My House and Lot

Those hard to open clear plastic packages that house your newly purchased gadget should be forbidden! They are incredibly hard to pry open and sometimes require a long struggle or a sharp implement before you can get access to the goodies inside. My friend Shaun Olmstead almost got himself injured while opening a package as the plastic's torn edges and corners can be very sharp. Their resistance to scissors and razor blades (and even loud swearing!) is so bothersome that the term “wrap rage” was coined to describe people's aversion to them.

Manufacturers say these molded packaging protect goods on the long journey from the factory to the retail shops. Retailers say the heat-sealed edges keep shoppers from opening them in stores. And products certainly look picture-perfect in that clear plastic bubble. However, the soaring consumer complaints are making manufacturers realize that this type of packaging is a problem and they are now doing their best to make it easier to open. Here's hoping to less cuts and frustration when dealing with these plastic clamshell packaging!

The dining room is a special part of a home that requires special attention especially if you love to entertain and host dinner parties just like my friend Shaun Olmstead. The dining room must be a cozy and enticing space where meals are shared and enjoyed. Dining rooms that are uninviting can put a damper on everything from enjoying a favorite meal to conversing with dinner guests. Thus, picking the right color scheme is important in designing your dining area. The following are some suggestions on what colors can enhance any dining room.

Shades of orange, such as peach and apricot are good dining room colors. According to color therapy experts, the color orange can stimulate appetite and support digestion. Paint an accent wall in this color or just try incorporating these hues into centerpieces, napkins and tablecloths if you don't like orange enough to include it in larger portions of the dining room.

If your dining room doesn't get much outdoor light, you can enhance it by painting the walls gold or another rich, warm color and finishing off the wall with a glaze. The warm color selection can make a dark dining room feel more inviting during the day, and the glaze creates a glow at night when set off by indoor lighting or candlelight.

Deep beiges or browns create a more subdued atmosphere when used as a dining-room color scheme. These earthy tones communicate a nurturing, supportive environment and can ultimately calm your whole system while you enjoy a meal.

Shades of yellow are also good choices for your dining room. Yellows are seen as sociable hues; therefore, they could stimulate conversation at the dinner table. However, know that yellow tones are often affected by light, which can transform them into a displeasing shade of green. Before painting walls yellow, test the color by first painting a large piece of cardboard and examining it to see how the yellow is affected by indoor and outdoor light.

The bed is the most important furniture in the bedroom. It is where we spend 8 or more hours of our lives each day. Therefore, the bed must be comfortable and at the same time matches or compliments the aesthetics of the room. Buying a bed is a big purchase and the decision should be made a little more scientifically than lying and stretching out, fully clothed, on a store sample.

Decide on the right size. The size of your room is one factor to consider. If you have a small bedroom, you might not have room for a king size bed, even if it's really what you want. Other factors to consider is whether you'll be sleeping alone, in which any size bed will work; or will you be sharing the bed, in which case, you could choose a full size, queen or king sizes, or even an extra long bed if you are tall.

Set your budget and stick to it. As with most things, the price of a bed set does not necessarily tell you how good a product it is or how comfortable you will be sleeping on the bed. This is a big purchase, make sure that you get the value for your money and that the bed you picked will serve you for several years.

In an effort to add more comfort and a softer sleep surface, manufacturers now typically add more foam and padding to the mattress top. These are called pillow-top mattresses. On top of that, some people add a feather bed mattress topper. Before you shop for sheets, measure your mattress from to bottom so you get the right depth of sheets, mattress pads, and a comforter. A very deep full bed might require a queen spread or comforter.

Decide on the firmness that suits you, you don’t want to wake up the next morning with a sore back! My good friend, Shaun Olmstead, would sleep on a board if he could while another friend, Jane Barcy, like to cuddle into a thick feather bed. Either firmness of bed is fine, as long as you get good, even support. If you sleep with someone who disagrees on firmness, consider pushing two twin beds together to create a king size bed or shop for a mattress with adjustable firmness. One side can be firm and the other softer.

Choose a good bed frame. A solid steel metal bed frame provides a long-lasting firm foundation for the bed set. Be sure that the casters on corners and middle of the bed frame are large and heavyweight. A good bed frame should last through several beds. Some are adjustable and others are made to fit a particular size of box spring.

Do you toss and turn in bed at night or wake up in the morning still feeling tired and lethargic? The cause of your sleeping problems could be your very own bedroom! It might be congested with bad energy and negative vibes. Applying feng shui principles can solve this problem. My friend Shaun Olmstead used to suffer from terrible migraines that miraculously disappeared after rearranging his bed and changing the color of his bedroom walls!  

The following are practical tips on how to apply feng shui principles in your bedroom to promote a harmonious flow of nourishing and sensual energy and promises relaxation and a good night sleep.

Energy from the TV, computer or any kind of exercise equipment ruins the feng shui in the bedroom. Leave all that to the spare room or living room.

Make sure that you have good quality air in your bedroom. Open the windows often or use a good quality air-purifier to keep the air fresh and full of oxygen. You cannot maintain a positive energy flow in your bedroom if the air you breathe in is stale and full of pollutants.

Never place plants inside a small bedroom. Only put plants in a large bedroom, far from the bed. You should also never have a water feature in the bedroom, no matter which feng shui area your bedroom is located in, as the water element brings the energy of worry into the bedroom.

Good lighting is very important, as light is one of the strongest manifestations of energy. Have several levels of lighting in your bedroom, or use a dimmer switch to adjust the energy accordingly. Candles are the best feng shui bedroom lighting, but be sure to buy candles with no toxins.

Use soothing colors to achieve a good feng shui balance in your bedroom. Feng Shui bedroom decor is a balanced decor that promotes the best flow of energy (chi) for restorative sleep, as well as sexual healing. Best feng shui colors for the bedroom are considered the so-called "skin colors", and we know the colors of human skin vary from pale white to rich chocolate brown. Choose colors within this range that will work best for your bedroom decor.

Be mindful of the images you put in your bedroom, as images carry powerful feng shui energy. Unless you enjoy being sad and lonely, do not use sad and lonely images in your bedroom.

Keep all the bedroom doors closed at night, be it the closet doors, the en-suite bathroom door or the bedroom door. This will allow for the best and most nourishing flow of energy to strengthen your health, as well as the health of your relationship.

Follow the basic feng shui guidelines for your Bed, which are:
have your bed easily approachable from both sides, have two bedside tables (one on each side) and avoid having the bed in a direct line with the door.

A "good looking" and well-balanced bed is very important in creating a perfect feng shui bedroom. Good mattress, solid headboard and high quality sheets from natural fibers are also very important in creating harmonious feng shui energy.

The kitchen is one of the busiest areas in our homes. It is where our family congregates every morning for some cereals and fruits (if in a hurry) or omelets and sausages (if there’s time to spare). It is where good conversations are shared and where hearty meals are prepared. Sometimes, keeping the kitchen spic and span seems to be a daunting task especially if you have collected three half-full bottles of vinegar in the cupboard and the utensil drawer becomes a minefield of knife tips and mangled wire whisks.

A cluttered kitchen does not only hinder efficient food preparation, it also makes the area less inviting. My friend Shaun Olmstead shares some tips on how to keep the heart of the home clean and well organized.

Start de-clutterig your kitchen by discarding everything that you don’t need anymore. These include busted appliances, expired canned goods and spices, leaky pots, ladles without handles, dull knives, etc.

Remove the contents of your cupboards and drawers, and wash the insides with warm soapy water. Rinse, let dry and replace cupboard and drawer liners.

Store pots, pans and cooking utensils near the stove, nesting the pots and pans together to conserve space.

Organize your dishes, glasses and silverware in racks to maximize use of space. Store them near the eating area and/or dishwasher for easy access. Drawer dividers are also handy in organizing utensils.

If you have children, be sure that they can reach the items they use and place things they should not use - such as sharp tools, alcohol and cleaning chemicals - well out of reach.

Alphabetize your spices and keep them near the stove on a spice rack or in a nearby cupboard on a revolving rack.

Remove large and seldom-used items from countertops and store them in a cupboard. For appliances that you use often, consider adding an 'appliance barn,' which can store toasters, blenders, juicers and other appliances on the countertop without clutter.

Store food items that you use on a daily basis in accessible spots, and store all like food items together - for example, tea and sugar.

Put food that may become infested with insects into sturdy plastic containers and seal them.

Don’t you sometimes think that you have too much stuff that it creates chaos in your home? And worse, the mess is too overwhelming that you don't even know where and how to start cleaning up so you just don't do it at all. I know the feeling. But a recent visit at my friend’s Shaun Olmstead newly refurbished condo unit inspired me to declutter my own space. Shaun, who is also a clean freak, taught me the following organizing technique that works and does not require any fancy shelves, gadgets, or organizing tools. Try it yourself and you’ll be amazed at how much you can organize in just a couple of hours!

First, decide which room you want to start with and focus on it. If the room is really full of clutter, concentrate on one closet or one area. Gather three large boxes or bags, and label it with: a) keep; b) give away; c)throw away.

Start sorting though your things and place each item on the appropriate box/bag. This task could be overwhelming but these tips can help you in the sorting process:

1. Do not keep things out of guilt or because they were a gift! People will understand.

2. Do not keep things that are broken, you do not use anymore or display.

3. Do not keep clothes that do not fit, out of style, or you simply do not use anymore. Throw them out or donate to charity.

4. When in doubt, throw it out! If you really can't decide, put it in a "maybe" box and store that box away for 6 months and if you don't need it in 3 months, you can toss it! Sometimes it's hard to let go of some things. But this could help soften the blow.

Always remember that a well-organized and clutter-free home will make you feel fine and proud. But if it's a mess, you shrink inside.

My friend, Shaun Olmstead, is renovating his condo unit and I suggested applying feng shui principles in his home. Feng shui (pronounced FUNG SHWAY) is the ancient Chinese art of arranging home & garden based on the way energy moves through a space. It is said that by properly arranging our living spaces, following the principles of feng shui, can attract the things we want into our lives such as money, love, fame, good health, etc. The following are simple tips on integrating these principles into our homes.

In feng shui, energy is like an arrow bouncing through the spaces in the room. Ideally, the arrow should follow a comfortable route.  An erratic energy path will have negative effects so it’s imperative to rearrange things (reposition furnishings or bring down wall if necessary!) to make the path more natural and free flowing.

Never keep something that is broken. If you can’t fix it, just get rid of it! Let go of anything that does not give you joy!  Why keep an ugly lamp that annoys you every single day just because you needed a lamp when you can replace it with something that is much suited your taste?  Clutter reveals worry, and anything you worry about is amplified and causes all sorts of problems in your life. Clutter near the front door shows you are afraid to get out and live life. A messy kitchen reveals that you feel unloved. Trust me, when you get rid of clutter, more things that fit your liking will come your way!

In the living room, always put your main sitting area against the Power Wall.  The Power Wall is the wall opposite the main entrance to the room.  Sitting with your back to a door is uncomfortable and can also cause paranoid feelings.

In the bedroom, it is important to position your bed wherein you can get out of it on both sides. Putting your bed in a corner or against a wall leads to feelings of isolation in your life. Never use your bedroom as an office or workspace. Doing so crowds out the room for relationships in your life. If you have no other choice, make the room as clearly divided as possible, with a room divider or clever use of furnishings. Make sure, though, that neither space feels confined.

In the home office, avoid placing your desk against a wall. Sitting for long periods with your face to the wall is psychologically hard on you, and can lead to fatigue and increases the tendency to overwork.

Bathrooms should always have a full-length mirror installed on the outside of the door, to deflect negative energy.

Thank goodness for feng shui! Fixing our living spaces according to feng shui principles immediately improves the corresponding area in our lives. You will be amazed at the good things that happen immediately after you start feng shui'ing. So get off your butt right now and try fixing just one small area of your life!

My friend Shaun Olmstead is planning to redecorate his apartment and is asking me what color scheme he should use. I researched on this topic and these are what I’ve got:

Red - Bright and bold, red suggests vitality and aggressiveness. It's a great accent color, making cold, open rooms seem more inviting and intimate. Deep, subtle shades of red such as burgundy and maroon are perfect for living rooms.

Yellow - Stimulating, sunny and cheerful, yellow is associated with intellect, power and creative energy. Bright yellows bring warmth and light into dark rooms, and pale yellows make small rooms seem larger. It's also a great kitchen color.

Blue - Blue denotes harmony, peace, steadfastness and loyalty. While it's appropriate for any room, blue is an excellent bedroom color because it makes one feel comforted and serene. It can also soften rooms that are over-bright.

Orange - Orange combines the energy of red with the intellectual associations of yellow. Dominant and lively, it's a fun choice for bathrooms and work areas. Peachy oranges have a delicate effect, while brownish oranges (like terra cotta) give off warm, cozy vibes.

Green - The color of nature, green is refreshing and pleasing to the eye. It makes dim apartments seem more vibrant by bringing a garden-like atmosphere indoors. With its varying shades, green works in just about any room.

Violet - Strong and majestic, violet is a powerful accent color. Pastel violets take on the characteristics of red or blue depending on which is more prominent in the shade. (Lilac, for example, takes on blue's characteristics, while lavender takes on red's qualities.)

To balance out the splashy colors above, add neutral earth tones and strong, sleek shades of black and gray. Another universal color is white, which, in its various incarnations (off-white, beige, and eggshell), provides a can't-go-wrong foundation for any room.

Deep "warm" colors give a room an intimate, cozy feel. They are: red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow.

Light "cool" colors make a room seem more spacious and elegant. They are: green, blue-green, blue, and blue-violet. White also has this effect.

Even if you have all-white walls, you can easily convey color schemes through curtains, pillows, lamps, candles, blankets, area rugs, etc.

Avoid puke-green at all costs. Unless you actually liked the '70s.

My friend Shaun Olmstead is planning to redecorate his apartment and is asking me what color scheme he should use.  I researched on this topic and these are what I’ve got:

Red - Bright and bold, red suggests vitality and aggressiveness. It's a great accent color, making cold, open rooms seem more inviting and intimate. Deep, subtle shades of red such as burgundy and maroon are perfect for living rooms.

Yellow - Stimulating, sunny and cheerful, yellow is associated with intellect, power and creative energy. Bright yellows bring warmth and light into dark rooms, and pale yellows make small rooms seem larger. It's also a great kitchen color.

Blue - Blue denotes harmony, peace, steadfastness and loyalty. While it's appropriate for any room, blue is an excellent bedroom color because it makes one feel comforted and serene. It can also soften rooms that are over-bright.

Orange - Orange combines the energy of red with the intellectual associations of yellow. Dominant and lively, it's a fun choice for bathrooms and work areas. Peachy oranges have a delicate effect, while brownish oranges (like terra cotta) give off warm, cozy vibes.

Green - The color of nature, green is refreshing and pleasing to the eye. It makes dim apartments seem more vibrant by bringing a garden-like atmosphere indoors. With its varying shades, green works in just about any room.

Violet - Strong and majestic, violet is a powerful accent color. Pastel violets take on the characteristics of red or blue depending on which is more prominent in the shade. (Lilac, for example, takes on blue's characteristics, while lavender takes on red's qualities.)

To balance out the splashy colors above, add neutral earth tones and strong, sleek shades of black and gray. Another universal color is white, which, in its various incarnations (off-white, beige, and eggshell), provides a can't-go-wrong foundation for any room.

Deep "warm" colors give a room an intimate, cozy feel. They are: red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow.

Light "cool" colors make a room seem more spacious and elegant. They are: green, blue-green, blue, and blue-violet. White also has this effect.

Even if you have all-white walls (many landlords and dorm managers won't allow residents to paint), you can easily convey color schemes through curtains, pillows, lamps, candles, blankets, area rugs, etc.

Avoid puke-green at all costs. Unless you actually liked the '70s.