GREEN Living.... Setting Intention for a Sustainable Future

The evidence is in: we have ransacked Mother Earth’s cupboards for all they were worth and it is time, way past time, to replenish them. But the good news is that we are waking up to a more conscious approach to living and caring for our planet.

And GREEN is the color of our future.

Options and resources abound for living a greener life. If you, like me, are interested in saving money, living healthily and preserving our world’s precious resources, take heart: there are many simple steps that can start you on the path to a greener life. Here are some tips to get you going:

REPAIR:

• Check the seals around windows and doors and add weather-stripping as needed. Storm windows can reduce heating costs. “Repair first, replace second” is a good mantra for green living.
• Make sure your fixtures are in good working order. Leaky faucet or shower head? Fix it. Can’t be fixed? Replace it with a new water-conserving fixture. And energy efficient fixtures add to the value of your home!
• Adding insulation to attic, crawl spaces, and around water heaters can increase energy efficiency and save money

RECYCLE:

• De-clutter. Simplify. Pare down. Clean out your closets and your attic. Recycle items to charities or friends in need. In a tough economy, less is more. And really, it is just a more conscious approach to living, isn’t it?
• Make a rainwater catchment system. It is easier than you think to set up a system for catching, containing and disbursing rainwater.
• Use recycled building materials for new construction or surface replacement. There are all kinds of beautiful, non-toxic materials available on the market now for countertop, flooring, paint and everything in between.

REPURPOSE:

• Why buy something new when you can give new life to something old? Old has charm. Old has history. Old has value. Honor it.
• Carve out space instead of adding on. It is amazing how much space can be utilized in even the smallest home.
• Get creative with interesting ways to reuse clothing and household items.

REVISON:

• Rediscover the joys of self –sufficiency. Even a small vegetable garden can provide a bounty of healthy and delicious veggies all summer. If you have room for a large garden, you can freeze or can the excess…..or gift to neighbors.
• Learn to share. Transportation, magazines, books, cd’s, movies…even services can be swapped or bartered.
• Enough with the bottled water. Buy a water filter and turn on the tap!

Kermit may lament “it isn’t easy being green.” But, in fact, it really is if we each do our part. A healthier world lies ahead.

Home staging provides space for imagination

Home staging is coming into its own.  In a real estate market that has seen better days, home owners and realtors are turning to stagers who can work a bit of magic... giving the property the aesthetic boost it needs to sell quickly and profitably.  It is proven that home staging works.  And there are any number of books, programs and courses that provide helpful strategies for preparing a home for sale.  But I believe that the best home staging is based not in a "formula" or a "one size fits all" approach to design, but in the stager's ability to unveil the intrinsic charm and appeal of the property.  It is really about making space for imagination... not only the stager's imagination but, more importantly, the imagination of the potential buyer.   A gifted home stager can create a space that allows the buyer's imagination to take flight.... to immediately picture the exciting possibilities  living in the space.  I say it all the time, good staging is an art not a formula.

WhiteHouse & Co. approaches home staging from the artful perspective.  We love houses!  Old, new and everything in between.  The possibilities that each new project bring are endlessly inspiring.  And the potential to create a space that will bring joy and a true sense of "home"

to the new owner is immensely rewarding.  No space is more important than home, is it?  It is the place that brings us comfort and restoration.  It is the place where we nurture our family and ourselves.  It is where we cook wonderful meals, read bedtime stories to our kids, languish around the table with friends over a bottle of wine, curl up on the sofa with a good book. Home is our sanctuary and it should nourish us in every way possible.  

What does home mean to you?  How have you created a home space that reflects your own spirit and imagination?  Creating spaces that matter starts at home..... it truly IS where the heart is.

Windmill palms bordering my front porch - a play of shadow and light.

The  water lotus are finally in bloom!

Mid-summer delights in my garden.

Creating sacred space

It looks like we are finally going to get rain today and so I am in a particularly grateful place.  My garden is thirsty for the kind of soaking that only Mother Nature can provide, despite my enduring efforts with the garden hose.  Blessed rain.  And so I am thinking about the life-giving force of gratitude and how important it is that we create spaces that nurture our spirits.

The Thai people have an extraordinarily beautiful tradition of creating sacred spaces that nurture spiritual harmony. Before a new homeowner takes up residence in their “vacant” house, a small Spirit House is installed in the yard so that the displaced spirits (who had been freely occupying the empty house) have a place to go.  By housing the spirits in this way, and through the continued offerings of gifts placed inside the Spirit House,  the new homeowners and the spirits establish a happy relationship.  And in gratitude for their new “digs”, the spirits protect and bless the new homeowners and their property.  Ahhh…reciprocity! 

I will never forget watching the Brahmin monks tie a string from our front door to the Spirit House so that the spirits could “travel” along the string into their new little home filled with offerings of flowers, food and incense.  That same Spirit House now resides in my garden in Greensboro, tucked away in a corner with the Frangipani and Jasmine.  Every time I pass by I am reminded that caring for Spirit, my own and others, is the ultimate act of gratitude.

What kind of space have you created to celebrate Spirit?  Where do you find your deepest connection to something outside yourself?   How have you incorporated sacred space into your daily life?  Does it matter?  

Creating spaces that matter

So I've been thinking a lot about space.  Well, this IS my blog, so I'm allowed to wax philosophical right?  Space.... the kind of physical space or collection of spaces that compose a life.  I'm talking about spaces such as home, garden, office, etc. where we spend a big, heaping amount of time.  And then there is a different kind of space....a more "interior" kind of space that composes our emotional, spiritual and psycho/social lives.  This is the space that is reserved for relationships, spiritual life, creativity and personal discovery.  And what interests me most is the intersection of these two spaces, these "exterior" and "interior" spaces.  Because I believe that this place of intersection is where each draws influence from the other and culminates in an intentionally creative life.  This is how "spaces that matter" are created... our physical spaces are created and inspired by our interior lives and our interior lives are energized and supported by our physical spaces.  

My new business, WhiteHouse & Co., provides design services for physical spaces... back to that home, garden, office, etc.  We even provide a good bit of image consulting for the "fashion flumuxxed."  But what drives the direction of each project is the deep belief in the principal of conscious living.... an intentional approach to living creatively.  It isn't just about a pretty room.  It is about finding the deep resonance within each of us that, once discovered, manifests in beauty.  It's about creating spaces that matter to each of us, for whatever reasons we may have.

This blog is an opportunity to explore spaces that matter to you and to me.  How have you created environments that are harmonic and energizing, not to mention aesthetically pleasing? What was your process for getting there?  What inspires you?  Who inspires you?  What are the spaces you have inhabited that have been most meaningful?  What material sources do you find inspiring?  What is your style.... and why does it matter to you?  How do particular styles impact your sense of being?  Creating spaces that matter..... its a subject worth exploring.  

One of the physical spaces that matter most to me is my own home - a turn of the century farm house in College Hill.  Creating an environment that feels in harmony with my spirit, as well as my own particular style, is a vastly fulfilling experience.  My home serves as a source of energy for me, allowing me to stay connected with my creative spirit.  And while this serves my own life, it also energizes my work and fuels my ability to create spaces for others.  I'll be sharing images and stories about my ongoing home project as well as client spaces.  I'll be passing along ideas that I have found particularly helpful as well as resources that I draw on.  I hope you'll share your own spaces... home, projects, work, whatever spaces you influence and/or influence you.  

Creating spaces that matter does, indeed, matter.  Do you agree?

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