Earth-Friendly Designer Lori Dennis

1. Declutter the space.
That's a pretty easy place to start. Get rid of the things you don't need or that have been around too long — things with no purpose. Get rid of dead flowers and garbage and books — and anything else you haven't used for ages. Those things make the space heavy and not completely useful.

2. Put down the toilet lid — puh-lease!
I can go anywhere in the world, to anybody's house, and it drives me insane to find the toilet seat up. Remember what we're dealing with here — a toilet. It's disgusting to begin with, but in addition to being a place for waste the toilet contains water, which is a really powerful thing in feng shui. Anything that's pulling water out of the house, which a toilet does, pulls financial strength right out of your house, too. There's a reason why there's a lid — use it.!

3. Create a balance
A home with a balance of elements will be more peaceful. That means you need a little bit of wood, metal, water and air. Consider some plants, great wood furniture, shiny metal objects, good air flow and a water feature and you'll have a good balance in a clean environment. Do that — and put down the toilet seat — and you'll see a physical and emotional difference in your space.

Anything alive in a space, like dogs, is great because life sources move the air around. Then if you have bad energy, if someone's had a fight, the dog can move around the stagnant air and get rid of bad energy. Music or noise can clear up the bad vibes in a space.

Was designing your first career?
I was a stockbroker in my first career, and was interested in rehabbing homes and selling them. But I would buy stuff at yard sales and I would reupholster them because I didn't have the money to buy new. But when I saw what you could create when you'd change the pillow, the upholstery, the piping — I was excited. So 17 years ago I found a furniture maker and started giving him my designs and I started making custom furniture way back before I knew I was going to get into interior design. I was a stockbroker spending all my time staining hardware, repainting or reupholstering. I couldn't help it! So, eventually, I went back to UCLA to study design.

Do you come from an artistic family?
My mom owns an art gallery in San Diego and she's always doing every kind of art, from sculpture to rug hooking. And my aunt, her sister, who ended up raising me when I was a little older, lived in a Tudor house with fine things from Arts and Crafts to Queen Anne and conservative Chippendale. So every house I've lived in, whether it was in San Diego or Amish country Pennsylvania or in New York City, has been artistic in some way. And all that moving around gave me an exposure to East Coast/West Coast sensibilities, and to city and country living.

Where do you live now?
I live right outside of Beverly Hills in a Spanish bungalow-style apartment. I'm really good with small spaces. I think it's 900 square feet for an office, a studio and two people live in it — but we have a lot. More space requires more time to clean ,and this is just right. And I have lots of fresh air, lots of sunshine, plants and flowers. I can make do without anything else, but I need those things.