I am not a fan of Valentine's Day - I don't want flowers and chocolates, I want love, laughter and understanding. My husband and I are lovers of water and we are like two fish with one occasionally swimming ahead of the other but always in the same direction.
Windows are a wonderful part of a space and offer light and a view to the outside world. In Feng Shui, it is important to see how quickly from the front door, you see the windows. I have lived in Penang apartments with huge windows which can let in too much light and added sheer curtains as well as blinds to give a sense of space. I have also seen living spaces with tiny windows creating a darkness that is miserable. Ideally, windows shouldn't be bigger than the door and should avoid the 'corridor effect' - more on that
The first thing I look for when buying a place is a sense of light and air which usually comes from the windows. Curtains and blinds are often an investment so you need to choose wisely for each room for length, pattern, texture and practicality. Blinds I am a blinds person - curtains to me are often fussy, dusty and old-fashioned. However, I have seen some mistakes when selecting the right blind. First, work out how much light you want in and want to block out and if you want pattern or plain. Pay as much as you can
My horoscope says, I will be 'endowed with a tenfold determination due to the salutary effect of past decisions and can expect may gifts and enchantments and will have many meals adorned with gluttonous and mischievous smiles!' Sounds great!
More and more I love white spaces with shadows and light. It is the perfect backdrop for art, ornaments and furniture. I saw this passing by a tiny London hairdresser and it appealed to the 12 year old in me.
I am a bit embarrassed to say that over the past 30 years, I have bought and sold too many sofas and chairs due to size, fit and often colour or style. As we learnt, choose a sofa that has the right back for the support you want, don't get swayed by sales, and measure carefully if moving. Sofas we have known and loved: Floral sofa-bed in a tiny Australian cottage in case of visitors and grey modular lounge in the living area; A big mistake of two lemon coloured Habitat sofas - we didn't sit on
Another person's trash is another person's treasure. It isn't easy to declutter, particularly if you have some lovely items that no longer suit your lifestyle or decor. I have recently become a fan of Marie Kondo, https://konmari.com although I suspect I will give up on the folding sooner rather than later! Her decluttering system partners well with Feng Shui principles of letting go and releasing energy to allow new energy in. Having moved countries and homes, I know how difficult it is to part with beautiful furniture, ornaments and clothes but it can be done. Feng Shui views clutter or a
With balconies or conservatories, they are considered as part of the house or apartment Bagua map, when attached to a building wall. A key Feng Shui practice is to mentally 'push the attached wall out' to include the balcony or patio as part of that area through decorating. Here is what this means. Our Berlin apartment balcony was in part of the Relationship corner and a small mirror was placed in the inside window of the bedroom wall that is next to the balcony and we stated that "this mirror expands the wall to include the balcony". Look at
We bought the apartment partially because it had a big balcony surrounded by silver birch trees giving the effect of a treehouse. The balcony was like an extra room and can be a restful place to read and relax. It was also great for cocktails! The main balcony needed major work as it was fifteen years old with wooden boards that were rotten. We were unable to paint the wrought iron as it was a whole building process so we did the best we could. We also had two small balconies which we didn't really used but still decorated.
Keep me away from retro or vintage stores, flea-markets and brocantes! I love vintage glass and have six 1930s French martini glasses and fell in love with these polka-dot 1950s champagne glasses. They make me smile and yes, I use them.