Optimising Feng Shui In Your Home
To live in a home that is harmonious, you must organize your home correctly. These adjustments will make your life better by improving your homes Feng Shui
Contents
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese tradition that uses interior design principles to improve your life. It’s based on a philosophy of arranging the pieces in living spaces in order to create balance with the natural world.
By implementing specific design principles, Feng Shui allows your energy flow through your home and is said to improve your overall quality of life. Many Architects and interior designers bake Feng Shui into their designs when planning homes.
Often referred to as the art of placement, in the simplest of terms feng shui is about positioning different elements to optimize “Chi,” or energy. Feng Shui has a number of principles to follow, including the commanding position, the Bagua, and the five elements.
Basic Principles Of Feng Shui
Bagua
Bagua, which translates to eight areas, is an ancient form of a floor map used to analyze the energy of the home. It consists of eight boxes, each representing a different aspect of life, typically wealth/abundance, fame/reputation, love, family/ new beginnings, children/ completion, knowledge, career path/life and helpful people/ travel, with the centre box representing you.
The Bagua map helps you bring good Chi energy to all the important parts of your life. If there is an area you need to improve, you should apply the appropriate feng shui principles in the corresponding space of the home.
The easiest way to apply the Bagua Map to your home is to overlay it on your floor plan. Draw your floor plan and place the nine-quadrant map on top of it. The doorway should face south and align with one of the bottom three squares. You can Feng Shui a whole house or flat, you can use the map on any space you’d like.
Photo credit: Pinterest @simplyabudance2019
The Five Elements
Feng Shui principles are focused on the five elements; earth, metal, water, wood, and fire.
These elements can be taken literally in terms of how it’s incorporated into the home, for example wood furniture for a fireplace, but they also correspond to certain emotions, colours, shapes and areas on the Bagua map.
The idea is that each element should be balanced through interior design. When we feel out of balance in our home, it’s because one or more of the elements are missing, or there’s too much of an element.
Water
Water
Water is associated with abundance, prosperity, movement, cleansing, purification, and the flow of emotions. To incorporate this in your home, include touches of blue and black, objects that are curved and images of water that are soothing.
Bagua area: Career path/life
Fire
Fire
Fire is a power element tied to action, passion, and fame, and can bring vitality and warmth to the home. You can include the fire element into your home through lighting and making sure your home is well-lit. Fire is best expressed in colours red, purple, orange, strong yellow, magenta and pink — with triangular and star shapes.
Bagua area: Fame/reputation
Earth
Earth
Earth is associated with stability and security in both relationships and business, and it’s there to keep you grounded and safe. To bring the energy of the Earth element into the home, use earthy and neutral tones in your decor such as ivory colours, beiges and soft browns, as well as images of earthy landscapes and pottery.
Bagua area: Knowledge/ self-cultivation and love/partnerships
Metal
Metal
The metal element is associated with focus and clarity, and it assists with health, wealth, and love. This can be expressed by adding mirrors, using a variety of metallic finishes and focusing on objects with a round shape, as well as including colours of white, beige and grey.
Bagua area: Children/completion and helpful people/ travel
Wood
Wood
Different from the Earth element, wood in feng shui focuses on the flourishing flora of nature. It’s symbolic of new life, growth, expansion, creativity, and health. To bring the wood element into the home, add plants or green tones to your space, as well as wood furniture such as bamboo and wicker.
Bagua area: Wealth/ abundance and family/new beginnings
How To Use Bagua Map And The 5 Elements
Your first step is to apply the Bagua map to your home’s floor plan. Make sure you use an accurately scaled floor plan and rotate the plan so that the wall with the front door is at the bottom.
Overlay the floor plan with a three-by-three grid that is evenly spaced, with the bottom of the grid aligned to the wall with the door. Then locate all the areas that match up with the Bagua – knowledge, career and helpful people should be aligned with the bottom where the wall is with the front door.
After you’ve laid the Bagua, select up to three areas you want to activate – it’s recommended that you don’t do any more than this as it can dilute the effect.
Every Bagua area is different but you can generally activate areas by adding a living plant, adding the colour related to the area, add an object related to the element related to the area, spend more time in that area or move the furniture around.
Photo credit: Pinterest @simplyabudance2019
The “Commanding Position”
In Feng Shui, the commanding position is usually in the spot in a room that is the furthest from the door and should be where you want to spend most of your time when you’re in that room.
Feng shui guidelines suggest you determine this dominant position in the room, then place your bed, your desk, or your stove in diagonal alignment, if you can. These three parts of your house are critical since each represents an essential part of your life. The bed stands for you, the desk is an extension of your career, and the stove represents your wealth and nourishment. When you’re in the command position, you should be able to easily see the entry to your space, and have the best visual control over your space.
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Yin and yang
In feng shui, the definition of yin and yang is the focus on establishing a balance between the opposite male (yang) and female (yin) chi energies. Yin and yang are opposite forces which work in tandem to create harmony.
Yin is dark, and passive energy while yang is light, active and aggressive energy. These two must come together to create a harmonious and complete whole that is known as chi energy. Yin energy should be in calm and relaxing spaces like bedrooms, while yang energy should be in more social, productive spaces like kitchens and home offices.
You can restore the yin yang balance to your home by introducing specific elements, colours, or symbols. You can add bright energetic colours to your decor to introduce more yang energy, or softer, calming colours to create more yin energy.
To make sure each room in your home is balanced, you must first identify a room’s purpose in your life. For example, a bedroom is where you get the rest you need so a tad more Yin required. This could be through soft colours and low lighting to create a cosy atmosphere. Likewise, more social rooms like the kitchen or dining room where you’re likely to entertain guests will require more yang to bring more energy to the space.
General Tips On Improving The Feng Shui In Your Home
Use The Front Door
In feng shui, one of the first places to look at in your home is the front door. You want to have a strong front door so that you can welcome positive energy.
Many people drive up to the garage and come in through the back door or a side door. However, if you never use the front door you are blocking out energy and opportunities so you should try and use the front door more often, even if it’s just once a week.
Photo credit: @LathamsSteelSecurityDoors
Fix squeaky doors
The entry door is the first and last thing you encounter when coming or going from your home. If your door squeaks, it sounds as if the door is crying which can affect your mood and wellbeing. Oil the front door hinge and create more positive energy when you enter and leave your house.
Photo credit: Pinterest @thecottagejournal
Remove Obstacles And Create Space
An important step in Feng Shui practice is getting rid of clutter. More clutter you have means you are more stuck and have depressed energy in your space and this can negatively affect your personal energy, mental state and overall wellness. A clutter-free space filled with things that are loved and used regularly allows positive energy to move fluidly, not just through the space but also through you.
Photo credit: Pinterest @AllModern
Add Plants
Plants are a way to bring nature’s energy into our homes and interior environments. All living plants are great for Feng Shui, but you don’t want unhealthy plants as sick and dying plants represent sick and dying energy. Find plants that you can care for and as a general rule of thumb choose plants with soft and rounded foliage, as opposed to spikey or thorny stems and leaves. Check if the cabinets above the kitchen are built up the ceiling or a ceiling soffit. If there is space, this is a great place to add plants.
Photo credit: Pinterest @NatalieFlemington
Brighten Up Your Home
Windows symbolise the eyes of the adults in the home. Cleaning your windows will allow more light in, which will energise your space.
Make sure you keep the home clean and clear of clutter each day. Not only will it make you feel less stressed out, but helps create a sense of order and can also help boost productivity. It’s really important you keep your entryway or hallway free from clutter at all times. As the first space you see when you open the front door, the entryway represents the way that good energy enters your home and your life.
Photo credit: Pinterest @housebeautiful
Go vertical
Integrating some vertical shapes and lines in your home represents growth and expansion. If you have the room, put in some tall bookshelves or add some flowy drapes that draw the eye up. The idea is to make your space feel larger than it is.
Photo credit: Pinterest @housebeautiful
Feng Shui Decorating Tips By Room
Feng Shui Your Living Room
A feng shui living room will be located in a room that has at least two exterior walls. This ideal living room location is close enough to the outdoors that fresh, positive energy can enter and flow freely, without becoming stagnant or stale.
Design your living room around the largest piece of furniture first. Ideally, the sofa should face the door and be against a wall, whilst lounge chairs should be positioned for conversation. Sheer window covering can light in light whilst still allowing for privacy.
Photo credit: Pinterest @stylecurator
Feng Shui Your Bedroom
Your bed should be in the commanding position, so whilst you’re in bed you can see the door, but you’re not directly in line with it. The headboard should be against a solid wall with space available at both the left, right and foot of the bed.
You should also avoid having too many electrical components close to your sleeping space. Ideally, avoid putting a TV in your bedroom and instead fill it with cosy materials and textures. Hues in green and blue can add to this type of feeling. Make sure you don’t have any clutter underneath your bed and this can bring negative energy into the space.
Photo credit: Pinterest @homeenvymembersclub
Feng Shui Your Home Office
If the layout of your house allows, try to make sure your home office is as far away from your bedroom as possible.
Place your desk facing the door in the commanding position and decorate with personal objects and greenery. Add plenty of plants as plant energy will refresh both the energy of the space and the energy of your mind. Using colours like yellows and greens helps calm and center, whilst earthy tones like beige promote stability.
Try not to face a wall while working at your desk. If you do need to face a wall, add art and other objects to make the wall disappear.
Photo credit: @OLSHart
Feng Shui Your Dining Room
Your dining table should fit comfortably in your space, and ideally sit in the centre of the room so positive energy can move around it.
Add a rounded bowl filled with rounded fruit in the middle of the table to show the richness of life you possess. Flowers in the middle of the table are a great way to boost energy but don’t use dried flowers as they represent decay and stagnation.
The goal of a Feng Shui dining room is to invite abundance and health luck. Opt for calming, pale colours to create a relaxing ambience and calmness that helps aid proper digestion for good health.
Modern homes with open-plan kitchen/dining areas face an extra challenge when it comes to Feng Shui. The dining zone needs to stand out from the other zones for it to feel comfortable and inviting. Try placing a rug underneath the table, consider open shelving, a slightly different wall colour or pendant lighting over the table. Also, consider a living edge or farmhouse dining table to bring a sense of nature into your home.
Photo credit: Pinterest @article
Summary
Do:
- Place your bed, desk, and stove in a command position so you can see the door in the room, but aren’t directly in front of it
- Be mindful of colour choice as this can affect the energy of the room
- Make a good first impression with your front door
- Pay special attention to your entryway
- Get rid of all clutter
- Minimise electronics in your bedroom
- Have plenty of light and air throughout the home
- Use symmetry where possible
Avoid:
- Under-the-bed storage
- Dirty windows
- Dusty objects and corners
- Broken objects
- Blocked doors and entryways
- Dried flowers
- Desks facing the wall
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