Making a home a sanctuary - Page 2

[karne]

I have found the book CLearing Your Clutter With Feng Shui to be really helpful. It's very readable and practical.

In our home we wnated to have beauty, peace, functionality, as well as space that could absorb an active family and pets. We felt strongly after we moved in that the space needed "grounding" and a reconnection with the earth--does that sound weird? I looked to nature and found beautiful soft browns and lichen green on two of my massive oaks. We brought this theme inside and it's lovely. We put beautiful random slate down for our big entryway and huge mudroom, and it's a great feeling to walk into. We've even replaced the standard steps in the doors leading to outside with all blustone. We plan on incorporating as much that is natural into our home remodel.

[rosie29]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Through most of our house (every room without a door) is a light neutral color paint called Innocence. It is a warm-tone, although very pale. It is a lovely color that is subtly soothing, yet energizing. Hard to explain, but is a big hit. It keeps the energy flowing without whipping anyone up into a frenzy. LOL

Sunnysandiegan, I'd love to know what paint company makes that color. I'm looking for something like you described. Is it beige-y?

[meesa143]

Originally Posted by karne

I have found the book CLearing Your Clutter With Feng Shui to be really helpful. It's very readable and practical.

I'm going to check this out.

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

I've taken a color therapy workshop (all day) and have read up on it a lot. The best advice I got and practiced and LOVE is to use cool colors (in whatever intensity you prefer) in the sleeping and calm rooms and to use the warm colors (in whatever intensity you prefer) in the active rooms. This has been AMAZING in our house and we LOVE IT!

I have been looking for ideas like this...thanks!

[MommytoTwo]

wow I am loving this thread!

I love photography and I love my children, so naturally, I love pictures of my children. How do you balance the desire for photographs of loved ones with peace and serenity and unclutteredness? One picture of all three kids just is not going to cut it for me.

[artparent]

you could work with black and white, or sepia, and or make all your frames the same colour. martha stewart .com has great ideas for hanging pictures. i would still keep it simple, just a grouping here, a single shot there, not stuff everywhere. i also like photos in halls, in bedrooms, on mantles or shelves, but not in eating and living areas, myself!

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[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by rosie29

Sunnysandiegan, I'd love to know what paint company makes that color. I'm looking for something like you described. Is it beige-y?

Hi Rosie!

I got the paint card at Home Depot from the Behr company. It is in the whites, I believe. It is definitely NOT white! LOL In any case, I didn't buy the paint there. We actually hired painters to do the entire house all at once due to several timing issues. I handed them all my choices and taped another set up on the appropriate walls. LOL They used a different company.

Yes, it is beige-y. Sort of a creamy, creamy pale yellowish peachish beige. It is really hard to describe. LOL My main concern was that it look good in our eclectic living room. I taped up numerous cards next to our various furniture items. I also knew I wanted a warm-tone and it needed to be enough Off-white to look good with white as the trim color. This is just the ticket. I did end up buying some of the Behr paint in both Innocence and Ultra Pure White and testing 1x2-foot sections all over the main living areas to test in real paint at various times of day (different lighting). We were investing quite a bit in having our entire home painted professionally, so I really wanted to make sure I liked the main color! I also wanted to make sure the two colors (innocence and white) were appropriate next to each other. I just fell in love with the color even more. The paint card is flat. The real thing is warm and soft and creamy and vibrant in a subtle way.

I got a little carried away, I see. I really get into color and how it makes people feel. This one makes my white-wall-loving husband happy and gives me warm fuzzies and pure joy. Ironically, DH is the one who ultimately picked our rather dark blue-violet walls in the master bedroom. LOL Oh, he who loves plain white walls... LOL

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by meesa143

I have been looking for ideas like this...thanks!

Hi Meesa!

You are welcome! If you want to discuss color theory and therapy more, I'd be happy to do so. I kept my discussion here brief, but I could go on and on and on regarding this topic! You lead the way...

Enjoy your day!

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by MommytoTwo

wow I am loving this thread!

I love photography and I love my children, so naturally, I love pictures of my children. How do you balance the desire for photographs of loved ones with peace and serenity and unclutteredness? One picture of all three kids just is not going to cut it for me.

I believe peace and serenity and unclutteredness is a bit unique for each individual. Sure, there are extremes that are obviously cluttered or obviously peaceful. However, there are many in between that "speak" to different individuals, ah, differently. So, the question is: What do YOU find peaceful?

Perhaps start with your favorite pictures of your children and put away the rest. Find the best homes for the ones you kept out by trying them in various places for a few days each. Once those feel good to you, then decide if you want more. Add them back very slowly and deliberately, taking time to really give them a good home.

Like someone else mentioned, I really enjoy collage-type picture frames. One frame (I tend to prefer 16x20) with lots of pictures. There are lots of ways to make this type of "art" add peace to your home. You just have to give it some thought and loving attention versus throwing random pictures in a frame together. One way I like is to choose close-ups for the entire collage and leave some spots open for non-people and non-pet shots. Perhaps a bee's eye view of a gorgeous flower (in the appropriate color) or a butterfly or a piece of a gorgeous card you received that evokes happy, peaceful feelings. Tip: avoid choosing items that came from people who agitate you regardless of how beautiful the item is. You are likely to associate the item with the person and stir up those emotions each time you see it. All black & white prints in a collage can be nice, especially if you add in an unexpected soft or vibrant color (whichever makes you feel best) item of some kind. I like to hand-tint a few key elements on a matte B&W picture, but you could also use a pressed flower or clover or something organic like that.

In any case, to me, clutter is having too much stuff that you don't LOVE. Focus on that word: LOVE! Reduce the stuff you have for other reasons and give the items you LOVE cherished spaces. The rest will fall in place.

[AngelBee]

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