortune to your home. The goal here is to surround yourself with objects that enrich your life in some way and that uplift your spirits every time you see theme.

2.  The Second Principle ~ The second principle supports the idea that we are all connected to people, places, and things, and the stronger our connection to all of these, the more prosperous our life will be. This principle encourages you to try and heal old wounds, create meaningful relationships with others, and to create a supportive environment. Any items that cause you physical or emotional distress should be removed from your environment in order to lift your mood. Furniture should be arranged so you enjoy optimal views and display personal objects that keep your spirits lifted.

3.  The Third Principle ~ This principle believes that everything is constantly changing and that you should embrace change as your ally. By making positive changes in your living space (through simplification and organization) you will be able to realize your goals. By letting go of all the excess items in our lives, which tend to cause stagnant chi, you open up yourself for positive changes to occur.

The sooner we all realize how connected we truly are, the better off we all will be.  By looking to the past for guidance, Feng Shui has given me such positive guidance that has really improved my life. If we all implemented the Three Feng Shui Principlesmentioned above, positive changes will only follow.  If you walk into your home every night and the lack of lighting bothers you, please go out and pick up a bright decorative lamp and remedy the situation.  If a person has wronged you and angry thoughts fill your mind continually, forgive them for yourself and move on.  Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, it takes much strength to forgive someone (who may not deserve it).  By having a home that is clean, de-cluttered, and organized, your life will become easier and you will be able to find everything more quickly without getting annoyed. 

My goals (business and personal) for 2010 are to try to implement all the Feng Shui principles to enhance my life and my families.  I would like to wish all my AR friends a Happy New Year.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign, www.kateshomestaging.com specializing in home staging, interior design, home decorating, color consultations, semi-custom window coverings, vacant home stagings, and home decor discounts.  Call Kate at 845-538-3623 for your design consultation.