It is said, by incorporating Feng Shui into our home we will bring balance and serenity to our lives and promote a positive energy flow throughout. While the concept may seem a bit complicated, its principals are quite easy to implement and practice from an Interior Design perspective and can ultimately help create a healthier, uncluttered, and functional home. 

WHAT IS FENG SHUI?

This ancient Chinese design philosophy, Feng Shui, (Feng represents wind and Shui represents water) focuses on the simplicity of life and the free flow of Chi – the force that permeates all aspects of life. As all living beings require both breath and water to live, we are forever linked to be one with Nature and by creating spaces that are designed with intention, this puts you in sync with your environment and promotes a new energy in your space that focuses on providing balance and tranquility to your life and home.  To achieve the optimal results, the Feng Shui rules work within five elements and a pattern, called a Bagua map. These tools are essential and help guide the placement of furniture and décor throughout your home. 

THE FIVE CORE ELEMENTS

At the core of all Feng Shui design is the balance of the five key elements:

wind, water, fire, wood, and metal, with each element symbolizing qualities such as stability, wisdom, growth, and creativity. It is believed that one can live your most fulfilling life if your home is balanced within, and these elements are incorporated into your furnishings and décor. 

WOOD – This element symbolizes creativity, growth, and vitality. To incorporate into your design, look for shapes that imitate trees, tree trunks, leaves, and flowers. We absolutely love our colors of Teal, Peale Green, and Gentleman’s Gray for inspiration to incorporate these color tones into your home. 

FIRE – This element promotes passion, transformation, energy, and enthusiasm. By incorporating candles, different kinds of lighting, and décor in shades of red (red, pink, purple) further exemplifies this element. To incorporate the fire element colors into your space, consider our Signature colors of Copper Kettle or Plumb Raisin for inspiration. 

METAL – This element is one of logic, efficiency, and precision. Typically, metal items are spherical or round and provide a presence of productivity in your home. Look into using Swiss Coffee and Gray Owl colors from our 2022 color palette for inspiration to incorporate metal elements into your space. 

WATER – Symbolizing spirituality and wisdom, this element can be incorporated by the use of irregular shapes, moving water (for example: fountains, aquariums), and mirrors to encourage relaxation and the ability to seek the truth. The water element is balanced out in our 2022 color palette with Gentleman’s Gray and Wrought Iron. 

EARTH – This element controls stability, physical strength, and balance. By incorporating earthy tones and landscape art into our décor allows nature’s natural beauty to come in. To incorporate earthy tones into your home, consider our Natural Linen, October Mist or Peale Green from our Signature color palette to further define your space. 

WHAT IS A BAGUA MAP? 

The second essential building block tool in all Feng Shui design is the Bagua Map. Bagua means “eight areas” in Chinese and each of the eight sections relates to a different aspect of your life, such as family, career, fame, wealth, knowledge, love, children, and travel. A ninth section is located in the center and represents you, as you will be guiding all of the decisions that are made. 

Now that we understand the basic principles of Feng Shui design, here are some easy and essential ways to incorporate them into your home for the Lunar New Year. 

WELCOMING ENTRY

Starting with how energy enters your home, your front door is considered the “mouth of qi” and is naturally the first place to start and provide an excellent foundation. By creating a clear and well-lit pathway to your home and incorporating red accents (red-flowering plants or other accents) on or around your door is known to attract energy, fortune, and luck. 

As you enter your home, it’s important to make sure your entry is inviting, spacious and free of clutter. By ensuring that your entry is organized and has a place for everything creates a positive place for the energy to begin and be welcomed into your space. 

LET THE SUNLIGHT IN

Providing energy, strength, and vibrantly rendering all the colors and objects we see, windows provide sunlight and warmth to your home. As a result, cleaning your windows on a regular basis is important as it guarantees pure color, clarity, and precision to what we see indoors and symbolizes our ability to see the world around us. 

DOORS AND PORTALS

Representing your voice and communication, doors are portals that allow opportunities to come into your life. By confirming that all doors can fully open 90 degrees and are in proper working order, allows energy the ability to find you and not be disrupted or hindered in any way. 

COMMAND PROPER FURNITURE POSITION

One of the most important elements to follow is commanding position as this governs how you can position yourself in life. When you are in a command position, you are also in command of your life and are set up to receive both positive energy and the best opportunities available. 

The placement of your furniture is crucial to achieving a positive energy flow in any space, but most especially in your bedroom. It is noted that your head should not be directly beneath a window but should be against a wall to ensure you have a solid foundation behind you as you sleep. The same can be said about your office desk, as it should be placed where you can see the door but not be directly in the line of the door or have it behind you. These simple little changes in how you orient your furnishings help create balance and take advantage of the earth’s natural energy or chi.  

REMOVING OBSTACLES

From the moment you wake up until you return to bed, you should ensure that your home is in perfect working order and is not blocked by physical obstacles along the way. Ensure that your lights are working, doors don’t stick, and closets are not overstuffed and disorganized, as all these obstacles over time can accumulate and create problems as your household won’t be running as efficiently as it should. By clearing these obstacles from your path allows your flow to occur as easily as possible throughout your house. 

DECLUTTER AND ALLOW FOR SPACE

Decluttering and removing things that are not needed allows you to let go of what is not necessary and create open space, thus inviting tranquility and new, fresh opportunities into your life instead of holding onto things that are meaningless and unnecessary. It’s only natural that as we travel through life, our space will continually change as it becomes full then empty again, but by clearing and allowing for open space on a regular basis further allows for fresh starts, new opportunities, and endless productivity. 

MIRROR, MIRROR 

Mirrors are known to reflect something beautiful and further allow energy to be reflected throughout. By strategically positioning flat, clear mirrors throughout your home allows you to expand your view and increase a positive energy flow throughout. 

LET NATURE IN

Living plants are a powerful way to connect to life as it brings nature and vibrancy into your home. Regardless of your green thumb, even starting with one simple, low-maintenance plant will encourage and bring positive energy to your space. 

OFFERING GRATITUDE

As you can see, applying Feng Shui to your home is not difficult and can be fairly easy to incorporate. Because the practice focuses so much on energy, earth, air, and water – all are positive features to include in your daily living, whether you include one or all of these elements into your home. 

Most importantly, it’s also important to recognize that your home is your shelter as it provides a place to rest, nourish and celebrate. Therefore, set aside a little bit of time each day and give gratitude to your home for the animated, positive energy we call life. 

“Because the way you do anything, is the way you do everything”

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