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Interior Design and Decor - MiMove's Guide to a Wonderful Home

Moving also means furnishing and decorating your new place to make it feel comfortable and cosy. In this week’s blog post, MiMove gives you various tips on how to fix up your home for it to become welcoming, cosy and also practical.

Feng Shui

Many people may have already heard of Feng Shui, but what is it really?

Feng Shui originates from China thousands of years ago and is the study of how colors, placement of furniture, different materials in your home, office or garden affect your mood and life.

Feng Shui literally means wind and water in Chinese and symbolizes the space between heaven and earth where people and everything around us are and live. It is about creating balance and harmony in your surroundings, more specifically in the spaces you stay in the most.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.37.09 Pm E1610023745540 Cosy bedroom[/caption]

It’s also about balance between the opposites Yin (the feminine) and Yang (the masculine) and the five elements: earth, fire, water, metal and wood.

You include or have less of certain elements depending on how you need to balance your life. Below is a brief overview of what the different elements stand for and how they can be symbolized in your home.

Wood

The element wood symbolizes good health, vitality and growth. It’s expressed in green and brown colors. To emphasize wood in your home, you can for example, put up lush and healthy plants, green pillows, pictures of vegetation or decoration made of wood.

Fire

Fire is the sun’s energy and transmits the feeling of joy and creativity. It’s also an element of love, romance and passion. The fire is represented in shades of red, yellow, orange and warm pink tones. An easy way to bring fire energy into the home is to light candles. You can also have decorative objects in the different fire colors, such as a lampshade or pillow.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.37.53 Pm E1610023903310 Candle lights and warm pink and orange tones[/caption]

Earth

The earth stands for nourishment, protection, stability, support and peace. If you have a lot of stress in life, it’s good to include some earth elements in your home – especially in the bedroom. The earth element is expressed in beige, brown and sand colors. Ceramics, beige rugs, sand colored pillows, pictures of landscapes for example, emphasize the earth energy in your home.

Metal

Metal means structure, discipline, efficiency and productivity. It also eliminates distractions and helps to create a feeling of calmness, clarity and lightness. Its colors are white and gray. Decorate with white pillows and rugs, gray walls or wall decorations, metal frames and bowls for example. Too many metal objects, however, can make the space seem cold and stiff.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.44.59 Pm E1610023817898 Metal decoration[/caption]

Water

Water provides refreshing energy of lightness and harmony, and it gives us a sense of flow, renewal and cultivation of wealth. The colors of the water element are blue and black. To add water to your space, you can use mirrors, fountains, pictures of water, blue carpets and things alike.

Interior Design – Colors & Furniture

Of course, different colors mean different feelings. For example, a bright room gives a feeling of more energy than a dark room. Therefore, the tones can determine how active you are in a certain environment. The furniture also play a role in the functionality and comfort of the home.

The Bedroom

In the bedroom you want soft and cool colors such as gray, blue, green, beige and white. The bedroom should make you feel cosy and get you rested – therefore you should invest in a good bed, proper pillows and why not also a nice bedspread.

It’s good to leave space between the bed and the side walls (if possible). Partly because it allows the air to move around the bed, which according to Feng Shui is good for harmony, but also because you can use more of the bed than if you have the bed side pressed against a wall. It will also be easier to make the bed if the bed.

A comfortable rug where you land with your feet when you get up in the morning is always nice to have. A smaller lamp or two, preferably with a dimmer function, can be both practical and cozy.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.42.34 Pm E1610030295902 Sleep tight among chill colours[/caption]

The Living Room

The sofa is usually the most important and most emphasized piece of furniture in the living room. Therefore, it’s important that you choose the right one from the beginning. Before you buy a sofa, or other larger and more expensive furniture, it’s a good idea to plan in advance. Sit down and create a mood board so that you easier can imagine the whole living room.

It can be a good idea to have one or two base colors and the details in either shades of the base colors or adding contrasting colors in combination with, for example, wood or metal details. In the living room you usually want a cozy atmosphere that is also made for socializing.

A variety of furniture where you can sit, lie or lounge is favourable. Having the chairs and sofas facing each other, gives a more social atmosphere. If there is room for it, it’s also good here not to have the furniture right next to the wall, but to leave some air passing inbetween. Even if only leave a smaller gap between the wall and the sofa, you’ll avoid the wall paint being affected by the sofa.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.38.46 Pm E1610024053401 Balanced tones – inviting livingroom[/caption]

The Kitchen

In Northern countries, it’s common to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The food is both cooked and eaten here and often you also stay for dessert. However, it’s not as common in for example Spain and other southern countries as you often find that the kitchens to be quite small and suitable for mainly cooking, and then you eat in the dining room or living room.

The saying that “the kitchen is the heart of the home” certainly fits in better in colder parts of the world. Naturally, you would like sticking to the warmest part of the home as much as possible – which is usually the kitchen. However, in warm countries, you want to avoid hot spaces, at least during most time of the year. Therefore, it easily happens that the terrace (with or without outdoor kitchen) or the garden ends up serving as kitchen, dining room and living room.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 1.41.38 Pm E1610024137764 Dinner is ready soon![/caption]

It’s good to have light and earthy tones in the kitchen, preferably terracotta and baskets filled with vegetables, fruit and other things for cooking laying around for easy access while cooking. Colorful ingredients such as an orange bell pepper or a yellow lemon trigger the taste buds and appetite! Keep the wooden big spoons handy and keep the knives away when not in use (mostly for safety reasons, but also if Feng Shuin may have something to say about).

Have good lighting on the work surface and a cozier lighting over the dining table, which is great if it’s a round one as it creates a better feeling of community than square or rectangular tables.

Personal Touch

Whether you follow the principles of Feng Shui or not, the most important thing is that you feel great and are comfortable in your own home. Sometimes rooms are built in such a way that you do not have many choices on how to set up your furniture – especially the large ones like the sofa or bed. In the end, maybe the most important thing is that the home is kept clean, smells good and that you get a warm and welcoming feeling when entering it.

Screenshot 2021 01 07 At 2.03.13 Pm E1610024905125 Open your mind for new things in your home![/caption]

Feel free to try something new! Sometimes you easily get comfortable in the old and can miss the benefits of something new and fresh! Let the new year inspire you to make your home even cozier and more amazing. Something as simple as some nice plants or new paintings for the wall can make a big difference. Why not dress a wall in a beautiful wallpaper or a popping color?

 

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