If you have been cursed with a small bathroom, there are options that can add a little space to it or make it seem larger. Some are inexpensive, while others should only be considered if you are planning to do some major remodeling. Either way, here are some tips on how to deal with a bathroom that makes you claustrophobic.
Let's start with fixtures. The standard tub is about sixty inches by thirty-two inches. If yours is larger than that, you may want to consider replacing it. Installing a lower-walled bathtub is also helpful because it will give the illusion of more space.
However, a couple square feet of space is not always worth the cost of replacing the bathtub. A cheaper alternative is to install a clear shower door. Removing ornate designs and replacing it with a clear door will remove the visual barriers that block the light and make a small room seem cramped.
Another feature that can take up more space than necessary is the toilet, especially older toilets. Wall-hung toilets are much more compact and eliminate wasted space behind it. A bonus of replacing an older toilet is that the newer models generally use less water. A newer water-saving toilet can cut about ninety dollars from your annual water costs.
Pedestal and wall-mounted sinks will take up less room and make the room appear larger. In general, the more visible floor space in a room, the more spacious it will feel. You might also consider installing suspended cabinets instead of a standard vanity.
If you are convinced that you need a vanity, consider installing a smaller version. The standard vanity measures about twenty-four inches wide and eighteen to twenty-one inches deep. However, you can get them as small as eighteen inches wide and thirteen inches deep. Make sure your sink lies flush with the counter because this will also help make the room seem larger. In addition, install a single-control faucet that will take up less space than the two-handled models.
If possible, replacing a standard hinged door with a sliding door will give you more room. If this is not possible, consider turning the door around so that it opens to the outside, rather than the inside of the bathroom.
Light is important in a small room. Make use of as much natural light as you can. A skylight is the perfect way to add light. One skylight will add five times more light than a window the same way and is a great way to save on electricity bills.
Get rid of any dark corners that close in the space by illuminating them. A good way to do this is to install shelves on the walls near the ceiling and fitting lights underneath them. This not only gives you more light, it also gives you more storage space. Paint the ceiling in a light, high-gloss paint. The high-gloss surface will reflect and amplify the room's available light and make it seem larger. Perfection is critical with a high-gloss finish, as every flaw in the surface, no matter how small, is magnified.
Placing light fixtures near mirrors is another good way to add light to the room because the light will be reflected. The more reflective surfaces you can add to the bathroom, the more spacious it will seem.
Mirrors can also add depth to the room. Pace a mirror across from a window because it will create the illusion of an additional "window" in the bathroom. If this is not possible, consider installing mirrors across from each other. This is an old trick that works really well when combined with lots of light. You could also mount a wall sconce onto, or right next to, a mirror. This will make it seem like there is a sconce and space on the other side of the mirror.
Using a monochromatic color scheme for the walls, floors, and fixtures will also help make the room seem larger. It does not have to be white: any light, cool color will work. Simple is essential to decorating a small room. Stay away from busy wallpaper patterns, because they will make the bathroom seem small and cluttered. Stick with a small, subtle pattern. You want to stay away from contrasts that will break up the space.
Drawing the eye upwards is also important because it will make the room seem taller. Vertical patterns are the best way to do this. This can be done with the right wallpaper or by painting stripes in the bathroom. You could also extend wall tile up to the ceiling or add a patterned tile around the top of the walls. Any type of border along the top of the walls will help bring the eye upward. Consider adding crown moldings to both the tops of the walls and the edges of the ceiling. This fools the eye into seeing more height in the space.
Another trick that will make a rectangular room seem larger is to paint the shorter end walls a shade slightly lighter than the longer walls. Simply add one cup of white paint per gallon of color to get the right hue. Add a little more white paint and you have the perfect color for the ceiling. You could also paint clouds on the ceiling, which will give the illusion of wide-open spaces.
Larger tiles in lighter colors will also help create a sense of space. Lay the tiles diagonally because it will lead the eye away and makes the space appear larger. You should also use rectified porcelain tile. Rectified tile is more consistent in size because it was cut after it was baked. Other tile is cut before it is baked, which causes the tile to have a greater size variance. This variance is sometimes as large as one-sixteenth of an inch. Because of their consistent size, rectified porcelain tile can be placed closer together, which will minimize any visual pattern that could make the room look smaller.
If possible, consider skipping bathmats. If you feel they are necessary, choose ones that are lightly colored--preferably in a color that closely match your floor covering. Contrasting colors will break up the space and make it seem smaller. The trick is to make everything blend together.
Finally, when decorating it is important that you try to find a way to eliminate as much clutter as possible. Clutter will only make a small room seem smaller. Recessed or floating cabinets are a good option because they leave visible floor space while hiding clutter.
While it is not always possible to add more space to a cramped bathroom, you can always add the illusion of more space. This can be as expensive as you want it to be--the choice is up to you.
Energy conservation is an important subject, and one that kids should be aware of. While previous generations had to learn good habits later in life, we know enough about the effects of energy over-consumption now that we can teach today’s children to save energy from a young age. That’s the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it’s a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they have used by leaving lights on.
Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won’t just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio’s computer program so the entire family can see how they’re doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley’s program lets kids grow a “virtual tree” which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.
Holley’s design runs with the idea that conserving energy is a family affair. Parents who demonstrate care for the environment are likely to have children who also care for the environment. Using positive reinforcement like Tio could be just the personal-responsibility angle that gets kids interested in conserving energy. There is, of course, a target age group for Tio, but we can imagine even some adults would love to see this glowy green ghost on their walls.
WHERE THE COOKING RANGE IS PLACED IN THE KITCHEN REFLECTS ON THE WELL-BEING OF THE FAMILY
The stove is an important element in house feng shui. It affects the health and financial status of the occupants. From the feng shui practitioner’s perspective, the positioning of the stove can be adjusted to fine-tune the occupant’s physical health condition and improve his financial status.
Here are the do’s & don’ts:
- The stove must be placed at a ‘hidden location’ in the kitchen. It is not advisable for it to be visible from the main door specifically, and back door or side door generally. It means that you should not be able to see the stove when you are standing at the main door entrance. If the stove can be seen from the main door, it not only means that money will be leaking out, which results in weak money luck, but also indicates that the housewife is exposed to outside seduction. If the stove is facing the side or back door directly, this would cause money to be ‘lost’.
- The stove should not be placed at the center of the house. This could bring misfortune.
- The stove should not be facing the toilet door directly as this would bring poor health. The situation would be even worse if the stove is facing the toilet bowl directly.
- If the stove is in a position with the toilet above it on the second floor, this could bring bad luck and cause the owner to have a weak immune system.
- Having a beam above the stove can bring spinal cord-related health problems to the owner.
- A drainage system located under the stove can cause miscarriages and sickness in relation to the reproductive system and abdomen.
- Having a washing machine or water tank at the back of the stove can cause a fluctuation in the financial condition of the owner.
- Placing the stove near/side by side the refrigerator or water tap can bring about antagonistic social relationship for the occupants.
- A stove facing the kitchen door directly can cause bad health.
- A stove that faces a tap can bring about accidents.
- A stove should not face the altar.
- There should not be a walkway at the back of the stove. Normally, this brings unstable income to the occupant.
- All knifes in the kitchen must be kept in a drawer and not be visible all the time.
Source: The Sun
Good Feng Shui in bedroom is important for the health and relationship of couples.
- Wedding photo is one of the very good sources of romance in Feng Shui. Do not hang your wedding photo on top of your bed – should hang in front of the bed.
- Other photos that represent romantic feeling such as flower, lovers should not hang at the exact East, West, South and North sectors of the room as these may introduce third-part affairs.
- The bed should always have a solid wall behind it, not any window. Solid wall acts as a support and thus to ensure to get a deep sleep every night.
- The wall behind the bed should not have any altar. This will cause health problems.
- If possible, there should also be no mirrors in the bedroom. Especially directly in front of the bed, or facing the room door. Mirrors should also not face the side of the bed.
- Mirror in the bed room should not face to any window as it may attract negative energies from outside.
- If there are mirrors inside the built in cupboard, the mirrors should not reflect to the bed when the cupboard door is open.
- The TV screen acts like a mirror. Therefore, TV should not face to the bed directly.
- Do not paint the room in red, pink, brown or yellow colour as these represent fire and earth elements. It can cause sickness especially when the inauspicious yearly forces reach the room area.
- If the bathroom door is facing to the bed directly, ensure that the bathroom door is closed all the time. An auto door-closer can be installed at the toilet door.
- Ceiling fan cannot be installed at the centre point of the bed. Try to align the fan to be away from the bed.
- Do not place plants inside the bed room. Plants can be placed in the bathroom.
Source: http://www.goodfengshui.com
In this edition of Feng Shui Tips, we're going to have a look at mirrors, that ever-present household fixture, and how it relates to Feng Shui.
As you may very well know, mirrors are very popular Feng Shui cures. You can't go through ten Feng Shui books or websites without finding something about mirrors in eight of them. The reason for the mirror's popularity in Feng Shui is its versatility. Mirrors are reputed to do many things, depending on who you ask. I'll be sharing with you some of the more popular applications; some fundamental, others more modern, and all will be explained along with some when using mirrors in Feng Shui applications.
Mirrors of protection
Protection of the premises is the most traditional use of mirrors in Feng Shui. A small mirror, placed above entrances, can deflect sha qi away from the premises, where it would otherwise wreak havoc upon the occupants, otherwise. This is not to say that the mirror can differentiate between good and bad qi. It will deflect good and bad qi alike; it is up to the user to place it appropriately. Entrances and openings that face poison arrows like junctions, cracks in the sky, etc., are good candidates for the mirror.
Hence the use of the bagua mirror, which is a mirror fortified with the symbols of the bagua in the Early Heaven arrangement. Mirrors such as these could be plain, concave, or convex. Of the three, the convex mirror is considered the most 'aggressive', as qi deflected off it could harm others, like your neighbours, or even good ol' Spot in his kennel.
Take note of certain details regarding the mirror. Firstly, bagua mirrors should be restricted to the exterior of the house, as they are considered too active for the interior. Secondly, in Feng Shui, everything is governed by scale. Hence it would be unrealistic to expect a mirror (bagua'ed or otherwise) to completely deflect incoming sha qi from the extremely busy six-lane junction directly opposite your door.
Where possible, if the Sha Qi attacking your door is really severe, you may want to consider using another door or tilting your existing one.
A big Do Not Do
A serious "Do Not Do" is sleeping directly facing a mirror. Facing an exposed mirror for the entire duration of your sleep, day after day, is not a good idea. Qi deflected off the mirror and onto your person will play havoc with your internal energies; your body, trying to rest, would receive active qi, and most likely disturb your good nights sleep. A few nights of that and you will definitely feel lethargic in the morning and less than productive.
If a mirror directly faces your bed, simply angle it away if it is movable, or place it under a shroud when you sleep.
Making an area more Yang
In some houses where the rooms are long and the windows are not large enough, light coming through the window do not reach the other side of the room. This space could be excessively Yin, and even gather stagnated qi. Needless to say, this is not desirable.
Place a mirror so that it would reflect sunlight into the "dead" area, resulting in a livelier room. Be careful in doing this. The mirror should reflect sunlight into the room and not straight back out the window. If the latter happens, then most likely the room would end up worse than before.
Hiding poison arrows in the house
This is a rather minor application, in my opinion. Some Feng Shui experts suggest using mirrors to hide protruding corners and pillar edges that serve as poison arrows. While sharp edges could indeed be poison arrows, do remember that in Feng Shui everything is governed by scale. Big edges (like mountains and glaciers) mean big poison arrows, while small edges (like tables and pillars) make for small poison arrows. Hence, while using mirrors to hide sharp edges is a proper application, you could give it a skip if you want to.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mirrors are very useful, Feng Shui-wise, and you should consider incorporating them into your home as the situation requires it.There is no need to start investing heavily in mirrors unless you do see a problem that can be addressed with one. Often, there may be other cures that you can still consider. Do be careful, however, and use your good judgment, because mirrors can cause as much harm as good if incorrectly used.
Source: http://www.dragon-gate.com
Qi should always collect in front of the door, and then gently float into the property. If your Qi is being dragged away from the door, then nothing is flowing in and everything is flowing out. How does Qi get dragged away from the door, and from the building? By Pulling Nose Water.
The name Pulling Nose Water is derived from the Qi being pulled away from the Main Door, much like a cow is led away by the nose. Whenever there is a long, narrow pathway or corridor in front of a door, the door is regarded as having a Pulling Nose Water problem.
Every school of Feng Shui stressed the importance of the main door to your home. Your main door to your home is the mouth of your home where most chi enters. Your main door will determine whether the Feng Shui of your home is good or bad.
Before even you think about improving the feng shui of your home, protecting and feng shui your main door first. Below are important feng shui tips for your main door. 1) Main door should have a protective roof. 2) Main door should be made of solid wood. 3) Main door should open inwards and have 2 leaves 4) Main door should not be under a toilet/bathroom. 5) Main door should look out to an open space 7) Main door should not face a stair case or toilet 8) Main door should have protective symbol but not a Pa Kua. 9) Main door should face one of your personal fortunate direction. 10) Main door should be located at one of your house's fortunate location. 11) Main door should be located at fortunate timely water star. 12) Size of main door should be measured to fortunate dimensions using a Feng Shui ruler.
Source:
http://www.fengshuilogy.com/
http://www.1fengshui.com/
Feng Shui is an ancient school of design, of Chinese origins. This design theory is based in the placement of objects in a room, in order to achieve a proper flow of energy or chi, as it is called by the Chinese. Finding a perfect balance and flow in a room can be difficult for those who do not understand the principles of Feng Shui; however, the following tips can help you to get a basic grasp on the ideas behind this type of design and create a comfortable living space that allows energies to flow properly through your home.
1. Mirrors in smaller spaces can create the illusion of space and make a tiny room feel more open and inviting. Mirrors also symbolize reflection in Feng Shui, so placement of mirrors is important. Look at the things that are being reflected in your mirrors, naturally, and see what kind of image they present. Avoid placing mirrors in front of clutter or other undesirable things. The reflective properties will “double” these ideas, creating problems.
2. Avoid dark areas in your home, particularly in hallways and walkways. Choose light colors for rooms without any natural light and place artificial light sources where needed. Dark spaces can be places for bad energy or evil to fester and develop. Positive chi cannot flow through these dark areas, so they are best avoided.
3. Seating is extremely important in Feng Shui, but not the amount or design of the pieces. In this design theory, where the items are facing is what is the most important. Chairs, couches, and other seating options should never leave occupants with their back to a door. In the ancient beliefs, this arrangement will keep unwanted negative energies from sneaking up on you, unsuspected.
4. Color is one of the most complicated aspects of Feng Shui. Each color represents one of five elements, and each of these elements must be used with care in conjunction with the other four. Each of these elements has a directional position where it is best used in the home. Fire colors should be used in the south areas, metal in the west, water in the north, wood in the east, and earth in the northeast and south west.
5. Clear, open pathways are important in Feng Shui, so that chi can flow freely. Open walkways through a bedroom, living space or hallway will make the room seem to be more open and comfortable, plus will leave a better feeling of balance.
One of the most important things to remember when decorating, whether you are using Feng Shui or simply rearranging your furniture, is that the comfort of those using the spaces is of the utmost importance. Assure that everyone can be comfortable and happy and you will find your living spaces not only more beautiful, but also more pleasant to be in as well. Feng Shui design can bring a wonderful level of enjoyment to the décor of your home, if done properly.
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