Several years ago my brother gave me a book on Feng Shui for Christmas. Almost 500 pages long I've yet to read the whole thing, but I appreciate the principles. For a house to feel like a home it needs to have the proper mix of energies and flow. And perhaps most important of all, It needs to reflect the personality of the owner. The furniture I had in this space before I started the renovation/redecoration was all wrong. The sofa and chairs were from the basement family room of my old house. They seemed to fit in that space but in this house it felt all wrong. For one thing they were in a heavy southwestern theme with a strong pattern. And perhaps most importantly the pattern and color of the sofa wasn't chosen by me. It was heavily influenced by the tastes of a former boyfriend ... who obviously liked a southwestern theme. Being an agreeable sort of person I wanted him to feel a part of the space so I tried to pick colors that he liked. Now that I'm on my own I felt the need to mold the space to fit my personality. This room feels like me.



The medium tones of the wood and the warm nutmeg color of the sofa give the room a feeling of warmth. The walls are painted in a cool teal color called "rainwashed" which reminds me of water. It cools the room down. Notice the windows are without coverings. I used solar shades which are like sunglasses. They cut the heat and the glare but you can still see outside. I like feeling like I'm a part of nature, not cut off from nature.

So this is my finished product. You would probably decorate your space differently but this room feels harmonious and comfortable to me. The house is finally starting to feel like home. Above are Annabel and Maribel trying out the new floor cushions. Later that evening I had a small gathering for the group I play bridge with at the Savory Cafe. We ate dinner around the coffee table. It had a nice casual feel.



This is the newly remodeled kitchen. Gone are the gold appliances. The countertops are granite in verde ubatuba, basically a deep forest green. All the new appliances are stainless steel. As my guests on Saturday noted, the space flows well. Next on my list of home projects is painting the loft. But that will have to wait until the summer is over. The calendar is pretty full. In addtion to the Blackburn Challenge, I also decided to row in the Dragon Boat Races in Taiwan.

-Susanita