6 Ways to Create a Holistic Home That is Totally Worth Trying

What lesson is life trying to teach me, you ask? Your life is always speaking to you. As Oprah says your life speaks to you at first in whispers, then it's like getting a brick upside the head. 

What are the whispers in your life? Listen to your intuition and yes listen to those whispers. 

Is it necessary to have crystals, Foo Dogs, and Red Front Doors as Feng Shui teaches us? Red is a lucky color in Feng Shui but what happens if you don't like Red? Does that mean if you don't use Red, you are going to have bad luck? For example, you are trying to create this Holistic Home that makes you happy whenever you are there and you study Feng Shui and you discover that you should have a red front door because this will bring you great luck. Well if you don't like red you are going to feel unhappy when you walk through the door and there goes all that good luck energy you are trying to create. When you walk into your front door you are going to get quite the opposite, negative energy because you don't like red and red makes you feel miserable.

What is a Holistic Home? And how would you create a Holistic Home? A Holistic Home is how you can live a healthy, balanced beautiful life by addressing your mind, body, and spirit in your home and yourself, as Laura Benko discusses in her Book, The Holistic Home.  Your home is the connection of your space and yourself and how you dwell. One might say you need to decorate with intention. Laura Benko says, "The physical aspects such as furniture positioning, design elements, green living, wellness, and organization pertain to the body. The spirit covers the invisible energies, the Feng Shui, the atmosphere, your karmic lessons, and the soul of your home."

As I always say--- this goes without saying these approaches (I write about) can be used for your home or your vacation home. Your Holistic Home will not have a particular look that says, "hey look at me I am a Holistic Home" - it will rather be created and morphed organically. If we are thinking about your Vacation Home and creating a Holistic Home this would be a place that feels right, the energy is good, and the aesthetics all work together harmoniously.  In your very own residence, this would mean where you not only create great energy and flow but where you feel inspired, where you create memories, where you feel happy and balanced and where your home reflects your life goals and your health goals. 

6 Ways to Create a Holistic Home That is Totally Worth Trying - Your own Residence

1. Create a  Sunday Basket - Click on this link for a great way to get your paper organized and listen to this Podcast about the Sunday Basket. 

Great Sunday Baskets to purchase.

2. Welcome Change in your life and your home - rearrange that furniture, change the decor every season, mediate, journal, do and live with passion.

3. De-cluttering

4. Add nature into your home

Brit+Co

5. Position your Furniture - never have your back to the door. Create conversation areas with your furniture placement. 

6. Your home needs Soul - your home should be cozy, clean, and should always looked lived in. The perfect Instagram photo of a home is just that - it's not reality. Live and breath in your home. 

6 Ways to Create a Holistic Vacation Home That is Totally Worth Trying 

1. Clean and Simple

DesignLoveFest

2. Create an unbelievable entry into your home

Entry that is inviting, clean, and dramatic. 

3. Bookshelves filled with Mind, Body, and Spirit Books

Mad & Bolig

4. Add nature into your home

Apartment Therapy

5. Position your Furniture - do not place any furniture so your guests back are to the door. For Example, in the bedrooms, the beds should face the entry of the door. Create conversation areas and create great places to take naps. Encouraging napping on vacation is a must. 

6. Tell your guests about your home (the backstory and all the love that went into creating it) and ask them to share a memory with you about their stay in a book

Etsy

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on what I should write next? Follow me on Instagram @dinamariejoy

Get the Look of Shay Mitchell's Home

Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell hired Mat Sanders and Brandon Quattrone to reinvent her personal space. “I love interior design, and this is really about building that mature home that is the springboard for the next part of my career,” Mitchell says.

Today we here at DinaMarieJoy.co pulled together some sources for you to get the same look of Shay Mitchell's Chic Home Decor for far less. 

Family Room

Entry

Now for the fun...

I have put together a list of Furniture Pieces for you that match her look for far less.  Of course I did not find exact pieces but I sure came close to the above looks. Have fun and if you need help or have questions, please just get in touch with me!!!

Sofa Option

Sectional Option

Coffee Table Option

Side Chair Option

Side Chair Option

Side Chair Option

Brown Leather Pouf Option

Black Console Table Desk Option

Black Console Table Desk Option

Black Table Desk Option - looks like Shay Mitchell's Stair Case

Art Work Option

Art Work Option

Art Work Option

Entry Desk Chair Option

Entry Desk Chair Option

Sources Here: //1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10//11//12//13//14//15//16

Have fun decorating your Vacation Home or give me a call to help you. I will travel to you. 

Embrace Your Design Style,

New Home Decor Line at Target Perfect for your Vacation Home

Target just launched a new Home Decor Line called Project 62.  According to Target - "Your home’s poised for an upgrade, too! If you’re looking for chic options and more ways to bring your style to life across your home, you won’t want to miss Project 62—a modern home brand thoughtfully designed for everyday life. Watch for it to hit Target stores and Target.com in September 2017."

I am excited to see this new line and I can't wait to use it with my clients in their Modern Vacation Homes!!! 

Via: Target

And there you have it...Can't wait. If you need help designing your space or your Vacation Home, feel free to reach out to me. I do travel all over the world. 

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Living Room Design for a Zodiac Sign Cancer

Well Hello,

July is finally here and I couldn't be more excited to be designing for the Summer. Today I thought I would share with you how to design for a Zodiac Sign Cancer. When designing for a Cancer Zodiac sign it is important to remember they love water and they enjoy staying home. Keeping that in mind it is important to design your Cancer Home or Vacation Home with items that tell a story, family heirlooms, personal pictures while making the home feel warm, cozy, and inviting.  Cancer's thrive in blues, whites, and sea greens. 

When designing a Vacation Home it would be a lot of fun to incorporate the Zodiac Signs in your spaces and leave notes stating, for example, this Living Room was designed for the Cancer Zodiac Sign Person. 

I have pulled together a Living Room Design for a Zodiac Sign, Cancer below...I used water in the Art Work, and I brought in wood elements making the room feel cozy and warm. I, of course, used blues, grays, whites, and greens. I pulled this room together with All Modern one of my favorite sources for my clients. 

Art Work - Water

Sofa - I used Zula Navy

Accent Chairs - I used two of these!

Live Edge Coffee Table bring in the Cozy and Warmth!

Succulents - You can never have two many of these. A trick I always use is Faux plants with real plants and nobody can tell the faux plants are not real. 

Mermaid Pillow for the Sofa! Bringing in another element of Water. 

Area Rug

Twist Wood for an End Table or Plant Stand

Black Floor Lamps because a room is never complete without a little black in it. 

Here are the Links to purchase these beauties...

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/

I would use a Bright White on the Wall - My favorite Whites are Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. 

If you have any questions or need help designing your space or your Vacation Home, please feel free to contact me via email.  

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What to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Paint Color for your Personal Home or Your Vacation Home

What to Ask Yourself when Choosing a Paint Color for your Personal Home or Your Vacation Home…

Cohesive Flow

Source: Young House Love

You can begin by selecting your ideal hue for the largest and most centrally located space and then coordinate additional colors from there. Using the same transitional color can create a cohesive flow throughout the rooms. This can be achieved by selecting the same color for the connecting spaces like hallways and entries. If you can see into connecting space select a color that complements the color of the room. Selecting paint colors should create a cohesive flow so that your home does not feel disjointed.

Do Something Different with your Ceilings

Source: Apartment Therapy

Ceilings don’t ever need to be white. In fact, it is distracting if ceilings are white if there is no other white in the room. If you would like to add a splash of color on the ceiling, select a color that can be found in the room’s accessories.

If you have a colored wall and you paint the ceiling a bright white, your eye will be drawn to the strong contrast between the two. You become very aware of where the walls end and the ceiling begins, thus the perceived ceiling height drops.

And do be afraid to add some interest to some rooms like using a wallpaper on the ceiling to add a dramatic detail of interest.  

What to do with your Trim

Source: Pinterest

If you want to deemphasize the trim within the space, paint it the same color as the wall color so that it disappears. To highlight your trim, paint it in a contrasting color to the wall, either lighter or darker.

Choosing the Finish

Source: Studio McGee

When choosing a finish, pay attention to the function of the space. Use a satin or semi-gloss sheens in an area with high traffic, such as on a kitchen cabinet or bathroom cabinets, kitchens, bathrooms, and playrooms. You may also want to consider a paint that has a mold and mildew-resistant finish for the bathrooms. If you are using a flat finish on the walls because you don’t like that sheen, be sure to use a semi-gloss on your mouldings.

Always consider natural light when picking your paint colors, test your paint colors on the walls first, and you should not pick your paint colors until the very last thing you do in your design/decor process. If you need help don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Source: Sherwin-Williams

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How to get started owning your own Vacation Home with your 401K

Happy April to you! 

First, I have set up a challenge for myself and I hope I can do it.  I might need some cheering on as I know, this is going to be hard. I have committed to writing a Blog Post every day for the entire month of April. OMG, that is 30 Blog Post's when sometimes I am lucky to do one a week. Wish me luck! I will need it. 

Today, I am going to introduce you to How to Get Started Owning your Own Vacation Home. What? Well, about two years ago my husband and I decided to buy a home and flip it.  That is where the story began but that is not where it ended.

It all started with us attending a Real Estate Workshop in our hometown about, "How to Flip Homes." Let's just say, we were crazy because we purchased the dream.  This is why I decided to write this story so that you don't have to invest in thousands of dollars like we did.  Yes, I said thousands.  I won't even tell you how much but it is way over 10K.  So hard to even tell you that. So follow along and learn from us! We will teach you how to buy a vacation home now!

Here is the priceless part of what we purchased, though.  We learned that we could use our Retirement Savings to purchase homes. What? Yes, we had a retirement which was a 401K. We learned that we could convert our 401K into a Self Directed IRA and use it to invest in Real Estate. Bingo! 

Here is the "Skinny" on this! You can't use the home for your own use! Got it. So we would use the money to buy a home, fix it up, and then flip it. Let's try to make at least 20K per flip, we thought. That was the plan and we did our homework and we did it. 

We bought a foreclosure, (finally after being bid out several times) hired a contractor, did the rehab, and then put it on the market to sell. All of this took about one year for us. From looking for the perfect home to going through the bidding process, to the closing process, to hiring a contractor, and then rehabbing the home and making it ready to sell. Wow! That was a learning process. So, the house hit the market and guess what, it was on the market for 90 days and no offers. Well, that was not the plan, right? So we decided to rent the house out maybe for a year and then we will put the house back on the market. 

We did indeed rent the house out very quickly and our renter stayed in the home for about one year. Now, we said we were going to put it back on the market to sell but me being an Interior Designer and being hired to do so many vacation homes, I convinced my husband to turn our "Fixer Upper" into a Vacation Home. That is where you come in!

Let's back up! We bought a Vacation Home with our Retirement. We did not spend any of our work current salaries, we used our retirement. So if you have been thinking about owning a Vacation Home but you don't know how you would be able to do it and you don't want to pay a mortgage, you can use your Retirement and why not? Your real estate investment will keep going up in value and you will be putting all the money (from your guest's) back into the home and your retirement. 

Another cool thing about using your retirement is, you don't have to use all your retirement to do this unless that is all you have. You can still invest in the stock market and own a vacation home too! I currently have a very small amount in a SEP IRA and my plan is to build that account up and then convert it so I can purchase another Vacation Home with it.  I love the Stock Market too - that is an entirely different Blog Post that I can write about if you are interested. I am not a Stock Market Expert but I love figuring it out and picking my stocks.  I have my own strategy that works for me.  

Here is my advice to you about purchasing a Vacation Home...

1. Research the Area and make sure there are other Vacation Homes too (you need to make sure there is a market for people traveling and looking for homes to stay in versus hotels)
2. Buy low
3. Don't overdue on the Rehab
4. Hire a good Contractor and Interior Designer (I am available to you as your Interior Designer - I do travel or I can do it remotely)
5. Find a good Handyman, Gardner, and House Keeper

That's it for today! I will chat with you tomorrow about Rehabbing your Vacation Home - Hiring your Contractor and Interior Designer and yes you need both!

Embrace your Design Style,

How one Airbnb Owner is flipping fresno into a vacation opportunity

THE SIERRA LODGE

Who would have thought that having an Airbnb right here in Fresno would be a thing? Well, guess what, it is.  If you are from Fresno or you have lived here for a little while, you have probably discovered that Fresno doesn't have any upscale Hotels. And where does a family stay that is larger than four people? The answer is Airbnb.

I have been asked to design several Airbnb homes now; mostly in the Bay Area and due to the demand, my husband and I decided to turn our Fixer Upper into an Airbnb. As your resident Interior Designer, I am going to share with you in the next few months all that went into this Airbnb. It was a total labor of love and we could not be happier with the results. When we first bought the home we thought we would fix it up and sell it, then we decided to rent it out for a year, and then we made the full commitment to turn it into an Airbnb. This was no easy task but now it is available on Airbnb and VRBO. In fact if you are reading this and you have family coming to Fresno and maybe you don't want them to stay at your home or maybe you don't have room for them, just go to my website www.dinamariejoy.co and click on the link to look at our Fresno Airbnb or you can search it on Airbnb or VRBO in Fresno with the name of The Sierra Lodge.  

So stay tuned until next month, when I reveal more pictures and share with you the process. 

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at dinamariejoy@gmail.com. And for more design inspiration visit my website at www.dinamariejoy.co. 

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A Beautiful Trendy Room for your Vacation Home

Guest's Demand Attention to Trends...

As your resident Vacation Home Interior Design Expert, I want to share with you a great way to keep your guest's happy and sharing your Vacation Home with the World. Keep it simple but keep up with the trends. This Vacation Home on Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway screams sexy, sophisticated, and instantly famous on Instagram.  That is what you want! 

The style is what I would call Vacation Modern Mod Glam and it can be yours too.  I wanted to incorporate Gold, Gray, and Acrylic and I think this room screams SEXY! What do you think?

I have included all the links to these items at the end of this post.  You could also have them in your Vacation Home too.  

disclaimer - this post does contain affiliate links

images from ModShop

Acrylic Bed
Bench
Dresser
Side Table
Desk
Chair

Embrace Your Brand Style,