The world famous Golden Gate bridge

Welcome to the newest design blog on the internet block!

In these posts you will find a wealth of decorating ideas for the exterior of your home inspired by the houses, gardens and thrift shops in San Francisco. Some of the topics I plan to cover include:

• Exterior paint ideas
• Door and window treatments
• Weather vanes
• Gardens
• Fences and gates

Occasionally, I will also comment on fashion, mostly second-hand, thrift shop, shabby-chic styles that excite me without busting my bank. I also love telephone poles so expect to see some sprinkled throughout.

My name is Karen Franklin, I’m a writer and amateur photographer with a passion for design of all types and styles. My background is rooted in fine art, graphics and interior room arrangement. I have a certificate in the art of feng shui from the American Feng Shui Institute, and will bring some of that philosophy into my posts whenever applicable. For anyone unfamiliar with feng shui, it is an ancient Chinese system of harmonizing the world we live in. Feng Shui means wind and water, two powerful, components of the natural world that also includes fire, wood and metal. The goal of feng shui is to make your home or office, as comfortable, relaxing and stimulating as each environment is meant for you to be. For example, your bedroom should make you feel relaxed so that the pressures of the day are left outside the room allowing your thoughts to comfortably allow you to sleep which means, no computers in the bedroom! Ideally the bedroom functions for two purposes only: sleep and love-making. Anything that distracts from those two objectives theoretically ought to be eliminated from the bedroom. However, I am not a strict feng shui practitioner as I prefer to let my instincts be my guide.

I’m really excited about this blog and I hope you find my posts helpful, inspiring and interesting. Please feel free to comment on anything you see or read here. Thank you for checking out SF Design Ideas.

Your Design Detective,

Karen