How To Make The Most Of Your Teeny-Tiny Home

featured this month on Nylon by Jenna Igneri

All of us could probably stand to have a bit more space when it comes to our home—we, New Yorkers, know that to be a fact. (Really, though, what’s a girl gotta do for a walk-in closet around here?)

However, just because our living space is tiny doesn’t make it any less awesome. Home is where the heart is, after all, even if our living room is nonexistent and our bathtub is in our kitchen. Moving into a shoebox-sized studio may seem discouraging at first, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t have the potential to look and feel as spacious as your dream loft. We chatted with experts in the world of interior design to get their insider tips and hacks for making the most of a small space.

Read on for ways to make your space look larger (even if it is just an optical illusion), utilize your walls space, and help keep your spirits high, even if your square footage is low. 

Your choice in paint can make a huge difference

Whether you choose a darker color or not, painting your walls and your ceiling the same color can also trick your eye into thinking a room is bigger. Anjie Cho, architect, certified feng shui consultant, and author of 108 Ways To Create Holistic Spaces: Feng Shui and Green Design for Healing and Organic Homes, suggests going for an all-over color, as the monotone look creates a continuous surface, thus making the room look more expansive.

...read full article

New Beginnings with the Vernal Equinox

It may not seem like it, with our recent blizzards, snowstorms and cold temperatures, but it is finally spring! As of March 20, we have experienced the Vernal Equinox and are moving toward warmer weather and new beginnings. 

In fact, though we often associate the change of seasons with temperature, the equinoxes and solstices are actually all about sunlight! On the Vernal Equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator heading north, and all around the world, regardless of time zone, the day and night are roughly the same length. Once the equinox (which is Latin for "equal nights") passes, the Northern hemisphere can finally look forward to longer days of sunlight and yang energy. In ancient times, these changes in the sun's position were the only way of determining the new seasons and calendar days! 

Practically, and in feng shui terms, the arrival of spring is symbolic of the new beginnings of life and growth throughout. Worms begin tunnel their way out of the earth, trees and plants show foliage once more, and the extra sunlight even makes birds sing more! With such positive energy, spring is a wonderful season for starting anew in any aspect of life. Renew your space with a good spring cleaning and/or space clearing, clean out your closet to make way for beautiful new pieces you love, or just move nine things around in your space to stir up new energy. Now is also a great time to add new plant life to your home, open your windows to fresh air and sunlight and consider bringing additional wood element pieces into your space. If you're starting a particular project or hoping to make changes, you may even want to add a new beginnings mandala to your space! 

Whatever steps you may take to welcome the spring season, be sure to express gratitude for the chance to start anew and offer thanks to your space for providing shelter and warmth throughout the colder months!

by Anjie Cho