Reducing sublte stresses and irritations is the beginning of the many benefits of Feng Shui , and the result is an easier and more comfortable life . A good energy flow is brought about by the application of good Feng Shui , and this makes for a better life and for greater happiness.

Five Basic Feng Shui Tips

1. Arrange your office such that your desk faces the door or is at a diagonal to the door. If this is impossible then consider arraching a mirror to the wall so you can see what’s behind you. I’ve been more productive since I changed the layout so that my desk faces the door.
2. While you are cleaning and organizing pay attention to basements and under your bed as energy rises.   Clutter disrupts the good energy flaw that you’re looking for.   Are the items you have stored in these places really necessary?   You can be sure that you don’t need the stuff if you only see it during spring cleaning.  A decluttered living space is much less stressful than one that isn’t.
3. In the kitchen, if you cook while facing a wall you leave your back exposed , a position that is considered weak in feng shui. Placing a mirror on the wall behind the stove will allow you to see what’s going on behind you while you cook. If something happens, or someone comes up behind you, then you will be able to see it in the mirror.
4. Fresh flowers bring beautiful uplifting energy to the kitchen. Place a bowl of fruit, a vase of flowers, or a living plant on your kitchen table, windowsill, or wherever the layout of your kitchen allows. (In feng shui, dried flowers have no life energy in them, so they are not recommended. If real plants are impossible, you can use very lifelike fake ones, but the effect will not be nearly as strong.)
5. If your love life needs a quick boost, you can use the art of placement (Feng Shui for Romance) to produce the romantic results you desire. Dust and cobwebs on the fans, walls, light fixtures and ceilings should be cleaned away. Enhance your space with romance colors, such as shades of pinks, reds and whites. Guys, this does not mean it has to be feminine. You can use maroon, grayish tones of pinks and whites to achieve the same results. You don’t want one color to overpower the others,so consulting with a Feng Shui expert is a good idea.

While this is by no means the ultimate guide to Feng Shui, it is a good start. These five tips will help to give your life the boost it deserves and the fulfillment it requires. Alter your space and you will change your life.

This is what you’ll need to get start:

Buy a few accessory pillows for $10 each (or less) in a new color palette. Take pillows of similar color, mix up the textures –like silk and chenille – and you’ve instantly go yourself a sophisticated monochromatic look. You can get a romantic feel by creating a layer of pillows with larger pillows in the back and smaller ones in the front.

A fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference in the look of room and its fairly inexpensive to do. Think repainting the entire room is too big of project? Then break it down by focusing and painting only one wall and experimenting with a single area of the room.

Older more detailed closet doors can be spruced up by painting the frame in a neutral color and the inset in a dark color. Painting furniture is also a great way to give the room new life. Give an old dresser a faux antique finish or sponge paint a cabinet.

A new headboard can be rather expensive. Want to try something bold and different? Pick up a picket fence or ornate wrought iron fence at your local flea market. Bed skirts make most beds look soft and sophisticated and are an inexpensive decorating investment. They’re available in several color, textures and patterns. Soft and neutral colors give you the best of both versatility and beauty. It should not be the focal point of your bed but simply the perfect finishing touch.

Treating your windows is much easier than you would think. A swag at the top of the window is inexpensive (depending on your fabric choice) and not too dramatic. It’s the perfect way to add a famine touch to the room. You can place bicycle or plants in the ceiling. Or opt for just a blind and an inexpensive garland or floral accent at the top of the window. Another look we love is a simple curtain rod with some trendy finials and simple ready made drapes. Ikea, Kmart, Target, JCPenney and Pottery Barn carry a large selection of all of these items.

Do you have a canopy or four-poster bed in need of a new look? Adorn the poles with fabric to achieve that *pond* affect, where the fabric appears to create a *pond* at the base. Getting this effect is easy, all you need is to add about an extra 20 inches before it’s cut. Don’t’ forget the perfect decorative item, candles. While most people go with white candles, since they’re the most sophisticated, consider clustering colored candles to create a focal point on a night stand or dresser. Group your candles in batches of 3, 5 or 9 – avoid even numbers since they tend to be boring. Try using a variety of different candle heights and gather them on a wall shelf.

Framed posters, artwork and mirrors are an easy and inexpensive way to give a room an new look, but make sure your choices complement your current décor. Keep it simple with a neutral colored frame – black, gold, brown or white. Placing shelves is a quick way to liven things up. Collections are perfect for displaying on a wall shelf, but try to stay away from small items. Placing a lot of tiny accessories will leave the shelf looking cramped and cluttered. You can experiment with a grouping of vases with flowers or use the self to hold up a framed poster or painting.

Steve Balman has been in the furniture and home decorating business for almost 20 years. He writes for a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They offer American made Arts & Crafts and Mission style bedroom, living room, dining and office oak furniture for your home or office. They offer a line of furniture that not only looks great, but is built using Old World craftsmanship. It doesn’t matter if your looking for handmade mission beds or solid wood night stands, they carry only the best in American made quality furniture at everyday affordable prices.

Do you want to extend the living capacity of your home, then why not convert your loft space into a bedroom?

Bedroom loft conversions are becoming the most popular form of home improvements as householders seek to extend the living space in their homes. And these are the reasons bedroom conversions have become so popular:

• The loft provides a blank canvas on which the home owner can design any style bedroom they wish rather than having to fit their ideas into the existing room lay-out
• It is so easy to add an en-suite bathroom to the bedroom and that bathroom can be quite sizeable and, again, laid out exactly as the owners want it rather than having to adapt an existing space
• Building bedroom loft conversions allows the existing bedrooms to be converted into hobby rooms or offices, or for two existing small bedrooms to be knocked into one .
• And remember, we all like our bedroom to be at top of the house, well you can’t get much higher than that when your new one is built in the roof space!

One of the massive points in favour of bedroom loft conversions is that with the use of large skylights the room can be blessed with huge tracts of natural light. A major plus in bedroom loft conversions is that by installing large skylights the new bedroom will enjoy much natural light. Why not add remotely operated window blinds to give your bedroom loft conversion that added special touch of luxury. One of the most attractive elements of bedroom loft conversions is the option of including a sizeable en-suite bathroom.

Though bathrooms are fairly easy to add to the roof space the major consideration is of course the extra plumbing that needs to be installed. One of the first things to be done when converting the loft is to get rid, or relocate, the old water tank. One solution is to dispose of the tank altogether and install a combi boiler. If installing a combi boiler is the preferred option and you can meet the extra cost, it is an ideal solution. If the combination boiler option isn’t to your taste then you will need to replace and relocate your water tank.

Plastic water tanks are much longer lasting than older tanks but still need to be relocated – the best solution is usually under the eaves behind the new panelling. The only drawback here is that access must be unrestricted and insulated cupboard doors and boarding must also be built in.

To install a new bedroom loft conversion with ensuite bathroom is to make first class use of your previously unused roof space. No wonder bedrooms are the preferred option of so many home owners when they plan to convert their lofts.

Craig Ellyard writes extensively for Loft Conversion Uk and is the author of the best selling ebook Plan And Design Your Loft Conversion