Far East Décorave

Does your home look a little plain with just that old ceiling lighting fixture?  I’ve found that lamps, lanterns, and various contemporary lighting fixtures are a great way to give a room a warm and unique appeal.  Here are a few ideas to consider for improving the lighting in your home. 

~Desk lamps, placed around your home, these can light up a room just as well as a ceiling fixture, and with different shades can be matched to your style.

~Chandeliers, these are not only for the dining room.  A chandelier is a great addition to a bedroom or even a main room; they’re fun to look at and soften the light. 

~Lanterns and sconces, lighting you attach to a wall can draw attention to a specific piece of art, sculpture, or location in your home.  Lanterns come in thousands of different styles ranging from contemporary to traditional.  A cast iron lantern can give a room a rustic feel, or a bamboo lantern can add a contemporary Asian feel.

The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama, a spiritual teacher from India, and regarded as the Supreme Buddha of our time.  Siddhartha Gautama lived sometime between 500 and 300 BC.  The actual dates of his birth and death are unknown.  The accounts of Gautama’s life and discourses, including his teachings of the Buddhist religion were passed down orally through his Monks and to future generations.  It was not until several hundred years after Gautama’s death that the teachings were recorded on scriptures. 

Gautama attained spiritual enlightenment through intensive meditation.  The story goes that he sat under the limbs of a pipal tree for 49 days, and at the end, attained enlightenment.  Thereafter he became known as the Awakened.  

Today the Buddhist religion is one of the largest in the world, and is dominant in many Asian countries and parts of India.  In addition, Buddhism has become part of mainstream culture with the Buddha statue made of ivory, jade, or resin common in most locations.

Few art pieces are as unique and unexpected as a Chinese cork sculpture. You might expect to see a painting, a photograph, or a sculpture displayed in someone’s home, but a cork sculpture may take you by surprise. Common in China, but not nearly so in the Western world, the sculptures are made from the bark of cork oak trees (just like the corks in your wine bottles).

This traditional Chinese art form showcases a scene made of cork, highlighted with a wood or bamboo frame, and encased in glass. The setting keeps the cork in great shape, and gives it a polished look that makes it the perfect touch to any decorating scheme.

Between school and work and caring for children and making dinner and paying bills it can be hard to find a moment to relax. It can be even harder to find a place to relax. But a miniature Zen rock garden can provide that much needed escape without a trip away from home or the office. Zen rock gardens are essentially sand pits containing gravel and rocks, and occasionally a plant or two. They are a place where people can escape the daily pressures of life and have a moment to meditate and be creative.

Zen gardens were developed in the late 13th century by Muso Soseki, a Zen priest and poet. They’re called karesansui in Japanese, which means “dry mountain water”; the term Zen garden was coined in the 1950s by an American woman who wrote a book about Japanese gardens. In Western culture they’ve become a symbol of clarity and a medium for stress-relief. Miniature Zen gardens have become extremely popular gifts, and can frequently be found in offices.

Tending to the little garden is thought to provide a moment of meditation, where you can quiet your mind and forget about the distractions of life. They also promote mental stimulation – what does the garden look like? Islands peeking out of the waves? Puffs of clouds? However you choose to cultivate your garden, the process of caring for it will give you a moment where you can take a breath and relax without distractions.