Outdoor Dining Made Easy

The first day of summer is June 21, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until then to start eating al fresco! Bring a tray of food and drinks out and sit on the chaise lounges in your San Diego backyard, or bring your dining room furniture from your Manhattan apartment onto the roof of your building for dinner under the stars!

Here are some more tips for making the most of your al fresco dining experience:

• Don’t stop at furniture. Bring pillows outdoors too, to make the space as comfortable as possible.

• Just because you’re outside doesn’t mean you can’t get fancy if you want to. Add an elegant touch with a crisp white tablecloth.

• Instead of cut flowers, pick up potted herbs (bonus: you can use them in your meals) or tough annuals (like impatiens or white geraniums). They will last all summer long.

• Save pretty wine or sparkling water bottles. Remove the labels (soak them in hater water for a half hour or so), fill with water and place on the table as an alternative to a pitcher.

• Be eco-friendly and use pretty dish towels in lieu of paper napkins. Bonus: if you’re eating messy summer staples like ribs, watermelon or corn on the cob you won’t have to sacrifice your nice cloth napkins.

Making the Most of Your Bed: Part One

Once you’ve picked your traditional bed, you still have a lot to consider, like choosing a mattress, bedcover and pillows. Read the first part of Zara Furniture’s bedding guide and stay tuned for parts two and three later this week.

Selecting a mattress - choose from these three main types:

• Innerspring construction: A good way to determine the amount of support in this mattress—the most common—is to see the number of steel coils it contains. The coils are topped with layers of padding. 350 coils are recommended for a full-size mattress, 480 for a queen and 580 for a king.

• Air-filled models: Composed of air chambers surrounded by foam, you can adjust the firmness to your liking. A top layer of high-density foam is smart.

• Foam mattresses: Choose from latex (composed of natural or synthetic rubber), polyurethane (density varies) and viscoelastic (think: memory foam). If you get hot during your sleep, choose open-cell construction to maximize breathability.

Caring for a mattress -make the most of your investment with these tips:

• Flip and rotate your mattress every few months to ensure even wear and vacuum as well.

• Air your mattress out for a few hours once a year.

Feng Shui Your Room For Better Rest

So you are thinking about rearranging your bedroom to make it more of a peaceful place. Have you ever thought about applying some feng shui tips to your room? Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. Its purpose is to reveal how to balance the energies of any given space to assure the health and good fortune for people inhabiting it. If you believe in it, it has some pretty cool ideas to make the energy of a room flow better. Let’s see how a little arranging of your bedroom furniture can make an impact on the feeling of your bedroom.

The first important thing to do is to position your bed correctly. The ideal placement of your bed allows you to see the bedroom door while laying in it. According to feng shui, being able to view the door, even while sleeping, allows you to feel more safe and at ease. The foot of the bed shouldn’t point at the door. According to feng shui, this is called the “coffin” position and puts your bed in the main flow of traffic, which is not relaxing. The head of the bed should be placed against a wall as opposed to under a window or away from the wall. If it is against a window it is thought that the chi of a room will be able to enter and leave the room quickly, causing unrestful sleep.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to have your bedroom act only as a place to sleep. Television, computers or exercise gear are believed to distract you from sleep and take up energy. If you have to have a TV in your bedroom, consider buying an entertainment center or armoir that matches the feel of your room. That way you can close the doors to the TV when not in use.

Following these few tips should help you have a more relaxing environment in your bedroom.