Enhancing Front Door

Renee Lindstrom & Guest ‘Dyan Grant Francis’

• Observations Written by Renee Lindstrom,
• Personal Perspectives by Renee Lindstrom &  Dyan Grant Francis individually

*Make sure you read comments under postings as Dyan and Renee have a conversation

Observations

This lot is located behind an existing house with a long driveway along the side of the front property.  The front door is not visible as you come down the driveway. Your eyes are met with a garage door and cement pad that extends beyond the entrance  into the garage.  There is a bay window to the living room.

Personal Perspectives by Renee Lindstrom

This is a property that I helped transform to increase appeal, balance, health and wellness.   I chose this front door example as it is  common design of our western homes that emphasis garage doors.  In this home the front door is not visible and one is left to assume its location with hints from the front bay window!  The timing of this home consult was during a seasonal transition of spring and summer .  A consultation starts with listening to what the occupants are longing for in their lifestyle and personal experience. In this circumstance the longing was for grounding, clarity, healing and connection.

The entrance to this home was not evident so one is left to hunt for it. Seeing a bay window one is drawn in that direction.  Coming around the garage one was visually met with a dark and recessed doorway.  In this case winter was still evident with old dried plants and an array of items one would recognize as chores not completed.  Due to the need for immediacy in this particular case we used items on hand for instant transformation in the moment.  The intention of the changes we made to the front entrance were for drawing attention to it and creating a warm welcoming and settled experience.

The steps to achieving this:

1. Clearing front entrance – all unnecessary items from cement pad, front yard and in recessed front entrance removed
2. Creating a visual break on the cement pad – using blocks of wood of different heights found around edges of yard to create a visual break and adding a welcome ornament found in darkened doorway – Read more on the importance of a walkway
3. Adding homey feeling and color – bringing beautiful wooden lawn chairs to entrance, adding cushions and a colorful flowering plant to create an inviting entrance
4. Adding a decor – adding an outdoor wall sun to add interest to the front entrance

Remember this was an immediate case where we used whatever was available to create a new experience.  We found these items chaotically around the landscape and began placing them to make ordered sense.  Thus changing the sensual experience from confusion, distraction and rushed to  settled, inviting and warm.

This entrance is overpowered by the garage entrance.  The garage is a dominate yang and the front door entrance is yin.  Ideally the front door would have a greater presence than the garage door!  The elements of wood and fire are represented in the changes to enhance these occupants experience.

House number 

The house number of this property is 526 which in Numerology equals a 4.   Read more on the meaning of house numbers.

Renee Lindstrom

Personal Perspectives by Dyan Grant Francis

Renee did a good job creatively addressing the home owners concerns about the energies in their home.  Enhancing the front door is always a good idea especially to give it more presence and feel more welcoming.

The front door is referred to as ‘The Mouth of Chi’ and is an important threshold in the home for creating clarity and the movement into and out of the home.  As a threshold, it is important to keep it clear of clutter and ensure an easy passageway between the two areas of life: inside and outside.  Ensure that the door opens and closes easily and that the hallway is free of blocking furniture.  It is important to call the chi towards the door, particularly if it is recessed, hidden or dark.  A checklist of the five elements can be used in choosing the most auspicious addition or alteration.  A silk plant, a brass letterbox or an elemental change in door colour among many options that could be used to enhance an entrance.

This is a garage-dominated house making it difficult for people and pets to settle down and often results in activities of ‘coming and going’.  Perhaps the residents will feel like they spend too much time in the car driving kids to school or hockey practice.  It was a common style used in the suburbs when people had a long commute into the city for work or school, in an era when the car was often the most important element in the home/family.  Fortunately, this architectural style is no longer as prevalent.  Satellite communities have reduced the commute for many.

A potential issue is the location of the front door, garage door and living room window with the creation of a missing corner in the shape of a building.  The preferred shape when using this perspective to analyze a house, is either square or rectangular.  To apply the Ba-gua map, this corner will need to be completed.  Often builders attempt to do this with a concrete pad but the addition of a tree, a large concrete planter or meaningful statue at the missing corner would help to bring a feeling of wholeness.  I’m not sure if this is the case in this particular house, but missing corners could often be seen in many  mid-20th century build

Dyan Grant Francis

Do you have an interesting local #yyj landscape feature you would like us to interpret?

If you have a landscape that you would like us to look at we will choose one to study and share back our comments on our Inside Awareness. Please send us your interesting #yyj photos by Wednesday each week to be included in the next weeks draw!  Look forward to our weekly editorial starting June 15th!   Email pictures to renee@insideawareness.com

Make sure to send photo’s that can be made public and we have permission to post them.

_______________________________________________________

If you are longing for a personal consultation please inquire privately:
renee@insideawareness.com.  Renee Lindstrom offers:

Indoor & Outdoor Landscape Life & Wellness Consulting & Coaching which enhances relationships, emotions and flexible movement awareness!

.

More on:

• Language of Nature