I was perusing a favorite site last night and saw a posting on “Ode to an Autumn Urn”. I was reminded that Feng Shui By Fishgirl also loves the idea of using urns for unexpected wimsy. On the farm in Maine, we have two heavy black iron antique urns filled with two vintage barn top wind catchers. The windcatchers are usually placed on a barn’s roof in a cupula where they catch wind and direct it downward into the barn for good air circulation. They spin quite rapidly here when the wind is gusty on our island and they emit a pleasant humming sound when they’re spinning. Great feng shui because of the equal balance to either side of our entry walkway, movement of chi (energy), the beautiful visual, and the pleasing sound.
Tag Archives: Deer Isle
URN YOUR GOOD CHI
BACK TO THE LAND: DEER ISLE HOSTEL
Dennis Carter and his lovely companion Anneli Sundqvist have created a remarkable space. Reminiscent of a Shakespearean village building, the DIH building—handbuilt by master carpenter Dennis over a period of 3 years—is as charming a shelter as any you’ll find on the island. Exposed beams, wood floors…although it was 85 degrees the day we visited, the inside of the hostel was cooled naturally by the design of the building and its exposure to the sun.
While the outdoor composting john is rustic, it is also state-of-the-art and odor-free. The outdoor shower is a delightfully ingenious invention ( one preheats a watering can on the woodstove or in the sun, then hooks it up overhead).
The hostel is adjacent to the Edgar Tennis Preserve nature trail which is one of the most beautiful walks on the island.
Filed under Architecture, Design, Feng Shui, Fun, Travel
APPLYING A BAGUA TO A SKYLINE
Can you analyze the feng shui feel of a town by looking at its skyline? I took a look at our town and this is what I saw. Stonington, Maineis a shore front town at the very bottom tip of Deer Isle, and island in the downeast section of Maine’s mid coast region.
Applying the bagua map to the photo shown here, you’ll see that the Opera House building anchors the Wealth sector. While the Opera House Arts is a beacon of creativity and artistic endeavors, it also relies on the donations of benefactors to keep it alive. The building is painted a deep teal green color—excellent for attracting money to the Wealth area.
Now move to the center of the photo just beyond the lush trees. This would be the Fame & Reputation sector on the bagua map. What do you see here? A structure with 3 pointed roof lines that seem to form triangles and a 4th triangle at the top and a 5th below it from another building. Triangles are associated with the Fame & Reputation sector. This is very auspicious for the town as more publicity about Stonington brings more visitors here to our local businesses.
The yellow building marks the beginning of the Love & Relationship sector. Here we’ve got two similar mansard roof buildings side by side as if a pair or a couple of lovers. Note the red roof. Red activates Love & Relationship (and so does the color white).
Stonington is fronted by a large harbor (even better than a water fountain, LoL!) that sustains the island’s fishermen and their families. On the bagua it covers the Wisdom & Knowledge, Career, and Travel & Helpful People sectors. Water naturally enhances Career. And, the town does rely on travelers.
Methinks all this adds up to good feng shui for Stonington. We welcome visitors so what are you waiting for?
Filed under Travel
SEXY AIRSTREAM VINTAGE TRAILERS
Vintage Airstream trailers have incredible design appeal. Even though they were first introduced in the late 1920’s, they still have a cutting edge gleam and a certain sexiness to them. The one shown is a 1974 model that resides in our apple orchard on Deer Isle, Maine. There are two others on the property and they attract a lot of attention. I’ll be blogging more about them as we renovate and update the interiors with feng shui in mind.
FYI: They are available as rental cabins (5 hrs north of Boston, 10 hrs north of NYC) and the island is a perfect setting for an artist’s getaway or writer’s retreat. Contact me!