Shifting Spaces, Part I
Ever get to your hotel room and wish you could move stuff around to give the space better flow, or free up a spectacular view? Well, that is what I did many years back when I spent about 3 weeks in Germany for work. I stayed in a studio apartment that overlooked a beautiful fruit orchard, complete with horses! This beautiful RED couch was on one wall, facing the bed and crammed up against a little dining table, and a bookshelf was above the couch. Understanding the principles of flow in a space, I appreciated why they put the couch there, however, I just felt like it needed to be right there, in front of that big beautiful window! All I could think about was.that.view! I flung open the door to the balcony, moved the coffee table and couch to face out into nature. It had to be done. To me, it felt like the sun was just a bit brighter and warmer there, I napped there, was in nature, and best of all, I could see the horses and take in the sweet smells of the orchards. I was one with nature; no language barrier, just me, those horses, the sun and the pear trees. So, for the duration of my stay, I spent as much time as I could on that little red couch, before and after work, taking in this beautiful view and walking to the local orchards nearby.
On a recent trip to Sedona, we rented an Air BnB. It was the cutest thing from the outside, we ‘awh-ed’ as we drove up under the carport. It had some pretty awesome history as it was the original post office of Sedona, so I was totally jazzed to see the inside space. What.a.let.down! There was no telling history of this space on the inside. The furniture was too large for the space, the art and photos did not depict any feeling of Sedona’s beautiful surroundings, or the original post office. I wasn’t expecting it to be decked out in old mailbox cubbies or old timey photos of Sedona (although that would have been AWESOME), but at least a hint, wink or nod to what this used to be.
In Feng Shui we’d call this TAO, or ‘connection’. Of which this was terribly lacking. No connection to Sedona, no connection to the olden days of it being a post office. It was as if they went to an estate sale and bought really nice art of all types & genres, and just hung it up on the walls, all ‘willy-nilly’. Such a bummer! There wasn’t anything that we could do to move things around to be more cohesive, ‘cause you know I would have! I even put a blanket over a humongous mirror that faced my bed because I kept tripping over it’s corner edges! While I’m not saying you need to move anything around in your next hotel room or Air BnB, or that there is even space to do so…..just pay attention to how the spaces you use make you feel. Your environment truly does have an impact on you, all day, every day. Your environment matters to your health and wellbeing, therefore do what you can to make these spaces work for you. Lean into it and try shifting some of your things around to create new flow patterns in your rooms, put out your art that tells the story of your life & family, and add what connects you to life; plants, your favorite family photos or a tchotchke from your last trip. Then step back and Smile. Take in what you’ve created! It’ll be Great!
