Nimli Talk

FENG SHUI YOUR HOME

How can you make your living space harmonious AND eco-friendly? Start off by purchasing green products for your home and then consider the balancing act of Feng Shui. It is important to take a trip to an antique store for the majority of your furniture. Repurposed materials allow you to be 100% NOT wasteful. Once your house or apartment is full of antique and used products, dress your bed, bath and body with organic and green merchandise – we suggest Amenity Home and Koko Company for your bedroom, while your bath could use Plank, your body could use Backyard Soaps and your space could use In The Raw candles. Now the time has come to Feng Shui your space!

·          Position that bed of yours so that your can see the door – it will give you a sense of inner peace

·          Pasted colors allow for a soft and comforting home

·          Place something gorgeous in a spot where you might see it first thing in the morning (and get inspired) – bedroom or bathroom

·          Try to have a strong headboard and do not purchase a brass beadstead as it cuts the chi while you sleep

·          For the kitchen, make sure you love the products you are working with or you will not feel comfortable

·          The bathroom should contain all-natural products and earthy objects such as a terra cotta soap dish

DESIGN CHALLENGE: CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL THAT’S GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

And the prize goes to… Sappycards!                     

Nothing would make us happier than you going off and making your own cards. Except maybe you buying a few Sappycards first. And if you do (buy a Sappycard) you're getting a limited edition print with the words of an award-winning writer set over photocopied textures of mysterious found objects. Each design is printed on 100% Post-Consumer recycled cardstock, scored for easy folding, and comes with a matching envelope. Plus, you're buying the card from an independent business that supports artists and makes life more interesting in your community. On the backs of cards it says, "just because it says, doesn't mean it is." In other words, that logo has come to mean almost nothing. When recycling became the fashion, many paper mills simply used the waste they were already saving from their production processes and called the result "recycled." What really matters when buying recycled is a paper's post-consumer content. Sappycards, and all of the envelopes that go with them, are 100% Post-Consumer Waste and printed with vegetable-based inks.

LEMONS FOR LESS TOXIC LIVING

Growing up in a period home, the furniture in my house was always antique. Naturally I carried that same aesthetic with me to my new place; I also inherited tricks on how to care for furniture. My grandmother used a simple concoction made from lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar, and the citrus smell of our freshly polished house was intoxicating. Ever notice how oil based polish leaves a sticky residue? When you use vinegar and lemon based formulas, you can avoid that sticky situation. Heres her recipie: 1/4 Cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice, a few drops jojoba or olive oil, 3 to 5 drops fragrant essential oil (optional)

The Napa Soap Company has a new all natural line of cleansers for youre home, like the Lavender Counter cleanser pictured here.