Fabric swatches + glue gun = new artwork.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had a framed piece of fabric that I wasn't quite happy with. I love the idea of framing fabric because it is an easy way to add a little texture and tie a color palette together. It also celebrates textile design and offers up a different solution to artwork other than paintings or photography. To me, a balanced room consists of all three. 

Anyway, in need of something different, I decided to change the colors of my living room to blues and greens in an effort to make the room feel more "calm, healing and relaxing" according to feng shui explanations. Along with the new color palette came the need for a new piece of fabric (see how that worked?!) and I have been having zero success at the local fabric stores. Then I remembered the loads and loads of fabric swatches I'd received from a friend that used to work for a design firm and decided to pick through those hoping to find something fantastic. And I totally did. 

I found a few (meaning 12) swatches that I liked and felt complimented the color palette and pattern style I was aiming for. The keys to choosing patterns are to 1) stay within the same color palette chosen and 2) maintain balance in terms of how busy the patterns are. For example, for every small, busy pattern, try adding a more subtle or monochromatic one. This of course takes some trial and error so be sure to play around with it. Below are pictures of my current color and pattern palette (the floral fabric is a tablecloth I found in the sale bin at Home Goods that I'm planning to convert into pillows) and what a little cutting and glue gunning can get you. The pictures don't exactly do the patterns justice but trust me - they totally match.

I plan to put this up somewhere in my "entertainment unit" if I ever figure out what it will look like and consist of. I feel like I'm coming close to that though as well (thanks, mom).

Consider this living room feng shui-ed.

So this is what I ended up going with. I decided to add a bookcase (compliments of my mother) next to the entertainment unit to keep from floating. I am also planning to hang a couple of shelves to box in the TV and make the separate pieces look more like a unit. Putting the bookcase next to the door will also create a little entryway, which is important as mentioned in an earlier post. I actually ended up removing a side table am planning on adding another lamp to create more light. The current placement of artwork needs tweaking based on the new furniture positioning but all in all, I am pretty happy with the new arrangement. The color palette I'm moving forward with is green (harmony, beginnings, growth, healing), yellow (optimism, communication, inspiration, focus) and either orange (enthusiasm, joy, interaction, fun) or navy blue (imagination, calm, relaxation, serenity) depending on the patterns I find to accessorize with. I'll take a final picture once I complete the decor (should be by Friday, next week).

The lazy man's floorplan.

I'm trying to figure out a great floor plan for my living room but would rather not move the furniture around a billion times before finding something that works. According to feng shui, sofas and chairs should be facing the doorway or at least without their backs to it. As luck would have it, my sofa is on the same wall as the door and my chair doesn't face the door either. 

To help resolve this challenge in the laziest way possible, I came across a great site that allows you to build your floor plan and play around with the furniture inside each room. It offers standard furniture sizes along with the ability to change based on your own furniture. Below is my living room as it stands (design definitely not included - for placement only). Looks like I have my work cut out for me!

Feng shui dilemma #1: battle of the coffee table.

I labeled the post this way because I have a sneaking suspicion this will not be the only one. I am having the worst time deciding on a rug after concluding that my current one isn't giving off the right energy. I tried a beige shag one because I've always been a fan of shag but it wasn't working with my large dark brown chest I use as a coffee table. Then I questioned whether I should move the chest into another room and get a new glass or open-bottomed coffee table (AKA find one on craigslist). THEN I confirmed that the dark brown chest is giving off the most positive energy in the living room, since it used to be my toy chest, and now I am suddenly in one decorating pickle. ugh.

Originally, I wanted to skip over the part of feng shui your life that talked about how to get in touch with your inner feng shui because it suggested hugging a tree - literally - to receive its excess energy. Wanting to get to the bottom of the decorating part of feng shui (since my living room is now a giant mess), I figured I could deal with the tree hugging and inner self part later and skip ahead a bit. Going back post-pickle, I noticed a part of the chapter that talked about keeping a feng shui journal. It suggested finding the answers to specific questions (both on decorating and your life) to see what's working and what isn't. Guess that's what I get for trying to skip ahead. 

Anyway, I thought I would share with you the overview questions it asks about your home. I think they force answers to questions about your decorating patterns that you may be trying to avoid or work around. I've answered these questions, FaceBook style, specifically about my living room and suggest you do the same. 

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on the tree hugging and battle of the toy chest.

What do you love about your home, room by room? 

My couches are outrageously comfortable and the chest I use as my coffee table makes me smile.

What do you dislike about your home, room by room? 

I feel like the design is starting to look a little bland and dull. I feel as though it could use some brightening up.

How do you feel when you walk through your front door? 

Like I have a mess on my hands. 7 times out of 10 I have last night's dinner/snack on the table, mail from 3 weeks ago and random bags of stuff I haven't put away yet based on my latest trips or errands.

Does your home have an abundance of natural light or is it dark and gloomy? 

There is a lot of natural light during the day but it gets dark pretty quick.

Is your home in good repair?

As good as it can be for a rented apartment. If owned, I would strip and refinish the floors and give it a new paint job. I would probably also get central air because the window unit is a bit of an eye sore and takes away some of the sunlight.

Do you have clutter that depletes you the moment you see it?

Yes. I let the mail stack up and use the space as a dumping ground in between plans. Also, I think my entertainment unit is a huge eye sore full of random DVDs, Nintendo games and a TV that's too big based on how often I watch it.

Do you feel comfortable inviting friends and colleagues into your home or do you generally meet elsewhere?

Yes, I would definitely need to clean though. Even if I didn't have time, they would understand and wouldn't care.

How much of the contents of your home have been chosen by you? How much is inherited? Are there hand-me-downs? Are you displaying objects from a past relationship?

I have chosen everything in there except for the toy chest. I feel as though some of the pieces are hand-me-downs because I've had them since college. Specifically my entertainment unit and TV. The other pieces (rug, rattan side tables, curtains, etc.) I've had since I've graduated. None of the objects are directly from a past relationship although most have been seen by all.

Do you like being at home or would you rather stay away?

Depends on the size of the mess I'm running away from.

Do you feel motivated and full of potential when you are at home?

Only if I buckle down and force myself.

Do your home and office symbolize who you really are and where you hope to go?

Some aspects, yes, but most no. I feel as though they symbolize my past and I need to incorporate the present and future.

Feng shui me a new living room.

After a wonderful long weekend back in Cleveland (congrats Erin and Tony!), I'm back in my messy and, not to mention, extremely steamy apartment. Since the return, I've managed to cool off the place but have not even attempted to clean. Instead, I opened up a book, feng shui your life by Jayme Barrett, in hopes to not only tidy up the place but potentially start July off with a new attitude. So far, I am liking this approach to feng shui way more than others because it focuses more on how to apply a variety of techniques to your personal style rather than sticking solely to the traditional Chinese cures (which is definitely not my style - no offense). I'm not very far into it but figured I could tie in my living room makeover with some feng shui tactics to create a wonderful masterpiece (A.D.D. much?). 

One of the main things the author is reviewing now is how each and every piece in your home should give off positive energy. The energy is supposedly based on the time and place you purchased the piece, where you were in your life (good path vs. rough patch) and the general feeling you receive from the piece. If you have an antique, the piece often times takes on its previous owner's energy and can bring that into your home as well. Admittedly not a very spiritual or generally deep person, I am a little confused about how to figure this out. But, what I like about this book is that it accounts for a personal feng shui in which your opinions are allowed to shine through. It encourages you to only keep those objects that bring joy, love and happiness.

So, I am going through my living room and removing (meaning, moving into my "craft nook" until I get to chapter 3 that explains how to purify objects). Here are some things that didn't make the cut: