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A Guide For Working with Feng Shui In Your Bedroom!

Throughout my room renovation I discovered the concept and rules of Feng Shui. I did not realize I had been using feng shui in my room until I learned more about it.

According to TheSpruce.com, “Feng shui is an ancient art and science that was formalized over 3,000 years ago in China. In literal translation feng means “wind” and shuimeans “water.” In Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui came to mean good fortune. Conversely, bad feng shui means bad luck or misfortune.”

“Some elements of feng shui practice date back at least 6,000 years, and it contains elements of various branches of scholarly study, including physics, philosophy, astronomy, and astrology. It is related closely to the Taoist vision and understanding of nature, particularly the idea that the land is alive and filled with chi or energy.”

“Feng shui is sometimes thought to be the art of placement—understanding how the placement of yourself and objects within a space affects your life in various areas of experience. It is a complex body of knowledge that teaches you how to balance and harmonize with the energies in any given space—be it a home, office, or garden. Its aim is to assure good fortune for the people inhabiting a space. Although regarded by some in the scientific community as a pseudo-science, feng shui has had an impact on the aesthetics of interior design and the architectural layout of living and working spaces both in its native eastern and, more recently, western cultures.”

While decorating my room I was constantly thinking about the layout and how the items in my room made me feel. I knew that the colors and pieces I brought into my room would have a big impact on how I felt while I was in it.

Once I learned more about feng shui it felt great to see my decorating practices put into words.

At the moment my room revamp is not completely finished but I have decided to come up with some steps to get you started with your own room decorating journeys!

Four Things to go Over Before Starting:

  1. Scope of the Project

How big do you want to make this project?

Do you want to redo your entire bedroom?

Or do you just want to spruce things up a bit by changing a few items?

  1. Layout

How is your room laid out?

Do you feel like the energy is flowing well? 

Should we change things up for better flow?

How much room do we have to work with?

  1. The Theme

What do you want to have more of in your life?

  1. How to get started?

What items/tools/resources do you have to work with?

Keep in mind that you may need a ladder, hammer, nails, etc. during the process.

The Command Position in your bedroom

In your room you want to make sure you feel safe and comfortable. 

While laying in your bed are you able to see someone come into your room through your door? 

That feeling of knowing someone is coming into your room gives you a sense of control. So you want to make sure your bed is located so you can see your main door. 

Once you know your command position place your bedding in the position and work with the space you have around the bed.

Be Mindful of the Amount & Placement of Furniture

You want to make sure that the furniture you have is:

1) A good size considering the size of your room 

We do not want big bulgy wardrobes, chests, or dressers that are too big for your room and leave no room for other items such as bedside stands, a desk, or even a vanity. 

2) Not blocking the flow of energy

You may ask yourself what this means?

I would describe it as that akward feeling when something doesn’t really fit correctly. 

For example you wouldn’t want your dresser to be right next to your door. That would impede you from opening your door completely and would also feel weird being so close to the opening of the door. 

You want to make sure your furniture is set up so that it fits and feels right

I also wanted to mention that we want to prevent having too much furniture. I understand many of us need storage but there are other ways we can store things without having to haul in more furniture. We can get creative with storage and use shelves and other innovative closet storage options.

Focus on the Type of Energy You Want to Create

In the Feng Shui realm you use the five elements in order to create a specific energy in your bedroom.

The five elements are

  • Fire
  • Water
  • Earth
  • Wood
  • Metal

With the five elements we are able to create designs that focus on different needs for a person’s bedroom:

Five Elemental Designs

  1. Energy & Vitality

This design focuses on new beginning and creates a lifting atmosphere.

Predominantly uses the wood element.

Uses specific colors & textures that bring in the connection to nature. 

More rustic because of the wood but you can also mix in whites to give it more of a modern feeling.

Color scheme will include neutral colors such as soft greens, yellows, and blues.

Having a lot of wood can be overpowering but you can balance it out with plants and textures.

  1. Romance & Love

This room design keeps it romantic by using the fire sign.

Keep it clear and light to make space for openness within the relationship.

It is important to keep it simple but add color through accessories such as decorations, throw blankets, or pillows.

Use soft pinks and reds throughout the room.

  1. Rest & Relaxation

This design will set you up for a goodnights sleep!

Keep everything light and airy. I personally enjoy pastel colors for this one but you can also use greys and light blues.

Focus on the layout: Make sure your furniture flows well and does not obstruct anything.

Get rid of clutter & dark weighty things (art, scultpures, etc.)

Keep the walls light and neutral

The overall focus of this design is to make it clean and without disruptions

  1. Grounded & Stable

This design will help you with feeling nurtured and secure.

Have a headboard around your head so it supports your crown chakra located at the top of your head.

Keep earth tones and even throw in some yellows.

Bring in the water element a little so it balances earth out. You can do this by adding pops of blue throughout the accessories in the room.

Lastly, to help you build that sense of security to to add a solid rug with a square shape to it.

  1. Refresh & Harmony

This last design is all about creating harmony.

It is accomplished by using all 5 elements (water, fire, earth, wood, and metal).

Keep the room light and airy.

I would suggest sticking to neutral tones with pops of pastels.

Adding elements of wood and earth is what in my opinion refreshes your room the most.

These are just some ideas and guidlines as to how to create a room that you feel comfortable in.

Feel free to play around with the designs and be as creative as you desire!

Remember, do what feels right!

Add pieces that bring you joy and get rid of items that don’t.

I wish you the best of luck in your decorating journeys!

XOXO

Nayelli

PS: Here is a video I watched to also help me get started with thinking about the Feng Shui in my bedroom!

Painting a Blank Canvas: Decorations!

Hi Everyone!

This week I wanted to share some of the items I have bought over the course of a few weeks to begin decorating my room.

All of the items in this blog I bought from Target. I know! Shocker!

What can I say I’m a sucker for Target. Anyhow, as I was shopping through Target I focused on the look I wanted to achieve. In my case, I’m going for the typical bohemian look.

While looking for room inspiration I actually came across another blog (StlyeCaster) which focuses on Fashion, Beauty, LifeStyle, and Entertainment. They have a post with 57 Bohemian Rooms in it and that post definetly helped me become inspired!

Check it out here:

With the typical bohemian look, there are a lot of woods, plants, and I would say “forest-y” colors. So we’re basically trying to make the room feel like it’s part of nature and have an organic feeling.

With this shopping round I tried focusing on my accent pieces. These items are pretty big or at least take up a good amount of space.

These pieces are also mainly gold because I plan on going on another shopping spree and buying art that has much more colors to it.

When buying art the place I resort to is Socitey6! They are literally the best for buying unique art pieces. They actually work with the artists and give them a percentage of the profits.

They have wall art, home decor, furniture, tech accessories and much more!

Check them out here:

https://society6.com/prints

But for now I focused on the accent pieces!

Here are the items I bought:

Decorative Wall Shelf Gold – Opalhouse™

QT. 2 @ $19.99

I really liked these shelves because of the minimal look they have but they are also fancy because of the gold metal design it has. I will be locating two of these shelves stacked on top of each other above my bookshelf. I really wanted to get these up but I have not been able to get a hold on some power tools. But I promise I will get these up soon! Below is a picture of the space they will be living in.

Hand Made Cotton Plant Hanger – Opalhouse™

$24.99

I freaked out when I first saw this planter! I mean look at the beautiful woven yarn!!! I think this fits in really well with the bohemian look I’m going for and I can already imagine how pretty the plants will look inside. Also, when I say plants I mean FAKE plants. I already know that my busy life does not pair well with taking care of a plant that is alive. I have not bought the fake plants yet but I’ll probably hit up Walmart or Michaels next time I go shopping. Here is a picture of how it looks so far:

Wall Hook – Opalhouse™

Clearance – $3.00

The next item I got was a metal hook to put my keys away on. At Target there were several different styles of hooks. Some came in sets, others were larger metals with three hooks on it but I decided I didn’t need so many hooks and stuck to a very basic one. I could not find this item on the Target website so I am guessing it was discontinued, hence the item being on clearance. Which was totally cool with me!

I decided to put the hook next to my door so that I could put my keys up as soon as I got in my room and have quick access to them when I’m rushing to leave in the morning.

P.S. Peep the planter in the mirror! Isn’t it so cute?!?

Large Wall Hanging Succulents – Project 62™

$19.99

The next item I got was this little succulent planter that you can either hang on your wall or have as a table decoration. I decided to hang it on the wall next to my closet. I thought this location was the best because it’s a very small piece of wall and this planter is the perfect size for it.

I’m thinking of adding art prints on that wall as well. That way it won’t seem so empty.

Artificial Succulents In Wood Pot – Project 62™

$14.99

I got ANOTHER succulent planter. Can you tell I’m obsessed with succulents?

This one I am keeping on my desk. However, I’m not really happy with the location so I’m still trying to move it different places and seeing if it fits.

6″ Round Wall Clock White/Brass – Project 62™

$8.49

Next is the clock! I really like this clock because it is small and dainty. You can’t really tell the size of it in the stock picture so I’ll include a picture below. I decided to place this clock above my closet because with the way my bed is located, I can directly see the clock while laying down.

The cool thing about this clock is that it can also be a standing clock for a desk or table. On the back it has a little plastic stand that you can pull out. I decided that I wanted to mount it on my wall but it’s still a pretty cool feature!

Also, it’s not obnoxiously loud! Something that can drive me crazy is really loud clocks so I appreciate how quiet this one is.

Bamboo Rectangular Drawer Organizer – Threshold™

$6.99

Another item I bought was a drawer organizer. I love that it is wooden and I love the soft brown color it has.

Despite it being designated to be in a drawer, I decided I wanted to keep in out on top of my drawer.

In it I am keeping my fancy scrunchies, hair accessories, and earrings.

Vendela Woven Fringe Rug – Opalhouse™

$19.99

I also bought a rug! And I am obsessed with the colors! Besides it fitting in with my color scheme I also needed something that kept me from touching the cold floor in the morning. This rug is so SOFT!

Solid Faceted Wastebasket – Threshold™

$19.99

This is by far the most expensive trash can I will ever buy in my life. Freaking $20! I was on the verge of wether or not I should buy it but I decided to go ahead with the purchase because 1) Gotta treat myself to bougie things once in a while, 2) It’s gold & cute, and 3) It’s durable.

I’m keeping this trash can FOREVER!

Over-the-Door Mirror Metal Brass – Project 62™

$49.99

The last item I bought was a door mirror. I am in love with this mirror because of the soft curved edges. I also feel like the quality of the mirror is very good. I remember having a door mirror from Walmart and it kind of distorted my body in a weird way. But not this one!

This one is also able to turn into a wall mirror. It comes with the equipment to do so but I just wanted to keep this on my door and I don’t really have any other wall space for it to go up on.

Overall, I like the decoration items I bought. I totally think that once I buy wall art and art prints it’s going to pull the room together even more.

I also wanted to mention that a lot of the items I bought were pricey. And I totally understand that not everyone is going to be able to afford buying brand new decorations.

If you are shopping on a budget I definitely encourage you to check out the clearance sections and also repurpose items in creative ways. I also recommend thrift shopping, you never know what you’re going to find.

I hoped you enjoyed this blog post!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for future posts!

XOXO

Nayelli

DIY Project Time!!!

This week I want to go over some of the projects I have been able to complete!

  1. Bedding
  2. Desk Renovation
  3. Closet Transformation
Bedding

The first project I gave myself was my bedding. As you saw in the initial pictures I posted in my 1st bog post, I did not have any bed sheets or a blanket. I was literally sleeping with just a throw blanket for the first few days until off to Target we went.

With the original pillow in mind, I walked around Target and choose items I thought would go well with the color scheme.

Here are the items I bought:

Performance Sheet Set Solids 400 Thread Count – Threshold™ $49.99

Gauze Coverlet Gray Sky – Opalhouse™ $55.99

2 Standard Garment Washed Quilt Sham – Opalhouse™ $8.00

Solid Bed Skirt – Made By Design™ $12.80

Printed Wall Tapestry – Opalhouse™ $15.00

*Color is darker in person*

As you can see the items I choose correlate with the pillow’s. The bedsheets are a soft yellow and the blanket is a light blue with grey undertones.

Then I also bought a wall tapestry to put above my bed. It is a very nice color and I feel like it pulls the look together.

FINAL LOOK

BEFORE
AFTER
Desk Renovation

Do you remember that old mint green desk and lamp I had in my room? Well I decided that instead of buying a new desk and lamp that I would spray paint it. Fun right! Well, not completely. I first had to take my entire desk apart and try to remember where each of the screws went. That took like 40 minutes.

I began by spray painting the metallic pieces, including the screws and lamp, gold. Then I moved on to the wood pieces that were mint green and spray painted those an off-white color.

I’m not going to lie, this was a two-day project that required a couple of trips to the craft store for more cans of spray paint. But I was happy with the outcome!

I will say that the paint, especially on the wood, does easily come off. So, I would recommend putting on a top coat of some sort after finishing. I didn’t do that and now I have scratches on it that are very visible but that I am too lazy to fix…oh well.

Want to do a better spray paint job than I did?!?! Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ec28Q3itcg

Krylon Spray Paint – Modern White

$8

Krylon Spray Paint – Metallic Gold

$8

You may be thinking to yourself, what happened to that little mint green stool she had??? Well, that I couldn’t paint so I donated the old stool I had and bought a new one that fit in well with my newly painted desk. That one I bought at Ross for about $40.

FINAL LOOK

Closet Transformation

While I was at Target I also bought some items for my closet.

I wanted to make sure that my closet was organized, cute, and color coordinated. A big pet peeve of mine is when things don’t match and so having teal bins and hangers of all kinds of colors was getting on my nerves.

These are the things I got:

3 – 24 CT. – Wood Hanger – Made By Design™ $20.00 each

1 – 2pk Wood Pants Hanger – Made By Design™ $4.00

Single Tier Metal Shoe Rack White – Made By Design™ $20.49

Folding X-Frame Hamper – Made By Design™ $20.00

Fabric Cube Storage Bin (13″) – Threshold™ $10.99

 

2 – Y-weave Bin 13″ – Room Essentials™ $7.99 each

Y-Weave Medium Rectangle Bin – Room Essentials™ $5.99

Large Metal Underbed Bin White – Made By Design™ $13.00

After I bought everything I went home and researched some videos to help me begin my closet organizing journey. My favorite video that I came across was from the Buzzfeed Nifty channel. It was very straightforward and gave clear tips and directions.

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/9rIRsiwMrbk

After become motivated by a few videos and episodes of Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, I took everything out of my closet.

I put the bins on the top shelf. In the two larger bins I have my jeans folded. In the smaller bin I have my t-shirts folded. In the metal bin I have organized all of my purses.

After organizing my bins, I took my clothes off the plastic hangers and onto a pile on my bed. I then went through every single item and sorted them into two piles – what I wanted to keep and what I want to donate.

After that I put the clothes I wanted to keep on the new wooden hangers and the clothes I wanted to donate in large plastic bags.

I then organized my clothes into the closet according to the type of item it was:

  • Coats
  • Jackets
  • Sweats
  • Cardigans
  • Woven Sweaters
  • Blouses
  • Shirts
  • Jean Jackets
  • Flannels
  • Professional Clothing
  • Skirts
  • Dresses

After that I organized each category of clothes according to color (lightest to darkest) and length.

If you noticed I put my dresses to the right hand side because I do not want them to obstruct anything beneath them. That way they will be nice and snug beside the hamper.

Once finished the closet looked very organized, sleek, and CUTE!

FINAL LOOK

Overall, working on these projects was EXHAUSTING but SO worth it.

I am a strong believer that having your room organized and clean helps you feel better. For example, when I have long days at work it is nice to come home to a clean room where I can do homework and be able to concentrate and then transition to a nice clean bed.

Having a nice room where you feel comfortable is essential to happiness and good rest!

I hope you enjoyed the blog post for this week!

XOXO

Nayelli

Let’s Get Started!!!

Just for background knowledge I’m going to share my journey that began this project. This all began when my family had to unexpectedly move. We had been living in the same house for the past 6 years when the landowners decided that they wanted to sell the house because they were getting old. We were not expecting that at all. So when they gave us a month to find a new place we freaked out. We had the next 30 days to search for a new place we could afford. We didn’t have luck finding a new house or apartment so we resorted to our last option which was to move in with my aunt in her one-bedroom apartment. We packed up, put most of our belongings in a storage unit, and moved in with her. We lived with her for a couple of months until we finally found a house we could rent. We have been living here in our new home for about a month now and I am just getting started with decorating my room. 

Here are pictures of when we had just moved in:

Clearly the room is not very big but we’re going to make the most out of the space we do have!

The first thing I did was put all of my clothes in the closet and get my furniture in the room. The furniture I have is my queen bed, dresser, bookshelf, and desk. 

It took a while for me to finally figure out a layout that used the space we have best. I pushed my bed close to the window, leaving enough space to make my bed. Across from my bed is my dresser. My bookshelf is on the same wall as the window but it is facing the door. Lastly, my desk is next to my bed which also makes it into a night stand.

If you notice in the pictures, a lot of the things in my room are mint green. This color is no longer my favorite so I wanted to choose a new color pallet for my room. The story of how I got my new colors is actually quite funny. My sister and I were walking around Target when I suddenly saw the prettiest pillow I’d ever seen (I audibly gasped as I saw it). The colors are warm and relaxing and I just knew I’d be able to make a really cute room out of them. They reminded me of a room I had seen on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/709246641296037557/

Woven Stripe Oversize Lumbar -Threshold™

$23.74

Link to the pillow: https://www.target.com/p/woven-stripe-oversize-lumbar-threshold-8482/-/A-54552007

Now you know the background of why the blog came to be and what we are working with!

Stay tuned for my next blog that will tackle my bedding, closet, and first project!

XOXO

-Nayelli