DeAnna Radaj -- Welcome to my Design2Share column, Harmony2Share. We’ll be using a lot of the principles of feng shui and Integrative Lifestyle Design to add greater harmony – and all the good benefits of a life well lived – to your home environment.

As we prepare for our winter hibernation—at least those of us in the Northern climes, we start to pay more attention to our homes. They’re our inner sanctuaries. Now, even if you don’t live in the “frozen tundra” of Green Bay, WI, the rainy Pacific Northwest, or on the northern border in Maine, as Fall sets in and the weather begins to cool a bit, you can start to adopt a “cocooning” process like our ancestors and animal friends. Since you aren’t spending as much time outdoors as in previous months, you’re forced to look at either your bare, white walls or walls covered with cheap artwork that “just hung there” to fill the space. Yuck.

Part of my personal design philosophy is to “bring the outdoors in.” I achieve this through photos, artwork, painting techniques, and furniture and textile choices. There is much research in the healthcare field on how bringing Mother Nature indoors helps relax patients and promotes the healing process.

Harmony Tip: Going outside is “natural Prozac,” with green being the most calming of all colors.

Being outside, walking barefoot in the grass and truly connecting with nature can lower your blood pressure and heart rate. It’s no wonder that lots of windows with great views are a highly coveted feature in most residential spaces.

How can you bring the outdoors inside if you live in a home with neighbors close by, a bad view, or no windows? How can you ensure a view of a cloudless, sunny sky even in the dead of winter? A wonderful company called Sky Factory can take care of this for you! This company replicates the many subtleties of the real sky. Using color, temperature, pattern, hue, and an all-important viewer perspective, Sky Factory literally brings the sky right into your space. They offer a programmable sky to simulate the natural changes in the sky from dawn to dusk. I offered their products in one of the retail chains I worked for in the Garden Area. We had customers come in just to “see the sky.” Sky Factory makes skylights, full ceilings, and virtual windows. Check out their custom projects and see some of their white paper research on the scientific validity of their product and the benefits they’ve achieved in the healthcare industry.

Sky Factory strives to minimize its carbon-footprint by using high efficiency and recyclable components, actively recycling waste and clients’ old components and minimizing the use of printed materials. Sky Factory has also contributed over $50K towards the protection of the environment through direct donations to the IA Atmospheric Research Institute. Sky Factory has also built a new, energy-efficient building that reduces energy consumption by more than 30%, with the goal of reaching zero carbon emissions by adopting conservation and investing in alternative energy strategies.

Harmony Tip: When you look at the artwork and other accessories you display on your walls, use the same Feng Shui principles that apply to all other furnishings and clutter in your home: Do you LOVE it? Do you USE it? Do you NEED it?

Now, do we NEED our artwork? In some cases, yes we do! Artwork is needed to add ambience to our home, or it could be part of an overall collection. Do you USE your pictures or sculptures? Well, you could say you use your artwork for enjoyment or to fill space (the latter rationale is lame, so that’s not acceptable). But the most important question is “do you LOVE it?” If you don’t have a positive attachment to an item, ANY ITEM, it serves no purpose in your home or in life. It is merely taking up space. And it must be removed, sold, donated, or given away.

In my Feng Shui classes, I teach a program on Clutter and the relationship we have to our “stuff.” All of our items, accessories, clothes, and possessions bring an “energy” into our living space. If you purchase something merely “to fill up space,” and there is no other positive emotion associated with it, you won’t derive any joy from what you’ve just spent your hard-earned money on. You can take this one step further from a Feng Shui standpoint.

Harmony Tip: See what Life Areas of the bagua you have containing empty walls, un-needed items, or items you dislike but keep; then analyze if these are Life Areas you are stuck or having problems with.

This is part of the design consultation work I do when I work with my clients! Do you have a pile of laundry in the Relationship area of your bedroom? How about a pile of unread magazines in your Creativity area? Referring to this bagua diagram, align the entrance of your room so that it matches with the alignment of the door in the diagram. See what’s displayed in the room you’re analyzing. Then see if these things might be a manifestation of what’s going on in particular Life Areas. If the items displayed are not loved, used, or needed, that should tell you that there is something going on in specific Life Areas.

In terms of artwork and collections for your home, what should you do if you can’t find anything you LOVE or suits your needs? You can begin by shedding these unwanted, un-needed, and unloved items any way you can. Sell them on eBay, set up a yard sale, donate them to charity, or give them away to neighbors, friends, and family. As a last result, have them thrown out and recycled. To replace them, look for new artwork and other décor items you can use, need, and love by going to art fairs, gallery openings/exhibitions, and even perusing the Internet. If this isn’t your style and you want some guidance, work with a designer who will have good art and accessory resources. Some designers have contacts where you can commission a custom piece made to your specific requirements. Photography is also an excellent and very popular choice. Use photos of your kids, pets, or vacation scenes to make stunning gallery walls. Or contact a professional photographer in your community to take special family portraits or use as a source for other types of photography, like beautiful nature scenes.

If you aren’t currently working with a designer, or are having problems getting a good recommendation on an artist or photographer, here are two personal favorites: Batternay Photography and the artist Midori Tajiri.

Nora Batternay is an internationally-renowned photographer based in NYC. Her photos have been exhibited in Europe, Los Angeles, and New York. She offers a natural, fresh, and sincere approach to each project and subject. While she specializes in architectural photo shoots, she can photograph your family or event to capture the “extraordinary in the most ordinary” circumstances. What sets Nora apart from other photographers is that she also does custom fine art for designers and their clients. The designer and/or their client describes their vision for the space in terms of color, theme, and the feeling that they want the space (or the piece of art) to invoke. While Nora specializes in abstract works, she has worked with nature themes and black & white images. She works on a variety of media such as canvas, metal watercolor prints (a unique process she’s developed), and digital artwork.

Interested in seeing more types of artwork or commissioning a few items for holiday gifts? Nora Batternay can put together a catalog for you to peruse and get ideas.

My new favorite is Midori Tajiri, a Chicago-based artist who also works in a variety of media. Midori is a cancer survivor who states that her artwork has evolved in a “more positive manner” since her diagnosis. Her work now is more “hopeful” and inspirational. I got to see some of the digital images of her artwork and was very impressed. Midori works with paper, paint, and layering of mixed media. She told me that she then “stitches” papers together to give added texture and construction to her art. Her use of color, or sometimes a lack thereof, in some parts of her art really is amazing. She uses color to draw your eye to what she wants to highlight in her work. Midori’s ancestry includes samurais, and they have added a wonderful cultural aspect to her artwork.

I’ve only highlighted a few of the many talented artists and photographers out there. Whether you go the Target or Home Goods or Pier One poster racks, frame your own photos, or commission a custom work of art for your home, always remember to ask yourself WHY you want this item. Is this something you will LOVE to display in your home? What you hang on your walls is just as important as what you wear on your body. What are you saying about yourself with your art and décor collections? Do you have violent images of battle scenes or dark, urban landscapes that can represent hopelessness? Do you have happy, family photos from a vacation or romantic sculptures of a couple dancing, representing love and romance? Hopefully what you’re displaying is positive, creative, and represents the joy and abundance that is currently in your life. If not, check out the closest art expo and get buying!

DeAnna Radaj, owner of Bante Design LLC and its production division Eden Place Productions, is a designer who specializes in Integrative Lifestyle Design (the fusion of Eastern and Western interior design philosophies incorporating feng shui and healthy home principles). Ms. Radaj is an author/columnist, design consultant, and national speaker on topics like Health Home Design, Feng Shui, Design Tips & Trends, and Clutter (Why We Have It and How to Get Rid of It!). Ms. Radaj is the former editor of the WI ASID newsletter which featured her column, "The Business of Design," and she has been featured in print, radio, and TV. She has authored Designing the Life of Your Dreams from the Outside In and Feng Shui for Teens, and is a weekly contributor to Design2Share, casaGURU, and the Diva Toolbox.

Photo credits: daylife, World Photographic Arts, Anatomically Correct, Sky Factory