Del Ray resident Marybeth Walsh, a holistic health coach, tells a moving story of her personal path to wellness on her Web site. In her personal life and through her work, Marybeth strives to impart a state of balance through nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle awareness. She also creates balance in her home.
Marybeth was more than happy to open the doors of her lovely and might I add, peaceful and serene, home to DIY Del Ray. As she says, “your home — whether big, small, or somewhere in between — should be your sanctuary, a place where stress is left at the door and your soul is nurtured.”
Here are some ways you can create a more comforting environment, just as Marybeth has, in her home during the holidays and year-round.
Bring the outdoors in. Cut flowers and blooming bulbs, or pieces of wood, rocks, and other natural elements can create a feeling of nature indoors.
Even beautiful woven baskets can enhance this feeling in a home.
Nuture green plants in the home. Marybeth recommends varieties that filter indoor pollutants. Some plant varieties include: Gerbera daisies, Boston ferns, English ivy, Chrysanthemums, Areca palms, spider plants and golden pothos. (We listed other house plants in our post about a local green yoga studio as well.)
Paint a room to correlate with how you want to feel while in that room. For instance, blue and green promote a relaxed feeling and may be good for the bedroom. Marybeth recommends these colors from Benjamin Moore:
- For the kitchen, yellow-oxford gold #315
- For the dining room, burgundy, caliente #AF-290
- In a child’s bedroom, green, #csp-870
Surround your senses with beauty. Artwork, naturally scented candles, smooth textures, and calming sounds all provide a pleasant environment in which to relax. A fountain provides soothing background noise and in feng shui philosophy, running water attracts money.
Set aside a room or area for peace and calm. A place for spiritual reflection and meditation can provide shelter from noise and distraction. Marybeth meditates each morning in her living room with the fountain running nearby.
Clean out the clutter. A low-maintenance home is refreshing after a day of hectic meetings, errands, and chores. Fewer items can mean less frustration. Clutter drains energy.
Marybeth discards boxes from the grocery store and instead stores grains, cereal, sugar, and the like in neat containers.
She organized her sons’ favorite toys and momentos on a ledge shelf to keep his room less cluttered.
Marybeth recommends that you cover your computer when you’re not using it to minimize the electromagnetic emissions and also lower the stress that may occur when the computer beckons.
Create an atmosphere of love. Display handmade or meaningful gifts from loved ones and photos of family and friends. Children’s art and gifts from your children are a perfect way to fulfill this recommendation.
Marybeth also uses a lot of wood in her home as a way to ground the energy, like this distressed cabinet filled with beautiful glassware and framed family photos.
Allow natural light to flow into your home. To take advantage of the sun’s cycle without heating up your home, hang linen curtains (organic cotton, if possible) on windows that face north or south. If you have a nice garden or
view from a window or two, keep those windows uncovered as much as possible when you are home. Let the light stream in when you can as Marybeth does in her bathroom.
Having a mirror in every room is another way to enhance natural light and reflect it back into the space.
We are looking forward to another post that Marybeth and her mother, a feng shui consultant, are going to write for DIY Del Ray with advice for manifesting the life you want to live, through your interior design.
Posted by Leslie
All good ideas except one of my cats eats all of my herbs!
I look forward to your post on feng shui!