Avoid costly mistakes by space planning. It only takes a few minutes to do and several furniture manufacturers offer "Room Planners" to help you. They really are easy to use even if you're not great on the computer. Manufacturers offer templates for their products but also for "generic" furniture and, of course, architectural and structural details - all of which you can re-size.
These are also great tools when you are considering buying a new home. Will your furniture fit in to the rooms? Don't forget to leave room for pathways around furniture, especially in the Dining Room.
Here are links to a few that I use:
STICKLEY FURNITURE http://stickley.com/RoomPlanner.cfm
If you have trouble "visualizing" what something will look like as a finished product in specific fabrics, go to DREXEL HERITAGE'S site and have fun:
http://www.drexelheritage.com/About-Drexel-Heritage/Room-Planner.aspx
HICKORY CHAIR also offers customization on many of their casegood (wood products)
http://www.hickorychair.com/Design-Resources/Default.aspx?ID=27
"Measure twice cut once" makes a lot of sense. As always, if you are challenged even with these tools, contact me and save yourself a lot of time, energy, frustration and money.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
4 Quick Tips for Spring Cleaning
If you are in the mood to do a little spring cleaning, here are 4 tips to help you:
- AFM Cleaning Products - great for people have asthma, allergies and/or who are chemically sensitive (like me). NatureNeutral in Charlottesville, VA offers AFM as well as other eco-friendly products. I use AFM's SafeChoice Safety Clean as an all purpose cleaner. I buy a gallon and dilute it to the concentration I desire. A gallon lasts a long time. I use AFM's Carpet Shampoo to keep the carpeting clean, especially to clean up dander (a major cause for my allergies).
- HEPA air-filter with carbon pre-filter -- I use a portable one and move it from room to room. I must have if for pet owners and to reduce pollen tracked into the house!
- Local honey - also great for allergies. I found a really local source: Lavender Fields
- Mrs. Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar helps re-establish a healthy inner ecosystem, in other words, your good bacteria and yeast.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
What's Zen and what's not?
Zen has caught the attention of the furniture industry but what is it, really? Is it a new fangeled minimalism or is it something more?
The word "Zen" comes from the Japanese translation of the Chinese word "chan," which means meditation - particularly meditation that leads to enlightenment.
Who or why someone began applying zen to describe interiors is a little like peeling the layers of an onion to find nothing. While Zen meditation centers may very well appear minimalistic, their sparseness is meant to eliminate distractions in the same way a deprivation chamber blocks out extraneous influences. In meditations, you become calm and relaxed. In deep meditation, you become "centered." Your blood pressure changes as do your brain waves. Your conscious awareness becomes altered. It was in such a state of altered awareness that Siddharta Gautama became enlightened, became the Buddha. Twenty-five hundred years later many people have followed the path of the Buddha.
Creating a minimalist home is no guarantee for relaxation if the mind has made no effort in the process. While some environments exude a calm and peaceful feeling, serenity really comes from within.
I discovered meditation to help me heal the effects of chronic fatigue syndrome, but I soon discovered its healing benefits to deal with the stresses of life. I was fortunate to attend a retreat at Zen Buddhist Master Tich Nhat Hahn's center, Plum Village. The decor left much to be desired, but the joy of sitting in silence, eating and walking meditatively and being in communion with others is an experience I will never forget. It makes me wonder if our attraction to Zen decor/design is really about our desire to reduce the distractions in our lives and to create a sacred space. Maybe, it is a statement about letting go of "things," or at least the attachment to material objects, and discovering our true selves - that vital part of ourselves that transcends the ever changing trends and styles. Here is what I discovered from meditation: peace on the inside leads to peace on the outside - no matter what your decor. For me, Zen is in!
The word "Zen" comes from the Japanese translation of the Chinese word "chan," which means meditation - particularly meditation that leads to enlightenment.
Who or why someone began applying zen to describe interiors is a little like peeling the layers of an onion to find nothing. While Zen meditation centers may very well appear minimalistic, their sparseness is meant to eliminate distractions in the same way a deprivation chamber blocks out extraneous influences. In meditations, you become calm and relaxed. In deep meditation, you become "centered." Your blood pressure changes as do your brain waves. Your conscious awareness becomes altered. It was in such a state of altered awareness that Siddharta Gautama became enlightened, became the Buddha. Twenty-five hundred years later many people have followed the path of the Buddha.
Creating a minimalist home is no guarantee for relaxation if the mind has made no effort in the process. While some environments exude a calm and peaceful feeling, serenity really comes from within.
I discovered meditation to help me heal the effects of chronic fatigue syndrome, but I soon discovered its healing benefits to deal with the stresses of life. I was fortunate to attend a retreat at Zen Buddhist Master Tich Nhat Hahn's center, Plum Village. The decor left much to be desired, but the joy of sitting in silence, eating and walking meditatively and being in communion with others is an experience I will never forget. It makes me wonder if our attraction to Zen decor/design is really about our desire to reduce the distractions in our lives and to create a sacred space. Maybe, it is a statement about letting go of "things," or at least the attachment to material objects, and discovering our true selves - that vital part of ourselves that transcends the ever changing trends and styles. Here is what I discovered from meditation: peace on the inside leads to peace on the outside - no matter what your decor. For me, Zen is in!
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