Vibes.

Feng shui, a Chinese practice of using decor in your home to promote harmony amongst your household has never held much weight with me. I'm a social worker. Therefore I think harmony goes much deeper than the color of my walls or the layout of my living room. I do however, love a good vibe.

Being at home is essentially going to make you feel something. In my book, you might as well pick what you want that feeling to be. As I was designing the decor of my condo in my head, I was trying to decide how each scenario would make me feel when I was at home. My peace comes from the Lord, but I won't deny that high thread count sheets make climbing into bed that much more relaxing, or that candles don't put my mind at ease as I'm slipping into a bubble bath or going through my routine at night.

Each of my three floors makes me feel something different. My bottom level which houses my garage and my laundry makes me feel efficient (and sometimes a bit disoriented). That's the only place in my house where a bit of chaos is allowed. I think that is healthy. Everyone needs that one place that you don't have to be perfect. I have a giant piece of carpet (let behind by my guys) in front of my washer and dryer so that when I do laundry I can sink my toes in (and be barefoot in the garage).

My middle floor makes me feel glamorous. This may sound a bit silly...but it's true. With high ceilings, black furniture, red & zebra accents, granite counter tops, and huge doors leading to the balcony - I feel like a queen on this floor. This is where I spend the majority of my time. Typically with the balcony open, under a white throw, on the velvet couch (reference former entries for pictures of this). I'm finding that I've become more comfortable in the kitchen now that I have one to myself, and Sunday afternoons are usually spent in the dining room playing cards with friends. This floor my favorite for vibes and because it houses my company.

For a look at glamorous...check the photos on this blog. This house is insane. But I would definitely say glamorous. I'm not sure I'd ever be able to rest in that house though.

If your read many magazines or keep up with any design blogs (I've recommended a few recently) then you're seen that some people like to take glamour into every room. Here's an example of a bathroom posted on the Material Girls blog...

Now that is on intensely decorated bathroom. In my mind, if it takes your eyes several minutes to find the toilet, your bathroom is over the top! But for the sake of a picture, this is kind of fabulously cute.

I use my guest bathroom for my more than once a week bubble baths that usually involve candlelight and a good book or some music. I can't imagine feeling very serene in a fuchsia bathroom with a mound of pillows! I keep my bathrooms fairly streamlined. My guest bath is black and white with orange accents. My master bath is black and white and has yet to acquire an accent color (still torn).

I recently joined the white sheets bandwagon. I read a design book that said they're more conducive to rest. I'm not sure about that...but high thread count white sheets make me feel like I'm taking a nap in a spa. And you all know how much I love a good spa day. My zebra bedspread is quite a bit less 'rest producing' but I've never been one to have trouble sleeping. Most essential to my sleeping is that my room is a little bit chilly and I have a fan to run throughout the nights. Check and check.

My third floor houses 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This floor makes me feel at home. When I climb up the stairs I shed all the weight of my day, however good or bad it was. It's my escape. I always feel comfortable and at home when I hit the top of the second flight of stairs. I love that. There's still a little priss to my master bedroom though. From the huge closet full of high heels, designer bags, and over 50 dresses to the candleabras on either end of my dresser, to the chinese lanterns, magenta wall, and vase of 'diamond flowers'. It's actually surprisingly prissy for me...but I love it.

Ok before I sign out I have to show you a few heavily decorated bedrooms from the same blog (material girls) that I find fascinating...

Love,
B