Date My House? Podcast of TLC Stars
April 3rd, 2008
Getting ready for a Speed Date
TLC’s TV show hosts Nadia Geller and Bob Guiney
Bob Guiney, former reality show Bachelor (the only one who married), says you wouldn’t get married without dating, so why make your largest purchase without a “test drive?” (Bob has been happily married for four years.)
Nadia Geller, a designer who stages new home models, helps design and stage the homes while the owners take a 24 hour break. Some of the home sellers fell in love with their house all over after Nadia’s special touches.
The show airs tomorrow night on TLC at 8:30 PM Eastern.
Listen to a podcast of bloggers (including me!) interviewing the stars: Date My House Podcast
Bamboo Flooring Looks as Great as Traditional Hardwood Floors
March 26th, 2008
Carbonized Bamboo Flooring Looks Like Traditional Hardwood
lthough bamboo is harder and more resistant to both moisture and termites, its also one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives for flooring, with the potential to replace a huge majority of the hardwood trees that are rapidly disappearing around the world. But that’s not all bamboo has going for it. Here are some other advantages to using bamboo in your flooring situations.
Bamboo is one of the easiest types of flooring to install as a do-it-yourself project. It comes already sanded and finished, so there’s no cloud of dust or messy stains to deal with, which is a big advantage to the average homeowner–and to professional installers, for that matter. That means that installation also goes much faster, so the family’s lives aren’t disrupted nearly as long.
Bamboo is also cost effective, making it an even more attractive alternative flooring material, especially when you consider how beautiful bamboo floors are. They’re also tough and stable, regardless of whether they’re used exposed to high humidity or extremely arid conditions. When given a UV coating, bamboo floors are highly resistant to fading, as well. Finally bamboo also doesn’t absorb stains or dirt, so cleaning a bamboo floor is easy, usually only requiring a mop or sponge.
If you’re searching for a tough, beautiful affordable floor that and can also help save the planet, check out bamboo. You won’t be sorry!
Free interior design psychology information: Joy to the Home
Copyright © 2008 Jeanette Fisher
Why Instituting a “Shoes Off” Policy in Your Home Makes Sense
February 2nd, 2008
It’s a long-held custom among many cultures to remove your shoes when you enter a home. In Asian homes, for instance, it’s considered a gesture of respect for your host and a way to honor a house’s purity and cleanliness. On the other side of the world, it has been considered impermissible to enter someone else’s home without removing your shoes since the 15th century. However, for some reason, that custom has never been universally accepted in America–but there are some good reasons for considering starting that custom in your own home. Here are just a few:
Removing your shoes can be seen as a symbolic gesture, meant to represent kicking off the cares and worries of the outside world when you enter the home. It’s a way to emphasize and honor the role of the home as a sanctuary–a place of peace and refuge away from the insanity of the world at large.
At a more practical level, there can be no doubt that removing shoes will bring less dirt and small rocks into the house, thereby lessening the chance that those stones will leave gouges in hardwood floors and dirtying up the carpets. You’ll also spend less of your time having to clean those floors if people remove their shoes when they walk in the door.
On the physical front, there is much to be said for the pure sensation of walking around the house in your bare feet and feeling the sensation of the hardwood or other floor coverings. As an added benefit, your hardwood floors will actually receive a gentle buffing as they’re being walked on by bare feet in the warmer seasons or by feet covered by soft slippers when the temperature begins to go down in the winter months.
Infants and young children with more sensitive immune systems inhale cleaner indoor air in homes where everyone removes their shoes at the front door, because the soles of shoes track in whatever you’ve been walking in, including pesticides and other pollutants.This is especially true for very young children, who generally spend more time on the floor than other family members. Your pets will benefit from the healthier home environment, as well.
For the health of your family, both physically and psychologically, as well as a way to save clean-up time and energy, you may find it well worth your while to consider instituting a “shoes off” policy in your own home.
Copyright © 2008 Jeanette J. Fisher
interior design book - finally!
January 20th, 2008My latest interior design book has a new cover and subtitle and is finally ready for print!
Residential Design Inspiration
January 3rd, 2008
The underground cistern in Istanbul features vandalized marble columns. This ancient building with a water floor houses fine dining. The lighting and water reflection create interesting colors and shadows. This photograph is the inspiration for a bathroom remodeling project.
Joy to your home in 2008!
See more ancient Greek art in Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design
Castles
December 6th, 2007I made a new friend on Facebook through Five Degrees of Separation. Check out Lynn Whitsitt’s German Castles.
I can’t wait to go see German castles. I took pictures of Aimee’s Castle and Scotty’s Castle in California and used them to write the chapter in Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design on “What the Eccentrics Knew.”
My friend Alexander Christiani invited me to go drive his race car in Germany. I wonder what will be the most fun, castles or cars?
This stone fountain looks ancient. In fact, the entire castle-like setting is a new home in Southern California. We have castles, too!
Joy,
Christmas Decorating Madness
November 23rd, 2007Every year many of us get wrapped up in holiday decorating. Whether you plan a big party of a small gathering, you need not get distressed over decorating for Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.
You can leave some of your Christmas ornaments packed. You don’t need to use all your finery every year. In fact, I found that when we skipped Christmas decorating and spent the holidays out of town, we appreciated our holiday decorations more the next year.
While decorating for Christmas, listen to spiritual music. You will be amazed at how the daunting task of over-decorating becomes a celebration of love.
Celebrate life and live with love. I’m working on a new website that speaks to our spiritual side: Sacred Era.
Joy,
Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design
October 31st, 2007I’ve been busy writing a new book, which went to print today, Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design.
I tried to get a domain name for the title, but all the seven secrets domains are taken by adsense junk sites.
In the meantime, I’ll test a couple of sites I’ve had for awhile:
Joy Design Science, a site that is intended to cover design psychology, design philosophy, and the power of home and commnunity, and Residential Design Guide, a site that examines differing house building styles.
Joy,
Pumpkin Castle
October 30th, 2007
Happy Halloween! What’s your dream castle look like?
If you have not downloaded your free copy of The Power of Home, do it soon. Some of the text was used in my new book Seven Secrets to Glorious Home Design, which goes to print today and the free report may be taken down because of publishing rights. For more about The Power of Home, see the Home Decorating Interior Design Ideas Newsletter.
Joy,