Designer & Feng Shui Expert Laura Morris came to the studio to answer questions from our viewers!
Dear Laura, We are expecting our first child and before we set up the baby's room, we would like your opinion on crib placement. Also, we are going with a Britannia Inspired theme - meaning lots of red and navy. Are those colour choices okay for a baby room? Thanks! Marianne
Britannia can mean items like this gorgeous wallpaper by Vivienne Westwood.
A warm tartan throw...
Or this cushion from Jonathan Adler...
Laura's Advice: Crib placement is important. The baby's crib should be in the "command" position - meaning, facing the door - same as with adults. In addition to commanding the space, we also want the baby to be able to see who is coming into the room as it is more calming for them. Britannia is a great theme - very of the moment. The only thing to keep in mind is the fact that you don't want too much RED in a baby's room as it's not calming. You'll want to tone those hotter colours down with some nice soft neutrals. If the space is too "active", the baby won't sleep as well - or as often!
Dear Laura, I am hoping to find love and would like to work on losing weight over the next 6 months. Can you please tell me what I could do to my bedroom to help with these goals? Please see attached Thank you, Karyn
Laura's Advice: This bedroom is very YIN-heavy, and therefore lacks a healthy balance between YIN and YANG. The Chinese believe that the body needs both yin and yang for living a harmonious life. When yin denotes a negative force, yang is believed to be positive. Yin energy is considered to be female, cold and dark - while yang energy is male, hot and cold.
At present, the room is very METALLIC in colour and feel, which is both hard and inflexible so that's bad for relationships. Putting a lighter shade of paint on the walls and adding some lighter linens such as these with the hits of white but also oranges and reds, will invite some yang into the space.
Hanging a painting such as this one above the bed to ground the space and also add some much-needed fire to the room.
Laura says Karyn's bedroom is carrying a lot of extra "weight" so by lightening up the space, it should help her quest for physical weight-loss too!
Dear Laura, I have heard that it's important to consider the placement of your toilet when the washroom is adjacent to your bedroom. Is this true? Also, our master bathroom doesn't have a door and my best friend says this is bad feng shui. Help! Sincerely, Nicole
Laura says: Yes, this is true! Toilets and drains (in sinks and showers) suck down energy. Toilets are especially bad energy suckers. You should not be able to see your toilet from your bed. If you can't move the toilet, you should put something in front of it to block it from the bed - try hanging a curtain or a folding screen. You should always keep your bathroom door closed. If you don't have a door, you can hang a crystal on the frame between the bathroom and bedroom. Another great thing to do in a bathroom is to hang a mirror on the back of the door. Keep in mind, the mirror should not be visible from the bed.
