Rearrange your things for your own makeover

"We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), British political writer, statesman

There has been a lot of conversation recently about people and their property. Some of us have moved or downsized. But if homeowners are able to hold onto their homes, they are looking for ways to improve or make changes without breaking the bank.

I get asked about making changes to spaces all the time, and while everybody knows about paint, there are other things you can do. Yes, there are things you can do other than paint and buy all new stuff - regardless of how appealing that is.

We all know that paint is a good start. Fresh walls with a new color pallet may just put you in the mood for other improvements. The second easiest thing to do is to rearrange your furniture and accessories.

If you want a really fresh look, bring in a redesigner or stager to rearrange your rooms. Staging and redesign is one of the hottest design trends around. It's relatively inexpensive and fast. Man, one afternoon and you think you're in an entirely different house.

Redesigners are usually trained designers who specialize in "using what you have." You may have seen some of the shows on HGTV where they come and do a really fast makeover. Well, it really does happen that way. Your furniture and accessories are rearranged to show them off to their best advantage and to create the most beautiful, useful space you can have. One of the greatest joys of this procedure is that you don't have to buy a thing.

Redesigners may take away some of your furniture and they may bring in things from other parts of the house.

Another option is to hire a feng shui designer to come in and "program" your house. Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space that is claimed to achieve harmony with the environment.

I'm sure you're familiar with feng shui. There are about a million books and programs about it and its popularity has definite staying power. According to Wikipedia, "Feng shui is a discrete Chinese belief system involving a mix of geographical, religious, philosophical, mathematical, aesthetic and astrological ideas. It literally means 'wind (feng) and water (shui),' and is not simply a decorating style, but a discipline with guidelines compatible with many different decorating styles."

Some general rules in feng shui are:

n When sitting at a desk, the entrance door should be in a clear line of sight and you should have a view of as much of the room as possible.

n When lying in bed, the entrance door should not be directly facing the soles of your feet. In other words, the end of the bed should not be in line with the door.

n Straight lines and sharp corners are to be avoided, and especially should not point where people tend to sit, stand or sleep.

n Avoid clutter.

n Your stairs should never face the front door.

n Some objects are believed to have the power of redirecting, reflecting or shifting energy in a space. These include mirrors, crystals, wind chimes and pools of flowing or standing water.

Now, you can take what you may from that. And, as popular as feng shui is today, I certainly don't mean to take anything away from it or from those who practice it, but I believe that good design is good feng shui. It just makes sense and the same rules generally apply to good design. But if you want that special touch, go for it. And who knows, rearranging your home could bring you increased wealth, health and happiness. Wouldn't that be grand?

As you can see, there are options to a simple paint job and spinning the sofa around. Try one of these initiatives and let me know how they work for you. You may not be in a position to move, but when you stage or introduce feng shui, you can stand back and exclaim, just like they do on HGTV, "This is not the same room!"

Carolyn Muse Grant is a founder and past president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.