On the first day of Spring in 2012, the annual visiting influences move around the Lo Shu square in Classical Feng Shui. Set your watch for 4th February 2012, and read the links below to find out more about the subtle changes that occur.  Learn about the construction stars with the annual afflictions and which sectors to avoid, as well as what the yearly influence with the Flying Stars in each sector will be.

Annual Flying Stars 2012
Find out the visiting influences of the Flying Stars as they move around the Lo Shu square.

Annual Afflictions 2012
Each year there are four unfavourable construction stars that move around the property and plot. Look at each of the four afflictions below, and find out which areas to keep quiet and undisturbed for the year.

• Grand Duke of Jupiter 2012
• The Year Breaker 2012
• The Three Killings 2012
• The Five Yellow Star 2012

2012 Report
For a more in-depth guide to your home and the 2012 influences, order the online annual Flying Stars analysis.

Now available, online Feng Shui surveys – click here to order

For an online 8 Mansions report click here

View our collection of Ebooks here

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Eco home design expert Nicola Jones wrote for Irish green living blog www.greenme.ie between 2008 and 2010, read her contributions here covering every aspect of sustainable living;

www.greenme.ie/greenblog/author/nicola

Interior Air Pollution

Christmas Paper Waste

Green Bathroom Tips

Home Insulation Benefits

Dangers of Formaldehyde in Kitchens

Recycling Confusion – Missing the Point

Using Less Energy at Home

Handy Eco Tips

Create a Healthy Nursery

Why we should Love our Homes

LED Lights for Christmas

Eco Look at Tiles

Reusing Carpet Samples

Greening your Home on a Budget

Eco Wallpaper Alternatives

Perils of Electric Gadgets

Natural Wall Coverings

Designing to Reuse

Toxic Wall Coverings

How Sustainable is Paint

Reduce Space to Save Resources

Your Health and Using Interior Paint

The Benefits of Using Less Waste

Perils of Synthetic Paint

Saving Energy in Winter

Greening your Home – Avoid being the Eco Elite

Give your Home Office a Green Makeover

Dangers of Incense on your Health

Home Computers and Eco Living

Reducing Energy Use in the Home Office

Plastic is a Synthetic Nightmare

Mass Produced Flooring Worries

What to Think About with Eco Homes

The Benefits of Buying Locally

Guide to Energy Efficient Bathrooms

Eco Showers

Reducing Energy with Flat Packed Furniture

Eco Baths

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Review

Eco Bathroom Taps

Natural Daylight is Best

Sinks and Basins in the Bathroom

Air Quality in the Home

Greening your WC

Health Dangers of your Shower Curtain

Bathrooms and Sanitary Ware

Green Product Gimmicks

CFL Lightbulbs

Feel free to contact eco home design expert Nicola Jones

View her sustainable interior design services here

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This article looks at simple steps to take in your bathroom that are eco friendly conscious.

Title: Back to Basics – Green Bathrooms

Date: 15^th February 2008

Publication: Evening Herald Newspaper

Content: 10 tips for your home focusing on bathrooms, the environment and interior design.  What the main points area for saving water, reducing waste and eco friendly decorating.

View: Greening your Bathroom

Extract:

1. Reuse, repair, reclaim: a truly eco bathroom is to renovate, repair and refurbish your existing bathroom, don’t automatically go for a remodel.  Reusing the bath, toilet and basin helps reduce the amount of waste thrown into landfill sites.  If you have to remodel contact salvage yards and local second hand facilities to make good use of vintage items like baths. Alternatively opt for factory seconds or discontinued ranges of sanitary ware.  Help reduce the demand for newly manufactured products and cut down on the waste you create.

2. Avoid plastics: petroleum is a non renewable resource and not eco friendly.  Good points – light weight material and hygienic.  Bad points – the chemical manufacturing process is highly toxic, uses a large amount of energy & non renewable resources, the finished products are non-biodegradable, cannot be recycled easily and release toxic emissions known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the air in your bathroom which are hazardous to health.

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Eco Home Interiors

In this edition of House and Home Magazine, Ireland, design expert Nicola Jones provides her resources for sustainable and eco friendly interior furniture and fittings across Ireland.

Title: Little Black Book

Date: Summer 2009

Publication: House & Home Magazine

Content: Current recommendations for eco home interior shopping in Ireland

View: My Eco Home Recommendations – Page 1

Extract: “Being truly eco conscious it is not just buying eco products, especially in Ireland.  Importing& shipping use a huge amount of non renewable resources in transportation alone, that really is just the tip of the iceberg.  Knowing where a product comes from helps you begin to evaluate its green potential.  It’s difficult as some things just aren’t manufactured in Ireland yet.  You can help reduce your ecological footprint by buying locally produced products and materials as much as possible. Even better is to reduce waste; limiting the amount you create and reusing old to refurbish as new for your home.”

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Holistic Feng Shui Home

In this issue of the magazine, professional Feng Shui consultant Nicola Jones provides an insight into the 8 sectors of a property.

Title: Holistic Health Magazine

Date: 1st April 2009

Publication: Holistic Health Magazine, Ireland

Content: A Feng Shui article looking at Chinese Trigrams and the shape of your property. This brief insight focused on one of the missing Trigrams, in particular the Mother Trigram and how Feng Shui techniques can be used to help strengthen this area in the building.

View: Holistic Homes and Feng Shui

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Environmental Feature

In this edition of Construct Ireland, designer Nicola Jones provided her reasoning for the importance of sustainable design in both residential and commercial projects. Whilst in Ireland, Nicola was the first interior designer accepted into EASCA (Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association of Ireland).

Title: Inner Sanctum

Date: November/December 2009

Publication: Construct Ireland – Issue 10, Vol 4

Content: Having recently been accepted into EASCA, the Environmental and Sustainable Association of Ireland, I was interviewed by Jeff from Construct Ireland. Read my thoughts on sustainable homes, Classical Feng Shui and our responsibility to protect the planet.

View: Construct Ireland Magazine – The Interview

Extract: What to your mind, does green interior design encompass?  “The green approach is simply ‘responsible design’; having a responsibility to sustain life and land with every design decision made. ‘Green’ is an umbrella term for a myriad of elements considered as part of the design process, whether lifecycle analysis, reducing landfill, buying local, downsizing, salvage, re-purposing, heirloom design, anti-allergy, reducing VOCS or daylighting for productivity. These are to name a mere few. Green interior design pulls away from changing trends and synthetic culture, returning to a more traditional, local and natural way of living. “

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In this edition of the Irish Magazine Decorate & Improve Your Home, expert Nicola looks at interior design from different viewpoints, how these 3 factors can have an influence on your quality of life and living experience.

Title: Make a Change for the Better

Date: September 2010

Publication: Decorate & Improve Your Home – Issue 6

This article takes an in-depth look at home interiors from three holistic perspectives;

- The home and health
- The home and energy (Feng Shui principles)
- The home and the environment

Cover – Page 1

Home Health – Page 2

Feng Shui Homes – Page 3

Eco Friendly Homes – Page 4

Extract: The general structure and layout of our properties can naturally influence the way we live, sometimes negatively impacting on our health, wellbeing and the environment around us. Property modification is a way you can redress the balance between these elements. However, to ensure you achieve the best results, it’s important you consider ‘all’ associated elements as part of the project, rather than modifying individual components, which may only produce short term results. Healthy home checklist;

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In this edition of the Sunday Newspaper Magazine, designer Nicola Jones discusses how to create a more eco savvy interior by making changes to the way you shop, and what you buy.

Title: Healthy Homes

Date: April 2008

Publication: The Earth Supplement Magazine,Irish Independent Newspaper

Content: Top 10 eco home tips for being environmentally savvy

View: Your how to guide for creating a home that cares for your health

Extract: “1. Reduce your buying habits – Opt out of consumerism, buying for trend and  fashion. Only buy new materials and products when necessary. Repair, renovate and refurbish what you already have.”

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Earth Magazine featured interior designer Nicola Jones and her expert advice on how to create a home that cares for more than fashion and money.  Environmentally friendly choices and the importance of resource reduction, taking control of your impact on the earth.

Title: Get Green and Go Eco

Date: April 2008

Publication: The Earth Supplement Magazine, Irish Independent Newspaper

Content: Changes you can make to the home that care for health, wellbeing and the environment

View: Environmentally friendly lifestyles

Extract: “Eco Interior Design: Being truly eco conscious it is not just buying eco products, especially in Ireland. Importing and shipping use a huge amount of non-renewable resources in transportation alone, that really is just the tip of the iceberg. Knowing where a product comes from helps you begin to evaluate its green potential. It’s difficult as some things just aren’t manufactured in Ireland yet. You can help reduce your ecological footprint by buying locally  produced products and materials as much as possible. Even better is to reduce waste by limiting the amount you create and reusing old to refurbish as new for your home.”

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In this article, designer Nicola Jones talks about how to go green at Christmas, looking to the past for ideas to craft and hand make your way through decorations and finishing touches.  Christmas need not be a plastic fuelled event, with chemically processed decorations that do more damage than good.  Find out festive ideas that won’t break the bank nor heighten the demand for mass produced items.

Title: Back to the Future

Date: Winter 2008

Publication: Improve Don’t Move Magazine

Content: Christmas interiors and being mindful of waste and commercialism.

View: How to be Eco at Christmas

Extract: “This time of year is a worrying combination of synthetic materials and vast energy use.  For a Christmas style that is not artificial, bring a traditional touch to the home.  For the environment this means less demand on non renewable resources like fossil fuels, less demand on the new manufacture of products (say no to consumerism) and when Christmas has past, less demand on landfill.   Adapt your Christmas season to save energy costs, to return to nature, to maintain air quality levels and to reduce damage to the environment.   Christmas should be less about material things and more about spending time with family and friends in an ethical and environmentally responsible way.   Isn’t that a gift in itself?”

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