Slugs, Slugs and More Slugs, All in My Garden.

Here in Maine it has rained almost every day of the month of June and the slugs are devouring plants in gardens across the state including my own! What do you do? Well that’s easy, what any good Mainer would do, offer them a drink. Like many of us human’s slugs love beer! So how do you serve a slug beer? That’s easy, gather up a few empty tuna cans without the tops on them and put them in the dirt near your plants. Make the top of the rim flush with the ground. It wouldn’t be nice to make it difficult to for our little friends to get their drink would it? Now fill the cans with beer.

Slugs are a bit slow, and maybe a bit shy about drinking in front of strangers so leave them there for the night and check in on them in the morning. You will be surprised to see how many of them were thirsty. More importantly, that fact almost all slugs enjoy a good private Beer Fest. The great thing about this for you and me is slugs cannot hold their liquor, and if their drinking they are not eating our plants. Actually, you will see they are quit sociable amongst themselves and actually drink themselves to death. This is bad for the poor little slug, but very good news for the plants!

So share a little beer with your slugs, PBR or a Bud is fine! No sense in wasting a good Carrabbassett or a Shipyard on these little guys, their taste buds are not that refined! Just think this is one garden party your neighbors won’t complain about you have!

So the moral to this story is being kind to all others it pays off in the long run.

Maine Certified Interior Designer

New rules passed by the legislature effecting Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers.

3 Jun 2009 ... A certified interior designer shall display the legend “Maine Certified Interior ... certified interior designer for Maine-located projects. This title must be on all business cards, corispondance and promotional materials these three disipline create.


Architects="Maine Licensed Architect"
Landscape Architects = "Maine Licensed Landscape Architect"

New Rule for futher information:
http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/architects/pdf/NewRulesLegend.pdf

Demystifying Feng Shui

So many Americans have little or no knowledge of Feng Shui. It is the Asian art of placement so energy, or better known as chi, is allowed to comfortably move about. Many American have a difficult time understanding or believing this energy exists, you can’t see it. Lets look at the human body as an example, blood run through our veins within body and is circulated through the heart, but what makes the heart pump. Each and every one of us has a similar energy to chi running though our body. We cannot see it, if we do not eat we can feel the energy slow us down. Chi is an energy that is in the environment all around us. Energy works in the environment very similar to how it works within our body. You cannot see it, but it affects how we feel and how we act at times.

The art of Feng Shui is very complicated it but let’s take a look at it from a very simplified perspective on how it works with our homes. You may not believe as many Feng Shui practitioners do, that there is good energy and bad energy in your home, but lets look at some of the simpler thing you should do to achieve good Feng Shui and why from a westerner view they are good design. First look at where you place a house along a road. It is bad Feng Shui to build a home on an outside corner on a road because it forces bad chi towards your home. I would say this is bad design from my western perspective because if a vehicle is traveling too fast down the road and cannot make the corner there is a good chance it will come through the wall of your house. We all know of a few of these homes in your town. So you can see the bad chi in this situation. Feng Shui like good design practices has a way to fix this bad chi by building some type of protection like a stone wall or a row of tree to prevent the house from being hit or damaged. By building this wall or screening you have diverted the bad chi from coming at your house or diverted the cars energy from hitting the house. Now you can see that Feng Shui is really just good common since design when looking at it in its simplest form.

Let look at another example with in your home know. It is bad Feng Shui to line up the front door with the bad door. The good chi or energy move in one door and straight out the back door. Looking at this from a design perspective you’ve divided your home into two pieces and created a throughway straight through your home or a wind tunnel if both doors are open. Good design would have you meandering through your home to enjoy it not beline through it.

These are just a couple simple example that points out this ancient art of Fung Shui, is really good design practices. that takes into account both the phyical and phycological aspects of design.

Spring Projects: Low cost, Big results

In this economic down swing when stress is running amuck in everyone’s lives, now is a time to look around your home and office to see what can be changed to reduce stress. One great place to start is with clutter. Living and working in a space full of clutter is enough to make your head spin, not to mention that it’s bad Feng Shui. Clutter has an extremely negative effect on people in general. Removing clutter from a space and organizing it is like lifting a burden off your shoulder. So, start this spring doing a little organizing and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Not sure where to put all that junk? Find creative ways to add storage to your space, such as by using an ottoman that doubles as a trunk, or building a bench with drawers that hide kids’ toys.
One you’re organized and can see the walls and floor again, consider giving the room a face lift. It gives things a clean fresh look, but it’s also an opportunity to add to the calming effect you’ve created by removing clutter. Paint is an inexpensive way to change the mood of a room for the better. Light shades of green are great for reducing stress. Other light colors coming from nature can have a similar effect, and neutrals go great with virtually any furnishings. Beware of using bright colors that can over stimulate the brain, such as reds. The goal here is to reduce stress, not add to it.
So what are you waiting for? Go make this year’s spring project one that will improve your quality of life!

The Lady’s Room Consignment Boutique: Chapter Two

About one year ago I took a business class to assist me in setting up my new interior design consulting firm. During the process I met an amassing group of women all looking to succeed in making dreams come true by starting and maintaining successful businesses. This is where I meet Pam Olson, owner of The Lady’s Room. At that time in early 2008, the store was only a pipe dream. After getting to know Pam, she asked if I could take a look at the space she had leased and give her some ideas. We quickly put some plans together, added some color, and in April 2008 she opened up for business. In late January this year, Pam contacted me and informed me that she was out of space and wanted to move to a bigger location with more pedestrian traffic. So off we went again. Taking part in the process from the start this time around, I had the opportunity do some quick calculations. We made sure she had enough space to display her wares with a little growth space to boot. Having the space we needed allowed us to create a much more inviting atmosphere. My partner always tells me a project half planned is a project half done. On the second go around with The Lady’s Room, this proved to be true. Good design can make or break the success of a new business, especially in the case of retail. I would like to thank Pam for trusting me with the design of her new space and I wish Pam the best of success in her new location!

10 Myths About Sustainability

One of my favorite website sites for good common cents green design is Low Impact Living. This week is a great article on the 10 Myths About Sustainability. Check out the full article which explains each of the 10 myths at http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2009/03/20/10-myths-about-sustainability/.

10 Myths About Sustainability.

Myth 1: Nobody knows what sustainability really means.
Myth 2: Sustainability is all about the environment
Myth 3: “Sustainable” is a synonym for “green”
Myth 4: It’s all about recycling
Myth 5: Sustainability is too expensive
Myth 6: Sustainability means lowering our standard of living
Myth 7: Consumer choices and grassroots activism, not government intervention, offer the fastest, most efficient routes to sustainability
Myth 8: New technology is always the answer
Myth 9: Sustainability is ultimately a population problem
Myth 10: Once you understand the concept, living sustainably is a breeze to figure out.

IIDA Notes: Why Does the Interior Design Profession Need to be legislated? An Architect's View

In this day and age many do not understand the need of the licensed interior designer. This editorial I come across in an Interior Sources newsletter is one of the best explanations I’ve read recently!

Here the link so you can judge for yourself:

IIDA Notes: Why Does the Interior Design Profession Need to be legislated? An Architect's View

http://www.interiorsandsources.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/3339/ArticleID/6900/Default.aspx?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=eNewsletters&utm_term=lwhite.inex@gmail.com&utm_content=DesignFlash%20-%2003.10.09&utm_campaign=ASID%20to%20Address%20Legislative%20Priorities%20for%202009