feng shui – Jess Neary Designs

October 31, 2023October 31, 2023

Designing Your Home Office

“If you build it, he (they) will come” – Field of Dreams

This is a quote that comes to mind when identifying my goals + when setting my intentions.

A major goal of mine 9 years ago was beginning an Interior Design Practice. This goal was sparked from an Intention Setting Ceremony I did beforehand, when I examined my interested, skillset, strengths and ideal lifestyle. At the time it was suggested to me that I create a home office… A space where I could study, refine my skills and practice my craft from.

With this in mind, I set out to find the location and items needed to begin curating a space to birth my design practice. Little did I know at the time, taking this step forward with my dreams would take me down an incredible path of entrepreneurship where I was able to embrace my passions and help incredible clients around the world.

Simultaneously, being a mother was a priority for my life experiences; therefore, designing a home office (vs out of the home) was my preferred option. Upon the birth of our first child, I studied Interior Design and Feng Shui while she slept and met with clients in the evenings when my husband was home from his out of the home job. One may think that this was “a lot” for a new time mother; however, it was the contrary. The more that I was able to practice my passions, the more energy, focus and motivation I had for mothering as well.

Saying that, there is a challenge that many professionals are confronted with when having a home-based career… How do you keep life and work separate? And, how do you maintain balance in your life where one priority is not competing for your time over another? When working out-of-the home, this is much easier – as physically work is done in a different space than what you are living in.

In today’s Blog Post, I will be sharing guidance on how to design your home office with life-balance in mind! My intention with these suggestions is that it helps you reduce the learning curve of how to strike a balance in your life from the get go, so that you can be present in both your family and career.

Included in this blog are products listed, with links to make it much easier for you too to design a home office that satisfies your needs to show up energized and ready to go.

Home Office Location

Do you have a spare bedroom?
Do you have a nook or corner that is not currently being used?

Ideally, a home office will be in a quiet spot in your home so that while you are using it – you’ll have the least amount of distractions possible. Therefore, a space further away from the main living areas and one that has a door is a great idea.

If a spare room is not an option and all that is available is a corner, you can create an energetic barrier, designating this space as “office use only” by including a few different items such as:

Area Rug: this helps to visually separate the “office space” from “living space”. You can select one that is soft on the toes, easy to clean, durable and a fun pattern.
Curtains: if you have an open door way, consider using black out curtains to reduce noise travelling from other spaces which will help keep you focused on the content that you are creating.
Room Divider: likewise, a room divider can help create a separate zone in from your home office within a larger room.

Home Office Basics

Once the location of your home office is selected, we are next going to look at the basic furniture you will need: something to work from and something to sit on – your desk and chair.

The optimal desk to use is one that is solid and sturdy. A wooden desk is known in Feng Shui to be a wonderful anchor to perform work from. Ensuring that the desk itself is large enough to hold all your materials (i.e. laptop, notepad, glass of water, décor, writing utensils, agenda, phone, printer etc.), the size should not be too large also – as it could feel overwhelming.

Here is a wonderful desk option for your home office: WOOD DESK

As for seating, a good ergonomic chair is very important so that your body is well supported for multiple hours at a time. I have personally switched up my office chair for one that is less trendy looking, for one that has all the various setting adjustments so that it feels “just right”. Especially as business continues to grow and expand, you too may find yourself in this space for more and more time. Lets make it a comfortable space to be in!

Here is an ergonomic chair that could work well for your home office: ERGONOMIC CHAIR

Home Office Tools

The tool that you choose to include in your home office will be determined on the type of work you do. For myself, I need a notepad for when I am taking calls and an agenda because I love to plan out my days and weeks in advance. Perhaps physically writing is considered outdated; however, these are incredibly valuable tools for keeping myself organized. Not to mention also how satisfying it is to check an item off my list of things to do for the day.

Here are a list of tools that you may wish to include in your home office, with links to purchase for yourself:

Home Office Accessories

Now that we have the location of your home office, the basic furniture and tools established – lets focus in on your energy. For myself, it is imperative that I am motivated, focused and efficient with my time. When I am in my home office, I desire to be “in the zone” and in my flow.

How do you desire to feel when in your home office?

The answer to this relatively simple question can help guide you towards designing a specific vibe you desire to embody while in this space. Do you desire to feel peaceful, grounded, relaxed, motivated, focused, empowered, excited, energized or upbeat?

Here are a few items that can help you get in your zone:

Essential Oil Diffuser: diffusing essential oils is a powerful way to curate a specific vibe. For example, lavender essential oil is known to lower cortisol levels making one feel peaceful; whereas, orange essential oil is known to have one feel cheerful, optimistic and positive.
Candles: candles, real or LED, are great to include if you are looking to “ignite” a spark of creativity or inspiration. They are great to include in your home office if you are wanting to up the energy and work especially well in a basement or low light space.
Bluetooth Speaker: music is one way to energize or calm your energy depending on what tune you choose to play. This is also great to have to reduce any noise in nearby rooms.
Bluetooth Earbuds: similar to a wireless speaker, earbuds have the ability to block out and cancel noise in the room. You can play music from them without disturbing others in your home and they are great to use for better sound quality for video meetings or recording videos for social media.

In Conclusion…

If the path of entrepreneurship is calling to you. If you desire working from home, but perhaps are unsure of what steps to take. Or, if you are already working from home, but are wanting to expand your business…

designing a home office with the guidance listed above with help you excel in your field of choice. How you feel in this space greatly impacts the quality of your performance and will even contribute to your business’s growth.

Thank you for reading along, as I highlighted the design essentials for designing your home office. If you are interested in learning more, I have a Home Office Design with Feng Shui Online Course available for purchase. In this 1 HR prerecorded class, you will walk away understanding how to design your own home office further and practical tips to ensure that the energy is flowing smoothly.
Alternatively, if you are interested in one-on-one guidance, schedule a complimentary Initial Meeting with myself to discuss your room further and learn about the various options for an Interior Design or Feng Shui Consultation.

Jess

Jess Neary is an Interior Designer and Feng Shui Consultant who helps design feel good spaces for personal and professional environments. With a degree in Business Administration (UNBSJ ’09), Jess furthered her studies in Interior Design and Feng Shui to understand more fully of the aesthetics and energetic qualities of environments. For 7 years Jess has been helping homeowners and business owners in her local community and internationally design spaces that feel good and are aligned with their intentions.

Meeting you where you are at, Jess provides practical guidance on how to design meaningful and intentional spaces.

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023

Intentionally Design Your Main Bedroom Part Two: What to Include

Now that we’ve established why it’s important to design and curate a Main Bedroom intentionally and outlined what to avoid or limit – today, I am sharing what to include. With these 9 essentials you can design a bedroom that feels really good and helps empower your health + well-being.

If you haven’t yet read Part One, you can do so HERE. Feel free to also circle back to Part One to learn what areas in your current design can be removed or shifted in your space.

The 9 Main Bedroom Essentials are:

Command Position
Flesh tone or Pastel colors
Positive Imagery
Texture + Fabrics
Decorating in Pairs
Adding Plants + Greenery
Using Crystals
Adding a Variety of Lighting
Including a Rug

The placement of the bed is one of the most important furniture placements in accordance with Feng Shui. This is the spot where we lay our head at night. Ideally the headboard itself is made of wood or upholstered to feel fully grounded while resting. The Command Position specifically refers to where the bed is places in the main bedroom. This is also known as the power position. This position has the headboard against a solid wall, facing the door; however not in direct line with the door. Sleeping in the command position ensures that your body can relax fully allowing yourself to have the best sleep possible.

As for the colors in the Main Bedroom, I recommend using soft shades and tones. Ideally flesh tones, such as peach, olive, light brown or beige are wonderfully complimentary to the energy in the main bedroom. If you desire to include a bright or bold color, I suggest limiting the quality to a set of lamps, or a couple throw pillows as an accent.

Positive Imagery goes a long way! Especially when it comes to the subconscious mind. What do I mean by positive imagery? Well, photos of you and your partner, if in a relationship, from a positive experience (such as your wedding day) is a great idea. The high energy of the event and day can sprinkle and shine in this space. Further encouraging health in the relationship as well. If you are single, think of images that reflect love or self love for yourself. Perhaps it is a bouquet of roses or peonies. Perhaps it is images of a pair of love birds sitting on a branch.

Including a variety of texture and fabrics will create a more dynamic and deep design in your space. The different tactile surfaces allow the senses to be constantly delighted and stimulated as you traverse the space. Likewise, having a variety of lighting options, also the space to be setup for many different activities. For instance, bright lighting for when getting dressed to see yourself fully. Or perhaps dimmed lighting for creating a soft environment for intimacy or winding down for sleep.

Decorating in pairs is a helpful tip to encourage balance with oneself and with others. The main bedroom symbolizes love and relationships in accordance with Feng Shui. Therefore, I encourage yourself to think in pairs when choosing to include any new items. It could look like an even number of pillows on the bed, two nightstands flanking the bed, and a pair of lamps atop those nightstands.

Plants and crystals are gorgeous décor pieces that can serve your main bedroom in wonderful ways. They are both natural and bring in a lively fresh energy to the space. When selecting your ideal houseplant for your main bedroom, consider:

the care and maintenance of the plant
the size and shape of the leaves
including a pair

Likewise, when selecting your ideal crystal for the space, consider the purpose of the crystal, color, shape and size. You can most certainly add them in pairs as well. Rose Quartz, the stone of unconditional love, is one I will often recommend having on either side of the bed.

And finally, I wrap up my list of Main Bedroom essentials with adding a rug. Rugs are incredible at creating boundaries in life and in your space. They work particularly well when used in large bedrooms to help create zones for various activities. Rugs, when placed under or around the side, present a soft cushion for your toes to land on when entering and exiting the bed. Rather than have your feet be met with a cold and hard surface, a soft rug can provide brilliant effects.

In conclusion, intentionally designing your main bedroom provides results that extend beyond just creating a pretty space. It also presents you with the opportunity to fully enrich your sleeping habits, which then supports your energy even further throughout the day. A main bedroom truly reflects yourself and therefore having energy dedicated to this space is an act of self love.

If you are interested in having 1 on 1 support to design your main bedroom, check out the various design services available HERE.

As always, have a wonderful day! I look forward to sharing more helpful tips to intentionally design your space in the next blog post.

Jess

March 27, 2023March 27, 2023

Intentionally Design Your Main Bedroom Part One: What to Avoid

Designing a main bedroom is important because it is one of the rooms in our life that we spend the most amount of time in. In a 24 hour day, each of us are in this one room on average of 6 to 8+ hours. That is a good chunk of our day, week, year, life occupying this space. Not only do we spend so much time in this room, the activities we engage in this room are incredibly valuable to our health and wellbeing. I intend to share with you various design applications so you know how to intentionally design your own bedroom for rest, self-care and pleasure.

In Feng Shui, the main bedroom is one of the top 3 most influential spaces in your home. The primary purpose of the main bedroom is to enjoy a deep restful sleep. As such, there are several recommendations on what to avoid having in this room.

For today in part 1, I am going to begin with what to avoid in this space:

Electronics (such as the television, laptop/desktop or tablets)
Clutter
Family Photos
Tall or Heavy Furniture
Bright Colors
Mirror Across From Your Bed
A Collection of Books

Most of what I’ve listed above deflect rather encourage rest. You may notice that electronics is the first item listed… this is intentional ha. I have worked with many clients who have a television in their bedrooms. However, the television broadcasts a lot of information, entertainment that can be quite energizing and having this easy access to it – encourages more “unintentional” channel cruising than focusing on rest. I have also worked with many clients who’ve found that having their home office in their main bedroom created many issues: restless sleep and working too much. Together we were able to move the office equipment out of this important space to help fuel their personal energy by putting aside work and focus on sleep.

Clutter, defined as anything that is no longer serving you, can include broken furniture, clothes that no longer fit or require repair, a candle with no wick left to burn etc. It is a blanket term that can apply to many things. Clutter has the ability to “cloud the mind”. Again, it is a distraction.

Family photos are an interesting subject. They are simply lovely to have in your home and are a tremendous addition to other rooms in your home, such as being hung in beautiful frames arranged one by one heading down a hallway, on a family wall collage or in your children’s bedroom. They are not encouraged in a main bedroom as it presents another distraction. On one hand yes they are a reminder of an abundance of love and support, however they also represent responsibility which is a distraction for putting all responsibilities aside for a restful sleep.

Tall or heavy furniture bring the energy down in a space with it’s weight. Having dark furniture or furniture that is to tall to easily reach the top drawers can leave one feeling that they have to reach for items. This plays a very strong role in the subconscious mind. Having one feel as they if what they need is “out of reach” or they need to stretch themselves to get what they need. Ideally furniture used in this room will be easily accessible.

Bright colors are an interesting subject as well as I have worked with clients who have intentionally chosen bright colors to include on their walls to inject their own personality into their bedroom. To this I say, yes! The main bedroom is a place to have creative expression; however, I did encourage this one client to be very intentional on the quantity of this bright fuchsia was used. One wall was painted a deep fuchsia, from navy blue, and it has yielded very positive results for herself. When choosing the color palette for your bedroom – think of how you currently feel with what you have and how you desire to feel. Adding small pops of red can turn up the passion and intimacy. Too much red could be overpowering and cause restful nights. Their is a balance here.

Having a mirror in your bedroom can be really beneficial. They allow you to see yourself, fully if it’s full length. Saying that, mirrors also amplify what they reflect. As such, they are not recommended to be placed in a main bedroom especially if facing you from the end of the bed. While sleeping, your subconscious mind is still scanning your environment for threats. I mean when we sleep, we are in a vulnerable state. With a mirror, any toss or turn in bed could be alarming. This could prevent you from sleeping deeply and staying asleep throughout the night.

The last item that I will discuss in today’s post is having a collection of books in the main bedroom. Books are full of information and entertainment, similar to the television. However, unlike the television, they are enjoyed individually. If you share your bedroom with a partner, books could encourage you to stay up reading yes, but it could also separate yourself from your partner. To this, I encourage you to limit the number of books to possibly or two. Bonus points if these books subjects are related to creating intimacy with yourself and/or partner, such as the Kama Sutra.

Bravo for making it through all 7 items to avoid in your main bedroom! These are common things I have seen in client’s main bedrooms – that I enjoy explaining further why they are not encouraged from an Interior Design and Feng Shui perspective. With a thorough understanding of what to avoid, let’s dive into what to include in your main bedroom in part 2 of Intentionally Design Your Main Bedroom…

Until then, if you are interested in working 1 on 1 to design your main bedroom, you may be interested in an Interior Design Consultation. Head on over to Design Services to check out the various offerings provided by Jess Neary Designs to help you intentionally design spaces you love!

Cheers, Jess

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022

Feng Shui with Essential Oils

Feng Shui is the intentional practice of designing interiors and exteriors to elevate your energy and feel good. Essential oils are a fabulous to include in a Feng Shui home.

Essential oils are pure plant extracts that have a wide variety of applications in your home. Such as, cleaning, diffusing, skin care, hair care, etc. *be aware of the quality of essential oils you are using, so that they are not comprised of additives or chemicals that do not bring about the best and most nourishing experience overall.

When looking to elevate the energy in a space, it is imperative to be mindful of what products you are purchasing and using. There are many ways to bring intention with upgrades to your home care routine.

Essential oils are a DIYer’s special ingredient because there are many blends and recipes that can replace store bought products. Making it, yes cost effective, but most importantly a much healthier and elevating decision.

Ways to Use Essential Oils

In our home, I use essential oils in my floor cleaner, oven cleaner, surface cleaner, and diffuser.

Diffuse

Diffusing essential oils is a wonderful way to instantly create a specific vibe indoors. With only 3-5 drops of an essential oil added to the water in a diffuser bowl, a fine mist circulates the room that it is placed for 5HRs+. This is an easy option and a great place to begin using essential oils in your home.

Room Spray

Likewise, you can make or purchase an essential oil based room spray to use in a space. Room sprays are a portable option that can also be used in areas like the car, a hotel, as a quick remedy, and is often comprised of a blended mix of multiple oils – specific to it’s use.

For example, the Clear the Vibes Room Spray is a custom blend that includes oils that work together to clear and reset the energy in any space.

Cleaners

Using essential oils in home cleaners is simple. You can begin with citrus oils, as they are known to amplify cleaning efforts. Adding a couple drops of lemon, wild orange, or lime can yield fantastic results in your cleaning ritual(s).

Personal Care

baths
body scrubs
skin care
roller balls
etc.

Essential oils work marvelously for our physical self; therefore, you can add a variety of them to your personal care ritual(s). I thoroughly enjoy my coffee body scrub with vanilla essential oil, adding a drop of patchouli to my shampoo and calming my sensitive skin with a lavender, frankincense and roman chamomile face serum.

Beginner Essential Oils

A few great beginner essential oils are LEMON, LAVENDER and PEPPERMINT. Each offer a different shift in an environment. Lemon is purifying and elevating (as citrus essential oils often do). You can add a couple drops in your surface cleaner for added shine or diffuse to lift the energy into a cheerful vibe. Lavender is relaxing and calming. You can add a couple drops to your floor cleaner to calm the energy in your home or diffuse it to feel relaxed and serene. Peppermint is refreshing and cooling. Peppermint essential oil can be applied to the back of the neck to relieve brain fog instantly or diffused to create a motivating and productive environment.

Elevating the energy in your space can be simple, easy and natural with essential oils.

To purchase your own essential oils, check out my online shop at doTERRA HERE.

To purchase Jess Neary Feng Shui essential oil products, check out my online shop HERE.

How do you enjoy essential oils in your space? What are your favorite essential oils? I’d love to hear!

July 20, 2021March 14, 2022

Grief + Feng Shui

5 weeks ago, I said goodbye to my cat of 18 years. In my attempt to find a pocket on the www to find solace to my pain, I couldn’t quite find the words from another to describe this experience. And so here I am, filling that pocket in hopes that my words also provide comfort to as well.

Our homes contain energetic signatures. Signatures of memories once had and reminders of the direction we are heading. Loved one’s belongings who have passed and items that propel us forward. There we live, in the middle of the past and future. In the present.

Marley came into my life 18 years prior. She was a 16th birthday gift from my high school boyfriend. The first serious boyfriend. I remember that my mother was not too thrilled with him; therefore, hearing that they both went together to adopt Marley – was a special moment for myself.

The morning I met her, I was visiting my boyfriend at his parents’ home and I sat in his bedroom waiting for my surprise. Out came Marley. This teeny tiny calico fluff ball kitten. It was love at first sight.

Marley was so much fun in her younger years. At any moment during the day, I could look over with a slight glance – her back side would be up and her head would be tossing side to side. She was so playful.

Also, her purr was the most healing sounds I have ever witnessed. Click on the image below to hear it!

Marley’s Healing Purr

A couple years later, I was single and graduating from High School. There she was by my side. I began University the following Fall and moved out of my parents’ home into my very first apartment shortly after. Marley moved to our apartment – back to my parents – and into a new apartment. She was a constant source of joy, love and companionship.

In 2011, I finished University and living in my bachelorette pad. It was during this chapter that I met my husband Bryan. She was there. Marley continued to be apart of both our lives as we purchased our first home together, wed, and gave birth to our 3 children. When we would have friends over for game night, we would bring her post over to the table so she could be with us all – and she would be in prime placement for a good pat and scratch behind her ear.

She was kind, gentle and dubbed a “Feng Shui Kitty”. Marley was very quick to know the best possible spot to rest (“The Command Position”) and did not enjoy having doors closed in our home. There were 2 ways that she would signal to me when she requested a door be opened. 1) If sleeping in a bedroom and someone was to close the door, even if she was deep into sleep, she would wake up and paw at the door. And 2) If a door was closed for too long in the hallway, she would go to the door and begin to meow. As if asking for the door to reopen, and the flow to resume.

Marley came into my life on my 16th birthday and exited on my 34th. I was with her all the way until the end. As painful as it was to say goodbye, I know that her time here on earth was complete. Her mission + purpose fulfilled. And I am so incredibly grateful that I was able to be so close to her. She taught me so much during her 18 year visit and guided me through so many transitions in life.

This blog entry is one way that I am choosing to honor her spirit and to assist the grieving process.

Here are a few other ways to process grief with Feng Shui:

1) Honor Your Feelings

This is a big one because “we have to feel it to heal it”. Saying goodbye to a loved one is difficult, no matter the circumstances. And as much as others will say they know how you are feeling, they just will not. It is an individual experience. Honor your feelings by giving them space. Space to move through you and to be released.

Working with the Full Moon can aide your release.

2) Talk With Others

Throughout this process what I have discovered is that are so many who have also gone through a similar experience. Although no one can quite know exactly how you feel, talking about what you are feeling opens up yourself and others to share about their experience and offer a moment of connection. A moment to heal.

3) Space Clear Your Home

Leading up to the day of Marley’s passing, I went through our home and prepared various spaces for this shift. Marley was an indoor cat and our home was going to feel the impact of her passing. Preparing our home by cleaning the floors, doing the laundry, etc. was a way to allow time, proceeding her demise, to just be as a family.

Following her passing, sage was lit and I gave our home a good walk-about opening up the space energetically to flow through this transition.

4) Decide What To Do With Loved Ones Belongings

This is going to look quite differently for each experience. For ourselves, we donated leftover food and kitty litter to my parents’ cat. Keeping around toys, grooming supplies, food, litter, etc. is not something that would serve our family moving forward; therefore, they were “decluttered” from our home and were enjoyed by another.

When it is time to decide what to do with your loved ones belongings, it can be difficult, as they can be sentimental. These are the items that your loved one enjoyed personally. They have a strong energy around them and it is okay to take some time to decide on what to do with these items.

Be easy on yourself. And feel free to give yourself a timeline if you desire.

5) Grieving With Nature

Mother Nature provides beautiful reminders and ways to connect with ourselves and loved ones. Using Essential Oils such as doTERRA’s Balance on the soles on my feet has been one way to ground myself and move forward with strength. Taking walks outdoors in the woods is another way to help the energy flow surrounding grief.

6) Donate to a Local Charity in Their Honor

Marley was adopted from our local SPCA. Upon her passing, I had a strong urge to donate to the SPCA to help continue their mission at caring for the local pets and finding them good homes to live in. Not but a couple hours had passed when an email popped into my Inbox. My daughter’s school was collecting donations for the SPCA, which I consider quite the divine timing.
Consider donating to a local charity that has a special meaning to your loved one and yourself.

Thank you for honoring this space with me. I have experienced grief in the past, in a variety of different situations that I feel as flavors. Loosing a pet has proven to be unique to it’s own. And I continue to process this chapter, shift and transformation into a life without Marley apart of my day-to-day.

Grief can be experienced from a multitude of situations. It need not be a loved one who’s passed. It could be when choosing to end a relationship. Moving into a new place of employment or career. It could be saying goodbye to a previous version of yourself, as you transform and shift into a new chapter – in deed this seems to always be the case.

I would love to hear in the comments what has helped you process grief.

Much love,
Jess Neary