Feng shui in the home

It’s Chinese New Year this week. As we move in to the year of the horse we thought we’d take a look at the Chinese art of feng shui, which can be a useful guide when mapping out your home.

Occasionally we are asked during interior design consultations to provide advice around feng shui principles, many of which, at their most basic, are either just good sense or common practice anyhow.

On a large scale, feng shui as used to orient buildings to places of spiritual significance or around bodies of water, which makes sense in town planning terms. If we translate the teachings’ principles to the home we can glean elements that promote harmony and enhanced function.

Important to note is what is considered bad feng shui. This includes curved roads shaped like blades around your home. If you are in that situation, feng shui experts recommend planting canes or bamboos around the home to shield negative energy. Looking directly at a street light can also be bad feng shui as it affects sleep quality and, in turn, can create health issues. Keep the curtains closed to block out any potential harm (see, common sense right?).

Similarly, pointy objects like antennas and corners are bad news. Block wherever possible.

Colour plays a big role in feng shui. The colour of your front door will dictate the energy drawn in to the home, and should be determined by whether your house faces north (paint blue or black to represent water or mineral elements) or south (opt for fire elements of red, yellow, purple or pink, or wood elements green or brown). A mirror at the front door is bad feng shui however, as it reflects all the good energy drawn in back out again.

Addressing the feng shui of your home as a whole can throw up an overwhelming to-do list so if you’re interested in making some positive changes, perhaps identify an area of your home that requires attention or you feel doesn’t work as well as it should, and start there. Any positive change to our living environment is great in our book.

Cheers,

Beadles