Posts Tagged ‘#CalgaryAlberta’

19 Beneficial Feng Shui Secrets

Thursday, February 21st, 2019
Did you know your home’s design can affect your bank account and love life? Try these feng shui tips based on the ancient art of balancing energy.

Keep the Kitchen Clean

“Your kitchen is directly related to your ability to attract money,” says feng shui consultant Suzanne Metzger. Keep your pantry and refrigerator organized and full of fresh food you actually use. To attract more money, keep the stove clean — every burner must work and be used equally. Lastly, remove all clutter from the kitchen table.

Add Doubles to Every Room

“If you want to start a relationship, don’t surround yourself with single imagery”, says Laura Benko, feng shui and holistic design expert. “Avoid a single chair in the corner, solitary images in artwork and solo photographs. It’s important to create the energy of partnership around you, otherwise you are continually enforcing singularity.” Add a second chair to a sitting area, double up on nightstands and surround yourself with pairs of everything.

Decorate in Red, Purple or Green

“Color has a powerful impact on mood, and red is considered auspicious and powerful. Think of walking the red carpet or wearing a red power tie,” explains Laura. Purple and green are also key colors for attracting prosperity but there’s a hitch. “If you really can’t stand the color green, it won’t work for you. But if you do love purple, paint a wall lavender or add a violet throw to your couch. Then tune in to how your space feels. It’s not just filling your home with stuff — it’s about decorating with mindfulness and enhancing the vibration and power of your own home.”

Add Happy Family Photos

To improve your marriage, display smiling photos of yourself as a couple and your family in the hallways, kitchen or other high-traffic areas, suggests feng shui consultant Ken Lauher. Avoid putting family photos in the master bedroom, which should only include photos of the couple. Design by Cortney and Robert Novogratz.

Make Your Front Door Inviting

If it’s hard to find your front door or it’s confusing as to how to get in, it’ll be hard for opportunity to make its way into your life as well, explains Karen. Put in an archway or gate to denote the front door if you need to, and make sure the doorbell works. The welcome mat should be bright and fresh. Sweep the steps and sidewalk in front, and add a potted plant to the entryway. Karen’s rule of thumb: “If a trick-or-treater can’t tell where to go, your front door isn’t clear enough.”

Arrange Dining Table in a Circle

When it comes to creating more love, the dining room is the second most important space in a home, the master bedroom being the most important. Arrange the dining table so everyone can see each other, and set out enough chairs for everyone even if the family doesn’t eat together every night, says Karen. Symbolically, it’s important to include the whole group.

Lose Clutter, Add Plants and Water

“To bring in more prosperity, it’s important to create a vibrant, healthy, inspiring and clutter-free home,” explains Laura. “Clutter jams up good energy and leads to procrastination. Bring in vibrant life forces such as plants and flowers, and don’t forget to have fresh air circulating. Fountains are important wealth adjustments in feng shui because they stimulate prosperity and energy, and symbolize money.”

Create a Cozy Master Bedroom

Oversized master bedrooms need to be cozier in order to have good relationship feng shui. Start by closing off any adjoining rooms, including a bathroom, office, patio or gym, suggests Karen. If there’s no door, install curtains. If you have a sitting area, arrange the chairs toward each other, and downsize with a smaller bed — go from king to queen or queen to double. “When the space gets bigger and bigger, people tend to live further and further apart emotionally.”

Arrange Kids’ Beds for Better Harmony

“Feng shui applies to all the occupants in the house,” explains Laura. “Children can be even more susceptible to their surrounding energies, so it’s very important to make sure their beds are placed in the commanding position. They will feel easily startled and vulnerable if their backs are to the door.” Laura also says electronics should never be stored or charged near a child’s bed.

Leave Room for Someone Else

“Single people build rooms for single people,” says Karen. “They have one chair, one nightstand and so on. Add another nightstand for your future someone.” That goes for the closet too. “Don’t fill it up with your stuff — honor the space and carve out a dresser drawer or a shelf that’s not yours. You don’t need to literally have enough room for two people to live there, just leave room for opportunity.”

Bring In New Opportunities

Sometimes it doesn’t take money to make money — just a yard sale. “This is a zero-cost fix,” explains Karen. “Take out clutter to increase prosperity; what you don’t use, don’t love, don’t need. Space equals opportunity.”

Add More Fun

If your bedroom is too neat or stuck with a sterile feel, “add something whimsical that makes you smile,” suggests Suzanne. It could also be artwork or a photo of a couple laughing together. This can bring positive energy into the room, and in turn, improve the relationship.

Don’t Use Water Symbols

“Drippy faucets are a sign of money going to waste,” Karen says. “Whatever the state of your water, your finances mirror those.” To increase your bank account, repair broken fountains and remove all stagnant water from your property. “Ever heard the expression, ‘I just can’t get my head above water’?” Karen asks. It’s best not to display water-based artwork or mirrors higher than your nose, which carries the same significance in feng shui. For most of us, that means no mirrors or water scenes above the bed.

Remove Negative Symbolism

“To decrease stress and arguing in your home, check your surroundings,” Laura suggests. “One couple that fought constantly had crisscross swords over their bed, and another couple had guns on their living room wall. Keep photos and artwork pleasing, inspiring and uplifting.”

Set Up a Sophisticated Home Office

“Many people who work from home have a lack of dedicated space for doing business,” says Karen. Take yourself and your business seriously if you want to attract new clients and bigger opportunities. Picture a CEO’s office, with a large desk facing the door and windows. “You’ve got to have space for people to come in, sit down and hand you a check. Putting a desk against a wall is a cubicle type position. It’s subservient, which is not assuming respect.” The amount of space in front of you relates to the amount of opportunities available, so arrange your chair so you have a view.

Focus On One Another

When it comes to the master bedroom, it’s not about the view or TV, explains Karen. “The bedroom is about passion and rejuvenation.” To increase intimacy in your home, install heavy, cozy drapes over large windows, remove the TV and never sleep with a laptop, iPhone or other electronics buzzing near your bed. The bedroom should be low-tech and romantic. Avoid pictures and decor featuring anyone other than the people sleeping there — wedding pictures work, but family photos don’t. Design by Cortney and Robert Novogratz

Add a Splash of Pink

Because it’s the color of relationships in feng shui, pink is one of the best colors to decorate a bedroom with, says Ken. Pink represents love, joy, happiness and romance. It doesn’t need to be a whole room, even a splash will do. Alternatively, light blue is a positive relationship color.

Choose Your Favorite Colors

Make sure your home speaks to you, or the feng shui updates won’t work. “The biggest feng shui money mistakes people make are choosing adjustments they don’t like,” explains Laura. “For example, red is considered a lucky color and you might hear that painting your door red will attract wealth. The bottom line is, if you don’t like red you will hate coming and going through it every day.”

Refresh Your Dining Room on a Budget

Tuesday, February 19th, 2019

See ideas for updating this sometimes-neglected space, whether you have $100 or $10,000.

Create A Cohesive Color Flow Throughout Your Home

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

Color preferences vary as much as personalities, with some folks loving the bright and the bold, while others feeling most secure surrounded by neutrals. The good news is that when it comes to color, there really is no “correct” palette. That said, we’ve all been inside homes where an explosion of color created a choppy feel between rooms — and sometimes, the urge to run. We asked five color, paint and design experts to share their best tips for creating a cohesive flow of color throughout your home. The strategies vary, but any of them can help you come up with a holistic decor scheme for your entire residence. So choose the ones that work best for you.

Home Upgrades That Pay

Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

How a couple of hands-on homeowners took a bungalow from dilapidated to delightful, using home-center finds.

Beautiful Bungalow

Exterior view of this remodeled bungalow

It takes a certain eye to see a smart little cottage where others see a stucco teardown. But Steve and Shauna Mullins had exactly that vision when they first saw this 875-square-foot bungalow in Hermosa Beach, California.

“It was in a great location, less than a mile from the beach, and the basic layout was good—it hadn’t been screwed up,” Steve says. Still, the exterior of the 1941 house was showing its age, and its small rooms needed an update. Collaborating with architectural designer Rosa Velazquez on the front of the house, doing much of the work themselves, and enlisting a general contractor for the bigger projects, the couple lavished the tiny two-bedroom with a proud new facade and freshened the interior throughout.

For nearly all their redo needs, they jumped in the car and hit nearby home centers, scouring the aisles for well-priced shutters, fencing, cabinets, crown molding, paint, and more.

Removing the front wall’s stucco and putting up white fiber-cement lap siding refreshed the front face of the house. The other walls got a coat of white paint. Exposing the rafter tails, as well as topping the roof with new asphalt shingles, added welcome detail to the roofline. Relocating windows created symmetry and allowed room for shutters.

Building a deeper portico with chunky columns and crisp railing made the entry more welcoming. A bright red door with brass hardware, lantern-style sconces, salvaged brickwork, and a rose-entwined picket fence helped give the cottage a classic look.

Exterior Before

Exterior view of this before bungalow remodel

Beige stucco and a nondescript entry gave the existing bungalow an institutional look, before.

2 Open and Update the Kitchen

Kitchen and laundry of this bungalow after remodel

Swapping in a new window, clean white Thermofoil cabinets, brushed-nickel pulls, and pale granite counters with an ogee edge made the kitchen brighter and more inviting. Ebony-stained crown molding and toekicks added sophisticated contrast. Stacked-to-the-ceiling pantry cabinets boost storage in the small kitchen.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen and laundry of this bungalow before remodel

The existing sad-sack galley dead-ended in a side-entry laundry area.

2 Open and Update the Kitchen, Continued

Kitchen and dining room of this bungalow after remodel
Creating a half wall to one side of the doorway, opened the space to the dining room. Building a post, made from a trimmed-out 4×4, gave it polish. New oak flooring added a warm note to the stainless-steel appliances and tied into the other rooms in the open plan.

3 Upgrade with Molding, Paint, Refinished Floors

Living area of this bungalow after remodel

Adding crisp white crown and base molding gave the living areas a tailored, pulled-together look. For contrast, walls got a suede-finish neutral beige. Replacing windows with ones that have simulated divided lights added detail.

Living Room, Before

Living room of this bungalow before remodel

The original living areas were drab and disjointed, before.

3 Upgrade with Molding, Paint, Refinished Floors, Continued

Living room of this bungalow after remodel

Refinishing existing oak floors with a medium-brown stain unified the spaces. Paint gave new life to the fireplace, white on the wood and fire-resistant black on the brick surround.

4 Extend the Living Space Outdoors

Backyard deck and patio of this bungalow after remodel

Adding a deck with a pergola off the master bedroom extended the living space without altering the house’s footprint. The deck steps down to the drive, a grilling area, and a lawn set off by a picket fence echoing the front of the house.

Backyard, Before

backyard of this bungalow before remodel

The back of the house, where the bedrooms are located, had almost no connection to the outside, before.

Remodeled bedroom with added french doors

Replacing a small window with French doors brought in air and light, making the 12-by-12-foot bedroom feel larger.

5 Add Charm With Color and Wainscot

The second bedroom was strictly Motel 6. Adding beadboard wainscot gave the room (which became a nursery) its own identity while reinforcing the home’s cottage style. Painting the wainscot, trim, and furniture white helped keep the lilac scheme from seeming too sweet. Floor-length curtains, hung above the windows, help elongate them and make the ceilings feel loftier.

6 Upgrade the Garage

 Garage of this bungalow after remodel

Swapping in a sectional door with raised panels and divided-light windows brought the garage up to par with the house. A blooming vine over the door softens the all-white facade. The flowering potato vine along the eves is trained on wires attached with eyescrews.

Garage, Before

 Garage of this bungalow before remodel

The freestanding garage had the blank, boxy look of a storage unit, before. Its tilt-and-raise door was sorely out of date.

Floor Plan

 Floor plan of this remodeled bungalow

The kitchen annexed a laundry area off the side door; the washer and dryer now fit behind cabinet doors. A wider opening and a half wall now connect the cook space to the dining area. French doors lead from the master bedroom to a new deck.

Design The Perfect Laundry Room

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

The laundry room has finally come into its own as a bright and organized cleanup command center, whether in a tidy corner of the basement or a nook next to the kitchen. For help updating yours, check out this expert advice on everything from energy-wise machines and thrifty flooring options to the best labor-saving layout and how to safeguard your home.

Your February Home Checklist

Tuesday, February 5th, 2019
February is a time of year to indulge in home comforts like cooking big-batch meals, reading in the afternoon and watching movies with the family. Here are a dozen ideas to add to your to-do list this month, from the necessary (clearing sidewalks of snow and ice, say) to the just-for-fun (treating yourself to weekly flowers).

7 Ways To Make The Most of Your Home Entrance

Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

Ever feel as though something’s not quite right about your entryway? Maybe it’s hard to see your front door, or your foyer feels bland and uninviting. Whether you’ve recently moved in or have been settled for many years, here are seven ways to make the entrance to your home more enjoyable for you and your guests.

10 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Curb Appeal

Sunday, January 27th, 2019
There’s no need to buy a new house or take on an extensive remodel to get the curb appeal you want. There are many ways to approach your exterior to give it a serious update without a serious overhaul. These are my 10 favorite tips for you to boost your house’s first impression.

10 Genius Ways To Double Your Closet Space

Thursday, January 17th, 2019

No matter how many times you comb through your bedroom closet, carefully pulling dresses to donate and tossing mismatched socks, there never seems to be enough room. Our dreams of neatly arranged tops and orderly rows of shoes can quickly end up in a messy pile when our wardrobes exceed our storage space. However, your closet may be bigger than you think. If you’re folding pants, storing scarves inside drawers, and keeping out-of-season clothing on display, you could be wasting space.

1. Divide and Conquer Drawers

If drawers aren’t equipped with dividers, they easily become a mishmash of belts, socks, and undergarments to hunt through every morning. “When everything has its place, you’ll spend less time pawing through your clothes and accessories looking for what you want. An organized closet makes getting dressed and packing for trips a breeze!” says designer Annie Selke. Invest the time now to get your closet clutter under control, and you’ll save minutes every single morning. The first step: take inventory of what you own. “Be honest about the number of items you want to store,” she recommends, and then plan your storage system accordingly. Once these organizers are in place, you can kiss the formerly messy sock drawer adieu.

Slotted Interlocking Drawer Organizers
Annie Selke swears by this customizable interlocking system. “Each square gets a single item, so everything is separated—perfect for socks and undergarments,” she explains. To buy: $6; containerstore.com.

To maximize every square inch, we’ve rounded up some brilliant organizing techniques and the containers that make it easy to maintain them. With these strategies up your sleeve, your bedroom closet will feel surprisingly spacious.

37 Ways To Add Storage To Every Room

Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

Clever ways to declutter your home! Create the perfect places to stash all of your stuff. Whether you own a tiny home lacking closet storage, or you are trying to organize the space you have—the first step is to get building. This article shows 37 projects that are sure to help you manage your messes or conceal items out of use. From putting together your own built-in window seat to making an outdoor bench that hides tools, detailed step-by-step instructions, shopping lists, and tool lists to do it all yourself.


Bryon Howard, RE/MAX House of Real Estate
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