Moving house – Ever thought about trying to create a more positive vibe in your house?
Whether you’ve just moved to a new property or want to freshen up your living space – we’ve come up with some top tips – from the ancient art of ‘smudging’ to Feng Shui. We also have some modern methods from leading interior designer Emma Cross.
So you are moving house-how do you go about transforming the energies in your house without spending too much money?
Well firstly you could try the ancient ritual of ‘Smudging.’
It’s when you burn dried sage or other herbs and waft the smoke around your house – the theory being the herby smoke will cleanse an area. It’s a practice taken from the indigenous American tradition known as the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing.
The theory is that it’s a powerful spiritual cleansing technique which calls upon the spirits of various sacred plants to drive away negative energy and to restore balance to an individual, a group, a space, or all three. Basically, you need to buy some sage, bundle it up, place in a heavy dish and light it. Extinguish the flame after a few seconds and let the smoke billow up. Then simply walk around the area you want to cleanse thinking in particular about the good energy you want to bring back. Pay particular attention to a room with a lot of electrical gadgets and hey presto – positive vibes restored!
Then there’s Feng Shui – an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China which teaches how to balance the energies in any given space.
The idea is that you want as much good energy in your home as possible – as this is associated with good health and fortune. ‘Feng’ means wind and ‘Shui’ means water. The art of Feng Shui is finding ways to maximise the amount of good energy flowing through your living space.
This includes:
- De-cluttering to create harmonious energy in your house.
- Making sure you have good air quality in your home, so you need to open windows often and introduce air-purifying plants.
- Move computers, TVs and mobile phones from your bedroom. Not only do they create high Electromagnetic Fields, they also bring the energy of stress and work into the room.
- Use soothing colours to achieve a good Feng Shui balance in your bedrooms to promote a good sleeping environment. Skin colours are usually the best.
- Ring bells or wind chimes.
A simple way to clear any stagnant or negative energy in your home is to ring a handheld bell throughout your house, or where a negative situation or argument happened. It’s thought the sound waves literally vibrate the negative energies into alignment, creating a positive flow.
So if you’ve had a go at giving the positive energies in your home a boost, why not try some tips from top designer Emma Cross, on 5 different ways you can make you house a home.
1. Trust your instinct
Try to steer clear from asking all your nearest and dearest for their opinions – no two people have the same style or taste, you need to trust what you love and enjoy the process of filling your home with items that reflect your sense of style. The more comfortable you are in your home, the happier and more relaxed both you and your family will feel.
2. Have fun, create a scene
Whilst it is tempting to keep your home as a showcase for a future sale, it’s really boring. There are some amazing wallpapers on the market that make a small, often neglected space the most talked about and admired. Be brave and embrace your space with a fun and bold design, try Cole & Son , or go for a show stopping great masters digital design Tektura Cloakrooms and little corridors can be made memorable by using a bold design.
3. Let there be light
Often the ceiling space is overlooked with most of your time and attention spent on items firmly planted on the floor. You are missing an opportunity to dress a mostly empty space. Ditch the 70s paper moon shade (as classic as they are) and try something bespoke that reflects your interior scheme.
It is easy to find a local shade making class or turn to an established supplier such as Cotterell & Co to have a shade made in your own choice of fabrics, to a size that suits your space. Team it up with a NUD cord cable, which comes in a variety of colours for a unique and personal design.
4. Time & place
Try to be brutal about clutter – if you must hold onto everything then find a storage place and keep your surfaces as clear and clutter free as possible. Open plan living and a rise in working from home pushes clutter high up on my list of things to tackle. Nothing gets me more stressed than seeing piles of letters, laundry and toys lying around. Use it or lose it – invest in built-in furniture or storage that suits your needs. It will help you switch off and relax.
5. Take your time
As tempting as it is to hit the high streets and buy your way to happiness, I think it’s always best to live with what you have for as long as you can manage; this is especially relevant when you first move home.
Making your new house feel like a home takes time. Most likely lots of room reshuffles and plan changes often means your initial ideas may quickly become outdated. Save your cash, and let the seasons come and go, paying attention to the natural light and the view beyond your window. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, then see what the outside brings to the inside – it may inspire you to use colours you never dreamed of.
For any further information about Feng Shui or tips on how to make your house a home, you can contact Emma Cross here.