It’s Friday the 13th! That means many people will be tossing spilled salt over their left shoulder and avoiding cracks in the sidewalk. Aside from the traditional superstitions we hear about often, there are many superstitions that revolve around the home. From avoiding opening an umbrella in the house to walking under a ladder, many people, regardless of how superstitious they are, avoid these habits for fear of experiencing a bout of bad luck. Discover some of the most common superstitions in home design and how you can avoid them.
- Hang horseshoes over doorways. Some homeowners think horseshoes should be hung with the open end facing up to hold in all of the good luck you’ve collected; other homeowners think horseshoes should be hung the opposite way to let luck pour over anyone who enters the home. Regardless of how you hang a horseshoe, they add a charming rustic elegance to your décor and are a simple way to spruce up an otherwise ignored area!
- Paint your porch. It’s rumored that painting your porch blue will ward off ghosts and evil spirits. These spirits, also known as “haints,” are unable to cross water. Painting your porch blue is supposed to confuse the haints, leaving them thinking it’s a body of water that they cannot cross. If you’re looking to avoid these spirits, paint your front porch a hue of blue. For a subtler option, Huntington Township residential painters recommend painting the interior roof of your porch blue – it’ll give your porch a unique element and help ward off ghosts. If you’re extra superstitious, you can paint your windowsills and doorways blue, too.
- Hang bells. Ringing bells are symbolic of joyous times, like holidays or a wedding. In Celtic culture, it’s believed that ringing bells can also scare off demonic spirits. Hang a bell outside your front or back door and ring it every now and again to keep those evil spirits at bay. It’s the perfect accent to a rustic home design!
- Get rid of lifeless décor. Whether you have shriveled flowers from a few weeks ago, seashells from your last beach trip, or taxidermy animals hanging on the walls, “lifeless” décor is said to bring bad luck into a home. Keep your home décor vibrant and lively with photos that capture the beauty and liveliness of these items.
- Avoid the color green. In the past, many green paints were made with arsenic and used to color everything from children’s toys to wallpaper. Not knowing any better, young children would put their mouths on things painted with this toxic coloring, causing them to become violently ill or die. Since then, paint has been made safe to use, but people still consider it a bad luck color to use in home design.
Which home superstitions do you believe in? Be wary of these superstitions this Friday the 13th to avoid any bad luck in your home.
This post brought to you by Svetlana Zaugg, a Delray Beach, FL interior designer.