Feng Shui & Interior Hammocks

I just got this great book from the library—Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer—but even a great book can’t keep me awake in a hammock. (Note the fragrant Angel’s Trumpet blooming outside.)

We usually think of hammocks as outdoor furniture, but I’ve often recommended that clients put a hammock in a large unused room. Unused rooms are too yin for a home, and the correction is simply to use that room. Once a hammock is in a room, it will most likely be used. The hammock can be held by a freestanding frame, or it can be stretched between two hooks. The advantage of the hammock between two hooks is that it can quickly and easily be put away.

We keep a hammock in our bedroom, and it mostly hangs in a corner, and occasionally gets unfurled for taking a nap or reading a book. I’m one of those people who needs a pillow for a hammock to feel most comfortable. What anyone should avoid are hammocks with stretcher bars—those kinds of hammocks can easily tip over and out you go.

The gentle rocking of a hammock is very relaxing. Soon I put my book down and start napping.

What brings this to mind is a photo in a back issue of Architectural Digest (the November 2017 issue; I don’t have permission to post the photo here, but if you follow that link, you can see it)—which shows a hammock in a living room! The article is about the midcentury designer Ward Bennett and a book about him by the same name. The room is plenty big and it looks out onto a lovely view.  The same thing applies to hanging chairs, but be sure you hang them securely. A molly bolt in sheet rock ain’t gonna do it!