From the Floors Up

How To Combine Color, Energy, and Nature To Create a Happy Home

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Part 1 – Introduction

Humans are sensitive beings that are easily influenced by their surroundings. Our ability to reason and feel emotion makes us susceptible to an infinite number of influences that affect the way we experience the world. It’s safe to say that our primary drive in life is to be happy, so anything we can do to that end is a highly beneficial activity.

Although it’s estimated that we spend far more time at work than anywhere else, it’s a safe bet to assume that the second most frequented place is the home. While you can’t necessarily control your work environment or that of the rest of the world, you can certainly be the boss of the amount of happiness you get to enjoy at home. To that end we highly recommend spending time and energy on making your home your happy place.

Without a doubt that are myriad ways to accomplish this goal, but we are going to focus on three of the most effective techniques. They are: color, Feng Shui, and plant life. Focusing on these three methods in every room in your house will transform it into a very happy home. We’re going to break it down with room by room suggestions so you have a starting point in each space.

But first, the basic definitions of the influential factors:

Color – Color is proven to have a significant effect on the way we experience a space. Certain colors are well suited to specific rooms, whereas other colors would be ill advised choices in particular spaces.

Feng Shui – An ancient Chinese method for controlling intangible energies. In home design it dictates that the energies of house must be balanced in order to promote good health and fortune for its inhabitants. More specifically it has a psychological effect on our sense of ease and well being in a room.

Nature – It’s been proven that nature has an exceptional influence on the human experience. Perhaps because we are mammals we are inclined to feel most whole and content when aspects of nature surround us. At a minimum plant life has been show to decrease stress and promote good health.

Next read Part 2 – The Bedroom and Office

Family Time – Spend the Day Planting a Flower Garden

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Planting a garden is a great way to spend time with family and enjoy the outdoors. Here is how to start a simple flower garden and have a fun time!

 

First, look in your back yard. Is there a patch of good soil to use? If not, do some research the night before and find ways to create a patch in your yard. This should be easy and won’t take that much time. And when you go to the nursery, make sure to get fertilizer for your soil to keep the plants growing and healthy. Next decide on a color scheme for your garden. If the flowers are color coordinated the garden will be twice as pretty. Deciding the night before provides you with a plan to help you choose the right flowers when you go shopping. A good color scheme should include around 3 colors. You should also choose flowers that look different than each other to add definition and sophistication. A garden of 3 different shades of petunias is a lot less interesting than a garden of yellow sunflowers, orange marigolds, and red roses.

 

Next, try to locate a nursery that is within walking distance of your home. This experience will be most ideal if you can include a family walk. Have the kids take a wagon to bring the flowers home in. If you do not own a wagon, most nurseries have them and you can either rent them or borrow them to take the flowers home. Otherwise just drive there and leave the windows in the car rolled down to enjoy the fresh air. While at the nursery consult with the experts as to which flowers on your list are actually best suited to your particular garden environment. Also ask about the ideal way to plant them and care for them. Take along a little notebook to take notes so you’re sure to remember all of the important facts.

 

Once you’ve brought your flowers home spend quality time with the family and plant them! In general there should be distance between each flower to make sure it has room to grow or bloom. Also remember to pay attention to whether the flower needs shade or sun. Once everything is planted, create a watering schedule to keep your plants healthy and hydrated. Last, don’t fogey to place a few chairs near the garden so you can sit outside and enjoy it.

5 Habits to Keep a Consistently Clean Bedroom

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Because bedrooms are our personal spaces, they often become quite messy and unorganized. However creating habits can keep a bedroom tidy. Here are 5 habits to do just that!

 

1. Make Your Bed

Every room looks cleaner when the bed is made, even if the floor is messy. The best way to do it is to make your bed every single day as soon as you wake up. Not only will this help your room look and be cleaner but it will also be rewarding every night when you crawl into your nicely made bed.

 

2. Put Away Clothes You Didn’t Wear

Often bedrooms will become messy because when we are picking out an outfit, we don’t put away or rehang the clothes we chose not to wear. If you don’t do this, you will have a mess of both clean and dirty clothes on your floor that will create chaos. Simply putting away the article of clothing as soon as you decide against it will save you lots of time.

 

3. Use Your Laundry Baskets

If the laundry bin is out of reach and hard to access, then you will be more likely to simply throw your dirty clothes on the floor after a long day. Put the laundry basket somewhere easy to access and close to where you usually get undressed. This will encourage you to put your clothes in the bin as soon as you change.

 

4. Take Dishes Down

Although it’s unconventional many of us do enjoy food and beverages in the bedroom. It’s easy to cast the dishes aside and forget about them because they aren’t in the kitchen. However these items will make a room look very dirty and unorganized. As soon as your finished eating or drinking, immediately take your dish to the kitchen.

 

5. Keep Work Out

Another way bedrooms tend to get messy is because of work papers, books, etc. Not only does this make the room messy but it also brings the stress of daily life into a place of rest. If possible, store papers and books in your office or kitchen. If not, organize your papers either into your briefcase or closed drawers. So long as it’s out of sight and out of mind.

 

Easy To Follow Schedule: How To Keep Your Home Clean

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Cleaning the house is a daunting and endless task. It seems like no matter how much you try to stay on top of it, one day not paying attention and the whole thing falls apart. It’s also a challenge to manage a schedule. No one has time to deep clean their home every weekend, and some chores only require your attention a few times each year. Others need regular attention, and some daily. Here is a simple, straight forward guide for emerging triumphant from the game of ‘you versus the house!’

DAILY

  • Wipe down countertops and high traffic surfaces (tables, kitchen, bathroom, microwave)
  • Wipe clean sinks and mirrors
  • Sort things and send them to their home room (toys to the nursery, bills to the desk, etc.)
  • Take out trash

WEEKLY

  • Deep clean bathroom (tub, toilet, floor)
  • Clean and sanitize kitchen (countertops, floors, appliances)
  • Vacuum all of the carpet
  • Do laundry
  • Sweep floors

BIWEEKLY

  • Dust
  • Change bed linens
  • Sweep and mop hard surface floors
  • Open windows, turn on fans, spray house with air sanitizer

MONTHLY

  • Clean baseboards, window sills, door jambs
  • Remove items from cabinets and drawers and clean inside
  • Remove items from refrigerator and clean inside
  • Clean oven
  • Clean rugs
  • Replace fragrance plug ins

SEASONALLY

  • Wash the windows
  • Organize the garage
  • Go through everything and get rid of stuff no longer needed or used
  • Redecorate for the approaching holiday or season
  • Clean throw pillows
  • Wax floors

An easy way to manage this is to purchase a calendar that you can hang in a main area in your home and use it strictly for marking up the cleaning schedule. This way, everyone will see it on a regular basis, and it won’t be cluttered with all of the other information that consumes calendars. Assign tasks each week, and you’ll be amazed at how a simple plan can turn into a space you can be proud of at any time!

Color Scheme — Complex Combinations

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When decorating a room it is often easiest to use just three colors as the pallet. It most definitely simplifies any decision that happens along the way. But if minimalism or starkness is not really your design cup of tea, then having only three colors in a room will be a bore. Some people just feel much more at home when there is an array of hues surrounding them. The more colors you incorporate though, the harder it is to coordinate.

Although you may want an explosion of color to be the emphasis in a room, it’s never a good idea to let it appear to be mismanaged. Controlled chaos is the key to using multiple colors in design! If you like the idea but have no idea how to go about it, you’ll love this quick and easy reference. We are featuring our top eight suggestions for complex color combinations. Ready to get started?  

  1. Pastel Green, Bright Pink, Brown, White
  2. Celery Green, Plum
  3. Silver, Teal, Purple
  4. Indigo, Teal, Yellow, Magenta
  5. Red, Brown, Gold, White
  6. Brown, Coral, Green
  7. Orange, Yellow, Black, White
  8. Lavender, Blue, Dark Green, Light Green, Beige, White

Once you’ve chosen the color scheme you like best visit the paint store and pick up paint chips. Get a few of each color so you can experiment. Take them home and lay them out on a table or large sheet of paper. Use scissors to trim them to different sizes and combine them in various ways. This will give you an idea of how much of each color needs to be used to achieve the effect you want!

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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