The good news is, it’s easy to map your bedroom according to good Feng Shui principles. You can create peace, tranquility, harmony, and romance in your bedroom. Here are some good Feng Shui tips to help in your bedroom.

The first step is to draw an outline of your bedroom on a piece of paper. Make the room roughly square, it doesn’t have to be perfect. The main entrance to the room should be on the lower line of the square that you have drawn.

Next, draw three rows of three squares each, dividing the square into nine equal pieces.

Starting with the lowest row, you have the area of Knowledge in the left corner, the area of Career in the center, and the area of Help People and Travel on the right side. These three squares describe the area when you first walk into the bedroom.

The middle row of square describe the center of your bedroom. The left side is Family and Health, the center is considered the Tao, or Center, and the right hand square is the Creativity and Children section.

The top row of squares are, from left to right, the Wealth sector, Fame and Reputation in the center, and Relationships and Romance on the right.

So now, looking at your layout on the paper, it should be divided like this:

Wealth | Fame/Reputation | Relationships/Romance

Family/Health | Tao | Creativity/Children

Knowledge | Career | Helpful People/Travel

So now that you have your room organized, let’s look at some objects that could be placed in those sectors to create the desired effect.

In the Knowledge sector, place some bookshelves or a bookcase. Fill it with books and other tools of self-improvement such as DVDs or audio books.

In the Career Sector, mirrors will help to reflect positive Chi, or energy and keep it flowing through your career. Water related items also help good Chi to pool in that area, increasing the opportunities in your career. If you have any pictures or objects that help to define your career goals, place them in this sector as well.

In the Helpful People and Travel sector put pictures of people who can or have helped you. Also place pictures of places you would like to visit, or places you have been and enjoyed.

The Family and Health sector is the best place to keep family heirlooms and photos. Keep plants in this area as well and make sure they thrive. Anything dead or dried is considered very bad Feng Shui, so make sure Flowers are fresh and do not display dried floral arrangements.

The Creativity and Children sector is the best place for your art supplies, any artwork you have done or are working on, and your computer, if you have one in your bedroom. Generally it is considered bad Feng Shui to have working materials in your bedroom, but if you must, this is the place.

In the Wealth sector is the place to keep your money, jewelry, or other things valuable. If you have fish, you should keep them here as they are thought to bring prosperity in this sector. The colors red, purple, and gold are also used to increase prosperity in the wealth sector.

Keep any Awards you might have in the Fame and Reputation sector. Candles are also good here along with plants, and the colors red, orange, or purple.

Finally, in the Relationships and Romance sector, place round or oval mirrors to keep the good Chi flowing. Pictures of loved ones are good here, along with the color pink. Feng Shui believes that pairs of ducks are good because ducks mate for life. If you don’t like ducks, any paired objects like candlesticks or small statues will help create good Feng Shui in this area of your life.

Since our bedroom is such a reflection of who we are and what we value, it is important to start your journey to good Feng Shui here. In time, with some of these Feng Shui bedroom tips in place, you will see improvements in the areas where you are looking for help.

Charles Chang is a Feng Shui enthusiast and author. He enjoys helping others with feng-shui-pro.com feng shui through his articles and website.

Trying to guess what ‘eye-level’ actually is causes most people to hang their artwork much higher than necessary. They want to be sure and compensate for the eye level of taller people who might just walk through their home one day. Wouldn’t it be great if there were actually a formula or recipe to follow in the case of hanging artwork? There is and it really is simple:

In a room in which you primarily sit, your artwork should hang so that the center of the picture or grouping is 54 inches from the floor. This may appear too low at first but once you get used to your art hanging properly you will find you will really enjoy it more and actually “see” it.

If you are hanging artwork in a hallway or an area in which you normally stand, it should be hung so that the center of the picture or grouping is 60 inches from the floor.

And last but not least if you are hanging your artwork over a piece of furniture or mantle, the picture should be hung no higher than 6 to 9 inches above the furniture.

Yes, it really is that simple. Now, take out your tape measure and find some art in your home that needs to “Come On Down”!

Jennifer Keener, Owner of Amazing Transformations Interior Redesign and Staging, enjoys working with homeowners in Northeast Oklahoma helping them find the value in the furniture and accessories they already own through rearrangement and perfect placement in their homes. Ms. Keener is a Certified One Day Decorating Trainer who assists others in beginning interior redesign businesses much like hers. She is a Charter, Certified Member of The Society of Decorating Professionals, Member of ODDAA, and Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit atredesign.com atredesign.com

When choosing a floor covering for the kitchen you should take into consideration the number of people who will walk over that floor everyday and where they will come from. For example, does you kitchen lead into the rest of the house only or is there a door leading to the outside. If you have a door leading to the outside you must think about dirt being tracked in from outside. Therefore you will want to choose something that is easily cleaned if it gets dirty. The easier it is to clean the better as there are often spills when cooking or when people are using the kitchen in general. You do not want flooring that will take a great deal of time and effort to clean.

One of the best options for cleaning with ease is vinyl. Vinyl has been on the market for a very long time and still people are using it. It has been found to be one of the most low-maintenance options for your kitchen floor. Vinyl has been found to be resilient against dirt and spills. Unlike in the past, today vinyl comes in a variety of styles and colors and you can match pretty much any kitchen. Patterns have been created to give your kitchen a more modern look. You can even find vinyl that will give the appearance of tile without the cost of tile.

For lots of information on

My suggestion is to start looking at the many possibilities that ready to assemble (RTA) furniture has to offer. Affordable and easy to assemble, hence the name, RTA furniture features a wide variety of styles and offers the financial flexibility that most homeowners wouldn’t be able to find with traditional or high end furniture.

Some consumers believe that since RTA furniture is affordable it must mean that the quality is of a lower standard. Not necessarily, if you consider the fact that breaking a high end dining table in half takes the same amount of effort for breaking an RTA dining table the same way. Assuming you wouldn’t go out of the way to do that, RTA furniture is indeed quite durable. Especially popular with the do-it-yourself crowd, assembling these pieces of furniture can be fun and oftentimes easy. Some pieces don’t require hardware, but for the latter hardware and tools are usually included. However there are some cases where you’ll be missing a screw or bolt here and there, in which case a quick call or stop to your local hardware store is in order.

Another great benefit from purchasing RTA furniture is that it’s easy to transport, reassemble and disassemble when needed. Because it’s ready to assemble whenever you’re ready, all your furniture pieces can be laid down flat, compared to lugging around larger pieces of furniture around in a truck or moving van where it can get easily damaged. Which brings up another good point: if you intend to order RTA furniture online, you won’t have to worry too much about any shipping damages because your furniture will be shipped to you knocked down in a flat case.

So if you’re the type of person who happens to move around a lot, or are just on a budget, ready to assemble furniture may be an option for you. And as long as you take proper care of it (i.e. you don’t perform any balancing acts with ANY of your furniture, RTA or not), then it’ll last you a good while.

For a wide selection in

Improve Your Home With A Residential Wind Turbine

When you combine the cost of fossil fuels with the pollution and climate problems they create, it can all get a bit overwhelming. It is easy to find oneself wondering where to start when dealing with these problems. Given the state of fear attitude portrayed in most media, this is hardly a surprise. Surprisingly, the answers are fairly simple if you wade through the hype.

Wind power is a renewable energy source with a lot going for it. It produces electricity by converting the inherent energy in wind through a generator in a wind turbine. It produces no pollutants of any sort and will be available to us for as long as wind exists, to wit, a very long time. Given this fact, you are probably wondering if you are supposed to build a bunch of turbines in your yard. Nope!

As a conscientious person, you can do your part for the environment while saving some serious money on your utility bill. Residential wind turbines are the answer. Often given the nickname “small wind”, these turbines are designed to work on a per home basis. Given the right conditions, a residential turbine can produce all of the electricity you need and more. In fact, the generator will be hooked up to the utility grid and you can actually sell power to the utility if you produce more than you need.

Now, the word turbine can be a bit intimidating. When I think of a turbine, I picture something large and loud. In the case of small wind, this is not the case. The machinery makes a bit of noisy, but nothing substantial. Although sizes vary, your little power producer will be roughly three to five feet wide from the tip of one propeller to the other.

The one area where residential wind power may be a problem involves height. To make electricity, your turbine needs to get 10 miles an hour of wind. This may sound like a lot, but it often is not if you go 20 or 30 feet up in the air. To this end, you can do a search for small wind information to find out the statistics for your area.

Assuming wind power makes sense for your home, you should be able to greatly reduce or outright eliminate your electricity bill.

Rick Chapo is with solarcompanies.com/ SolarCompanies.com Visit us to read more articles on solarcompanies.com/wind_power wind power.

So what kind of lighter fluid? I purchased mine at the grocery
store in the aisle where the picnic and barbecue items are
located, right next to the lighter fluid you buy for your
barbecue briquets. It came in a small plastic squeeze bottle that
cost less than $2.

You can use lighter fluid on a variety of surfaces, first testing
a less noticeable spot to make sure it won’t do any damage. It’s
great on most floors, plastic, vinyl, some wood surfaces,
basically anything you can dab it on and wipe off again.

Lighter fluid will remove labels and adhesive from almost any
surface. When we got our new refrigerator it had strapping tape
stuck all over it. The lighter fluid took it right off. I’ve also
used it to take stickers off of book covers. It removes crayon
marks from most surfaces and also removes grease and oil stains.

I haven’t tried this myself, but someone told me they poured a
little lighter fluid on an area of clothing that had been stained
by cooking oil, and the stain came right out in the wash. Try
this at your own risk, but she swears it works. You can also use
it to remove the black scuff marks on the rubber soles of your
shoes, and to remove gum from most surfaces.

Don’t forget that lighter fluid is highly flammable and should be
used with care. It is also inexpensive, easy to find, and you’ll
find so many uses for it you won’t be able to live without it.

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance
writer and mom who is the author of What’s for Dinner?, an
e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For
recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts,
holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at
creativehomemaking.com creativehomemaking.com

It is surprising to realize how many people think the fire alarm systems are installed exclusively in corporate buildings and businesses. It is much more important to think about fire alarm system that would work at your home than anywhere else, as your main concern is the safety of your family and your property.

In the past fire alarms were not that reliable in the recent here is research and study along with amazing technological advancements have created a situation in which far along systems are cheaper and much more reliable than they ever were. The advantage is fire alarm systems are linked to primary station in which it will alarm systems listed in its file are monitored 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. This kind of fire alarm station also stores a complete detail of your location and how to contact you. This means that in the event of a fire the center could locate and contact you as soon as possible to let you know of the situation. It also means that any fire would immediately be processed by the station and that it will notify the authorities about the fire, causing the fire department to arrive at the scene promptly.

The modern fire alarm system relies on a network of tools and apparatus that help it to function in a perfect way, a perfect way meaning the absolute perfect way of preventing a fire, these tools are usually made of some particular components and every single component should be in prime shape.

Fire alarm systems have control panels, which are the brain off the fire alarm system, the control panel would be the main connection between your fire alarm system and the primary station. It would allow anyone to monitor the situation in your house. Smoke and heat detectors are also important, this is a variable that depends heavily on the preferences and budget that you may have for your fire alarm system. While there are many expensive products on the market. You can also find relatively inexpensive products, who can serve you would just as well. You can always think about ordering additional pieces or make slight changes to the detectors. According to your preferences.

The basic thing to know about smoke and heat detectors is that they are activated by significant change in temperature, meaning there is a heat source somewhere in the house, naturally the heat detector would interpret that signal at all for fire developing in the room. Other detectors are programed to alarm when they notice a worrying amount of certain particles or chemicals in the atmosphere, this is an even more clear identifier of the existence of fire in the area.

Fire alarm systems are as important as any home security system, they make sure that you and your family are safe in your natural environment. Learn more about fire prevention, fire monitoring, and firealarm.homesecurityit.com/ Fire Alarm Systems go to the fire alarm system website at firealarm.homesecurityit.com firealarm.homesecurityit.com

The obvious options are fireplace inserts, wood or pellet burning stoves or gas stoves and inserts.

There is also another option that should not be over looked and that is corn stoves also referred to sometimes as grain stoves.This type of stove is the cleanest burning most efficient heating source out of all the above choices.

Corn stoves may not have been a popular topic when it comes to alternative heating sources but that seems to be changing. The popularity of corn stoves is gaining momentum just like the prices for traditional heating fuels like oil and gas.

The price range for most corn stoves can vary from $1800 to $3000, which is pretty typical of any good quality wood or pellet stove.

The biggest difference with corn stoves is how clean they burn, also the fuel source is totally renewable and not dependent on foreign imports.

The use of corn and grain stoves is even being encouraged by legislators seeking tax breaks for residents who use renewable fuel sources in many states.

Corn fuel remains the lowest cost fuel for heating. With the cost of oil, gas and propane a rising, manufacturers and dealers are seeing a growing demand for corn stoves.

The typical cost for corn fuel is around $185 per ton. This may buy enough for the entire heating season depending of course on the severity of the climate where you live.

Corn has many benifits beyond price. it is a safe nonexplosive and flash proof fuel which is easily transportable and locally renewable.

A new or good quality used corn stove just may provide you with the best alternate fuel solution for reducing your heating bills.

The use of bio-fuel stoves and furnaces is a smart and environmentally sound addition to the American Home.

For information on other ways to cut your heating cost visit woodstovenews.com Wood Stove News

Ashley furniture is one of the best brands today that you can buy. There are many stores around most areas that sell this great and quality brand items. You will find that you can have the best and not have to pay a high cost or sacrifice quality. There is no doubt that you will be happy with all the items that you get when you purchase from the Ashley Company.

Finding great furniture can also be found online. There are many places that you can get quality name brand items and not have to worry about loosing the quality that you expect. You can search many stores to make sure that they supply the Ashley furniture that you want for your home.

Getting Ashley furniture online is also an option. You can find many sites online that offer great furniture for a great price. You will be completely satisfied with the items that you get and not have to worry about paying a high price for them. Many of the online stores will sell this furniture and then have it shipped to your home of office. You will not have to worry about a thing when it comes to getting the items that you want.

You can furnish any room in your home with Ashley furniture. You will not have to go anywhere else for quality name brand items that you want. All of the Ashley furniture that you get will be the best style and fit your personality. You will not have to sacrifice any of your tastes when it comes to this brand of furniture.

Ashley furniture can be found in many styles. There are many different fabrics and patterns to choose from. You will find colors to match your room of any color. You will not be disappointed with the different collections that are found from any Ashley furniture store. Many times you can bring along a sample of color or paint and get a furniture piece to match perfectly. You will never have to worry about mismatching any of your rooms. You will have the piece of mind knowing that you are in style and you will defiantly impress your friends and family as well.

Buying Ashley furniture is one of the best things that you can do when it comes to making a special purchase for any room in your home.

Kari Eriksson is an infopreneur and of course a daily user of furniture. He takes great liking in ashleyfurniture-inc.com” title=”Ashley furniture Ashley furniture and has put up information on ashleyfurniture-inc.com” title=”Ashley furniture Ashley furniture where you can find articles, links and useful resources.

Not that long ago we were all being told to never put pink with red or green with blue. The fact is that combinations such as these are the basis of some of the most beautiful color palettes being used by very talented designers around the world. These silly ‘rules’ are applied to all sorts of things in our lives by ‘experts’ in fashion and interior design and they’re taken as gospel by many people. Though, these days it does seem that we follow these ‘rules’ less rigidly than in previous generations.

I would personally like to applaud the woman who first braved the scrutiny of her mother and her friends and yanked on a pair of bright white pants the day after Labour Day. Of course, we also can’t forget about those that ignored the gasps of their peers and dared to mix gingham with toile. What about the forward thinking trendsetters that renounced traditional color schemes and touted the virtues of a ‘monochromatic’ design. To these rule breaking warriors I say BRAVO!

Now, I’m not going to suggest here that ALL ‘rules’ of this type are pointless and should be disregarded. Some ‘rules’ exist for good reason and should be adhered to strictly. For example, there is reason to avoid the use of very dark paint colors in a really small room. I firmly believe that stripes and plaids should not be mixed. I also think that the ‘rule’ of threes and fives is definitely a keeper. Let me also say this; there are some people out there that should follow the ‘rules’ at all times. These are the people lacking confidence of style and color. If you have a friend with bad taste, please do not let them loose in a paint store and tell them there are no rules. This could lead to disaster. But, if you have a good track record with your decorating and feel confident in your ability to pick out colors, themes and accents for your home, then by all means omit all the ‘rules’.

Here’s what I suggest you do instead of following rigid ‘rules’. Go with your gut. If you like a color combination, there’s most likely a reason. If you feel good walking into a room then chances are you have a successful design. If you feel nausea or have to squint when entering the space or are just downright uncomfortable, then something is wrong and rules or no rules, you’re going to have to fix it.

Several weeks ago I felt my kitchen needed a facelift. So, I began pulling a variety of things out of the drawers and storage bins to see what I had to work with. I found a ton of plaid and checked dishcloths in a variety of colors that had never been used. I discovered a stash of purple and red accessories that I had forgotten about. And, in the bottom of a large bin of ‘extras’ I spotted four framed prints with just the right combination of colors. A new kitchen scheme was born. I hung the prints, ironed four plaid dishtowels to use as place mats and arranged the accessories about the room. I had mixed shades of red, green, purple, orange and yellow in splashes all over my previously ‘neutral’ kitchen. But, I wasn’t done yet. It needed something. I grabbed my favorite pink frosted glass star-shaped candleholder and added it to the center of the table. I stood back. Much to my surprise, I felt almost giddy. The room had taken on new life. The kaleidoscope of colors that swirled around me in checks, plaids and solids of all kinds was not overwhelming or clashing. It was a feast for the eyes and a very appetizing color celebration. I had broken ALL the rules successfully. So, there you have it. Proof that ‘rules’ ARE sometimes made to be broken and that the most important ‘rule’ of all, is that you trust your instincts. Besides, breaking the ‘rules’ has always been fun. So get to it!

Kristin Wooding
The original Decor Warrior.
You deserve affordable decor solutions that fit your life AND your style!
room4improvement.ca room4improvement.ca